Lil’ Kim And Busta Rhymes Toast Prodigy After BET Awards

Hours after a touching on-air tribute to Mobb Deep’s Albert “Prodigy” Johnson at the BET Awards, hip-hop stars past and present gathered to remember the influential artist.

Loud Records Founder and WAV principal Steve Rifkind cohosted the event — and led a toast in Prodigy’s honor — with Havoc of Mobb Deep at the Palm Restaurant in downtown Los Angeles on June 25. Among those in attendance were: Lil’ Kim, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Xzibit, Busta Rhymes, Papoose, LeToya Luckett, and Stretch Armstrong.

Along with his musical partner Havoc, Prodigy was a leading light of the hardcore hip-hop sound of the 1990s, and Mobb Deep’s 1995 album “The Infamous” — with its raw depictions of inner city life — was instrumental in returning New York City to the hip-hop vanguard after years of dominance from upstarts on the West Coast.

News of his death, at the age of 42, was confirmed on June 20.

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