Checkoway Laura - My infamous life: the autobiography of Mobb Deeps Prodigy

THE FIRST MEMOIR OF THE
GOLDEN ERA OF HIP HOP

FROM ONE OF THE BIGGEST NAMES IN THE RAP GAME

Recently released from prison, Prodigyhalf of Mobb Deep, one of the most influential hip hop groups of all timereveals his story of fighting to survive on the mean streets of New York City and ultimately making it big, in his intimate autobiography, My Infamous Life .

Catapulted from the Queensbridge Projects to the heights of fame at age sixteen, Prodigy toured the world while struggling with drugs, violent crime, and a disease he would spend a lifetime fighting. My Infamous Life is an unblinking account of Prodigys beefs, brawls, and wild times with Mobb Deepa duo that changed the musical landscape, leading hip hop into its golden era with their unapologetic portrayals of street life.

Taking readers behind the smoke-and-mirrors glamour of the hip hop world, Prodigy lays down the unsparing truth about the intoxicating power of fame and fortune, his brutal climb to the top, and his unexpected detour to prison in this raw and utterlysometimes unnervinglyfrank memoir.

Albert Prodigy Johnson and his partner, Kejuan Havoc Mujita, used their hard-core street stories to forever change the rap game alongside fellow NYC titans Nas, the Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, and Wu-Tang Clan.

THE VILLAGE VOICE

A surprising triumph, both as an archive of 1990s New York hip hop folk tales and for its stirring sketches of a man who, on many occasions, could have made his life a lot easier on himself. This is the kind of vulnerability that is fearless, especially within hip hop.

SLATE.COM

ALBERT PRODIGY JOHNSON is one half of the platinum-selling hip hop duo Mobb Deep. He is widely considered one of the most skilled lyricists in the history of hard-core East Coast rap.

www.myinfamouslife.com

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COVER DESIGN BY MATT BOULOUTIAN COVER PHOTOGRAPH JASON CAMPBELL/VISTALUX

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Copyright 2011 by Albert Prodigy Johnson

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Touchstone Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Touchstone trade paperback edition February 2012

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Designed by Ruth Lee-Mui

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Prodigy (Musician)

My infamous life : the autobiography of Mobb Deeps Prodigy / Albert Prodigy Johnson with Laura Checkoway.

p. cm.

1. Prodigy (Musician) 2. Rap musiciansUnited StatesBiography. 3. Mobb Deep (Musical group) I. Checkoway, Laura. II. Title.

ML420.P97527A3 2011

782.421649092dc22

[B]

2010044439

ISBN 978-1-4391-0318-0

ISBN 978-1-4391-0319-7 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-4391-4933-1 (ebook)

I dedicate this book

to my entire family tree.

KiKi, Kiejzonna,

TShaka, and Fahtasia,

I love you.

June 28, 2008

Mid-State Correctional Facility

Marcy, New York

2:30 P.M.

S itting alone at my table in the visiting room, I had to wait until three P.M. when visiting hours were over before I could go back to my dorm. I wished I could have gotten up and walked out of the prison with Alchemist when he left. But I had more than two years to spend in that eight-by-ten box before I would be a free man again. This was the second time my friend and producer Alchemist had taken the four-hour ride up from Manhattan to visit me. He looked good. Healthy and focused. The visiting room was packed, around sixty other inmates, their families and friends. During our visit, a few inmates shouted, Mobb Deep! What up Alchemist! What up Prodigy! I told Al how the inmates and correctional officers had been showing me love and asking for autographs. But after Al left I sat there observing everyone around me, and I was reminded that I was just another inmate like anybody else. DIN #08A1481. My Department Identification Number represents the year I got locked up, 08; the facility code A for Downstate, the prison I was initially in; and then 1,481 indicates that I was the 1,481st inmate to get locked up in that prison that year. We were all the same while stuck inside.

Even though I didnt want to be in this prison, I deserved to be here. I would hear inmates complain and bitch all day and night about how uncomfortable they were, how unfair the officers and rules were, and how stressful being locked up was. Stop crying and do ya time , Id say to myself. Ive done plenty of damage in my days. Ive done some wicked, evil, terrible things to people in my past. Shiiiit the three and a half years I got was just a slap on the wrist when I think back on all the things Ive gotten away with. So I just accepted my circumstances and made the best out of it, putting my time to good use.

Prison has given me time to reflect, look deep inside, realize where Ive been, where I am, and where Im going. I used to be cold and emotionless. I believe the disease I was born with, sickle-cell anemia, made me that way. Factor in my environment and the people I surrounded myself with, and yeah, you got the makings of a sinful person. Im different now, only cause I choose to be. I know now that good is the correct way to be. Id been straddling the fence for a number of years, thinking it was okay to do a little bit of evil if I was doing a lot of good. But life doesnt work like that. You have to choose a side. My mind, body, and soul are in excellent condition now. Ive never felt so invigorated.