Prodigy's 25 Favorite Albums

The HNIC talks about his favorite albums from Jay-Z, Rihanna, Marvin Gaye, and more.

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Complex Original

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Albert "Prodigy" Johnson of the infamous Mobb Deep is known for raw, uncut rap, but he was exposed to a variety of music genres since his youth. His mother, Fatima Frances Collins, was a member of The Crystals and his grandfather, Budd Johnson, is in the Jazz Hall of Fame. Occasionally those influences would spill into his music, like the jazzy "Drink Away The Pain (Situations)" from the classic, The Infamous, and the R&B-flavored "Hey Luv" from Infamy.

The Queensbrige-bred rapper has been on a tear since he finished his three-year prison sentence last year, releasing an autobiography, an EP, a mixtape, and some more Mobb Deep material. Prodigy's took a breather and stopped by the Complex offices to discuss his 25 Favorite Albums. Read on to see his take on assorted reggae, R&B, and hip-hop classics while you bump his latest LP, H.N.I.C. 3.

As told to Jordan Zirm (@CLEVEZIRM)

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The Wailers, Catch a Fire (1973)

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Prodigy: “My father used to play that shit nonstop, and would tell me all about Bob Marley’s lyrics and how he was so nice with his lyrics. He used to make me pay attention to Bob Marley’s and Marvin Gaye’s lyrics. Those are his two favorite. As long as I knew my father he only played those two albums.”

Marvin Gaye, Midnight Lover (1982)

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Prodigy: “That one was special to me because my father used to always play that album nonstop too. He had the fucking “Sexual Healing” on his answering machine, the whole thing. He used to sit there and school me about Marvin Gaye. Like, ‘Yo, listen to his voice, listen to the words he saying.’”

Michael Jackson, Thriller (1982)

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Prodigy: “Michael Jackson was a big influence to me because my grandmother had a dance school in Jamaica, Queens and she raised a lot of choreographers. A couple of the choreographers, they were the ones that created the choreography for ‘Beat It’ and ‘Thriller.’ That was close to home for me. I used to want to be Michael Jackson when I was little and then my family had connections with him. That album was big for me. As a little kid, I was doing the moonwalk, all that.”

Run–D.M.C., Run–D.M.C. (1984)

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Prodigy: “Run–D.M.C. and LL, it was like a tie between those two. Those are the first two rap albums I ever heard. It was “Rock the Bells” and “Sucka M.C.’s— those two songs—and then I went out and bought the albums. I had my mother buy the albums.

“Run–D.M.C. was something new. They had the big chains and they was real aggressive with it. Run’s style was crazy, just how he spit his rhymes. Same thing with LL, ‘Rock The Bells’ was aggressive. He was screaming. So those songs turned me on to rap music because I’m like, ‘Yo, this is ill. This sound like these niggas is mad.’ That’s how I felt inside because I grew up with sickle cell and all that. So I always had that anger inside of me. I wanted to be Run.”

Too $hort, Born To Mack (1987)

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Prodigy: “That was the shit. Too $hort was on some pimp shit, and it was like some West Coast different sounding type of shit.”

Eric B. & Rakim, Paid in Full (1987)

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Prodigy:“The fashion that Rakim would rock, his jewelry, his style, like how he carried himself—you could just tell he was on some gangster shit. Moreso than an LL or Run-D.M.C. Like, he was serious, he looked like he was going to kill somebody. That’s what I was feeling about him and that album.


 

That is probably the illest song ever in hip-hop music—‘Check Out My Melody.’


 

“‘Check Out My Melody’ was one of the illest songs ever. That is probably the illest song ever in hip-hop music—‘Check Out My Melody.’ That’s the best song in rap music of all time. The beat and how he’s rhyming. It’s the beat, it’s his rhymes, but it’s also the EQ on his vocals. It sounds like he’s in a park rhyming. It’s like a mic with a little echo on it so it sounds like some real original hip-hop shit. It’s really the mic. His voice and whatever effect they got on that mic or whatever they recorded it through, that’s what make that song perfect.

“I even tried to copy that effect on my HNIC album. We did a couple of songs where I was like, ‘Make my voice sound just like that. Like, make the effect just like that. With the delay on it.’ We copied that shit for a couple songs on HNIC.”

MC Lyte, Lyte As A Rock (1988)

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Prodigy: “She was on some gutter Brooklyn shit. She was just a gangster bitch. She’d shoot the video on the train. She was talking about razors underneath her collar getting into parties and whatnot. It was her beats and her voice, she had a very distinct voice. She was like, damn a female rapper can be thugged out.

“It was her and Queen Latifah, but I was more attracted to what MC Lyte was doing because it was more on some gangster shit. Queen Latifah was more on the U.N.I.T.Y. and on the more black power type of thing. Thats what was going on back in those times—Public Enemy, KRS-One, they was really trying to school the black people about our history and all that. I learned a lot from them. That’s what turned me on to trying to learn about my black history, my culture. But MC Lyte was just thug shit. Throw that on and yeah, that’s that hard shit.”

N.W.A, Straight Outta Compton (1988)

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Prodigy: “N.W.A, they was just the fucking Wu-Tang of the West Coast. They brought the whole street mentality, the gang culture to hip-hop. We didn’t know it was that serious out there until they came out with ‘Fuck tha Police.’ We learned about the whole gangster culture that was out there. That made us turn it up a little bit out here. Like hold up, these niggas is thugged the fuck out, these niggas is wilding out there.

“That made New York turn it up a little bit. I mean New York was already what it was, but as far as in the hip-hop world? When we saw that, they got the machine guns in the videos, running from the police, cursing out the police in the video. Yeah. That made niggas in New York step they shit up a little bit on the street level.”

Biz Markie, The Biz Never Sleeps (1989)

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Gang Starr, Step In The Arena (1991)

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Prodigy: “Gang Starr was that shit. Guru had the illest voice and Premier—his beats was something very new and different. When Gang Starr was out that’s when we was trying to get in the industry, so that’s what was hot when we were passing out our demos and shit.”

Jodeci, Forever My Lady (1991)

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Prodigy: “That was something new because they was like some hardcore R&B. That was never really seen before. How Diddy put that group together it was like he knew what he was doing because that was never saw before in music. It was like a gangsta R&B group. At least their appearance, their style of music. Not saying they was really gangster but just how they dressed and they had the tattoos and they attitude—and their song ‘Every Freaking Night.’ That’s some hood shit. That was like the first time there was really some hood motherfuckers with an R&B album. That’s what attracted people to them.”

Mary J Blige, What’s the 411? (1992)

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Prodigy: “The same thing with her. Puff knew what he was doing. He was smart. I think I know where he got it from, too. There was a DJ in Harlem. His name was DJ Ron G. Ron G had these blend tapes, he created this shit called the blends where he would take an R&B song and he would blend it with a hip-hop beat. It was an R&B a capella and then he would take whatever was the new hottest hip-hop shit and put it on top. And it gave the R&B a new feel. This is where Puff got all that from.

“To give R&B a hip-hop feel, he got that from Ron G. So when they made the 411? album he basically took what Ron G did and made a real album out of it. And that’s what that 411? album is about. That’s why it’s got so many hip-hop drums to it. And Mary J, her career started with Ron G, she used to sing on Ron G’s mixtapes.

“So I think that’s where Puff got that whole idea from. Like alright, ‘I’m going to sign her, we gonna put the hip hop beats to the R&B and we going to fucking make millions of dollars off this shit.’ That’s why I say you’ve got to connect the dots with people. Now when people read that they are going to be like, ‘Oh shit, hell yeah.’”

Wu-Tang Clan, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)

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Prodigy: “They basically changed the game. They changed the world too. They did what Nas did, but talking about their hood though. They brought the hood shit, and they mixed it with the God-body shit like what Rakim did. He mixed the hood shit with the knowledge of self, learning about your history and your culture. So that’s what Wu-Tang did.

“They took the hood shit from Staten Island, because Staten Island was new to people—nobody even knew there was hoods out there. So they introduced the Staten Island hood to the world and they mixed it with the God-body knowledge of self information. So that was something new really. Even though Rakim had did it a little something, they were a little more crazier and wilder than Rakim because you had Ol’ Dirty Bastard bugging the fuck out. They were a little wilder than Rakim. They wasn’t scared to do certain shit. Rakim was a little more reserved. So they brought that wild crazy ghetto mentality, mixed it with the knowledge of self and it was something nobody ever saw before.

“That was the first time nine MCs all came together in one group. Now don’t get me wrong, because you had groups way back in the day like the Cold Crush and other groups, but I’m talking about in the new era with the new beats. They did that. I think that’s what RZA got it from, like the Cold Crush and all that—that’s where he got the original idea to do that. But he just took it to a whole other level.

“They also brought fashion into hip-hop. They created where you could make money off of your brand, off of fashion. They did that and Naughty By Nature did that. I think they were the first, well no I can’t say that because Run-D.M.C. was first with the merchandise shit. But after Run-D.M.C. it was Naughty By Nature, because Naugty had everything. They had boxers, sheets, and t-shirts. Naughty By Nature had a lot of merchandise.

“But I think Wu Tang looked at all of that. RZA looked at what Naughty did and what Run-D.M.C. did, and they took it to another level with Wu Wear. I watched them make a shitload of dollars off of that shit. Like millions of dollars real fast. Selling just T-shirts with the Wu symbol on them. That’s what they really brought to the new school. They taught us how to sell merchandise and how to sell your brand.”

R. Kelly, 12 Play (1993)

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Prodigy: “That song ‘Honey Love?’ That was dope, yo. His voice is incredible. He don’t sound like nobody. When he first came out everybody said he was biting Aaron Hall. I guess that might’ve been his favorite group, like Guy was his favorite group probably. So you know you get influenced by your favorite people.

“But once he found himself, it was over. Once he found his own voice and his own self...beyond what Aaron Hall ever did. It’s crazy. I listen to R. Kelly before I write rhymes. Like I got to listen to R. Kelly because his pen game is ridiculous. I do that a lot. I listen to a few R. Kelly songs and then I go and write my songs because he reminds me of how easy it is. It’s not easy, but for us, this is what we do, so to me it’s easy to write lyrics. He reminds me how easy it is.

“When I listen to his songs, I’m like, Damn, he’s effortlessly making the ill lyrics. It’s not like Snoop. Snoop sound like he freestyling—he just saying whatever and he make it sound good. R. Kelly is saying incredible shit, but you can tell it’s easy for him. And you like, ‘Damn, yo—that’s crazy how he put that together.’ It’s that easy.”

Nas, Illmatic (1994)

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Prodigy: “That album right there, he changed the world. Fuck hip-hop. That album changed the world because it changed hip-hop and then hip-hop changed the world. So he basically changed the world with that album. Changed music period. Hip-hop first and then it offset everything else after that because everybody was influenced by that album.

“You name a rapper from back then, maybe not these new rappers that’s out now, but you name a rapper from back then and they was all influenced by that album. That was the best album out back then. Nobody was fucking with that. To this day there’s not too many albums that can fuck with that album.

“Those lyrics? He was just on the next level. He was just like... That was some spiritual shit, the lyrics that was coming out of him. He described the hood lifestyle perfectly. Especially in Queensbridge because there was a lot of shit that we was doing in Queensbridge that nobody else was doing in no other hood. He just personified it and just really made the perfect transition of what the hood life is and put it to music. That was perfect.”

Snoop Doggy Dogg, Doggystyle (1994)

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Prodigy: “Lyrically, Snoop has fun. It’s almost like he’s freestyling when you’re listening to his lyrics. It’s like nothing to him, he’s just freestyling, having fun with it. He be like, ‘Yes y’all and Snoop Doggy Dog...’ He’s not even taking it serious. So I got that from Snoop too, just having a little more fun with it.

“It makes it easier to write your rhyme when you don’t sit there and try to bust your brain cells trying to come up with ill lyrics. You listen to Snoop, he’s like, ‘Man—whatever, 1, 2, 3 to the 4. Snoop Doggy Dogg at the door.’ So as far as lyrics, he brought the fun back a little bit with the lyrics.

“Sonically? Oh my god, yo. That album is probably the best album ever as far as production. It was the best album ever made. They mixed that George Clinton sound with the hip-hop drums and bass lines and then you add the little West Coast synth, you know how they got the west coast synthesizer shit that Dre is famous for and all that? They blended all of that and that was just something new, like, What the Fuck? This shit is crazy!

“It was nothing but back-to-back hits on that record, like radio shit. But it was still hardcore. They were radio party type of songs but they were gangster. Production wise, that’s the best album ever made in the history of hip-hop.”

Jay-Z, Reasonable Doubt (1996)

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Prodigy: “Jay, lyrically, he’s just a genius. His brain works different than a normal person. He was very intelligent at a young age, you could tell. His intelligence level, you could learn from Jay-Z.”

Destiny’s Child, Destiny’s Child (1998)

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Prodigy: “I never really bought a Destiny’s Child album, but I know that when they came with their first album, it was like, ‘Who the fuck is these girls?’ That shit was hot. They changed the game for females with that too. It gave females confidence, the way Beyoncé was signing and the words that she was using.

“It made girls lift their head up a little bit and walk confidently. That’s what I feel like she brought to the game. She boosted females’ confidence and power, like you can do anything you want to do in this world. I never bought a Destiny’s Child album but I have bought a Beyoncé album. I would say Destiny’s Child because that’s when we were introduced to Beyoncé.”

DMX, Flesh of my Flesh, Blood of my Blood (1998)

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Prodigy: “DMX was our new 2Pac. When he came out, in people’s minds, they probably didn’t realize it, but in people’s minds, they equated him with 2Pac. He had a similar look. He had a bald head, and he was wilding, from the hood. He brought that church, he would pray in songs and all that type of shit. You know how Pac was with the church and praying and all that? DMX reminded people of 2Pac, whether they realized it or not.”

Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)

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Jill Scott, Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1 (2000)

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N.E.R.D., In Search of... (2001)

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50 Cent, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2003)

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Prodigy: “When 50 came out, he was the new 2Pac type of individual in hip-hop because he got shot so many times he almost died. So that reminded people of 2Pac also. Plus 50, his whole attitude—he was a bully. He was the bully of hip-hop. He was going to come and shit on everybody that tries to shit on him. That whole energy, I think people were really feeling that energy. And it wasn’t fake. It was genuine. He’s really like that. You could just tell that’s how he grew up and he just so happened to start rapping. He might not be like that today because he’s business and all that. But you could just tell, that was real. When he was doing it, it wasn’t nothing fake about it at all.”

Kanye West, Graduation (2007)

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Rihanna, Loud (2010)

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