Mutually residing in Queens and sharing a passion for hip-hop, Mobb Deep members Prodigy and Havoc originally met while both attending the prestigious Graphic Arts High School in Manhattan. Still in their late teens, the duo released their debut album in 1993, Juvenile Hell, on the 4th & Broadway label. Though the album wasn't that successful from either a financial or critical standpoint, it did serve as a fitting platform for the duo to launch its career. Not only did Mobb Deep produce its own beats; it also crafted its own style of beat-making: a street-smart poetic approach centering on the surrounding ghetto lifestyle. Prodigy and Havoc's brutally honest reality rapping and complementary melancholy beats landed them a deal in 1995 with the up-and-coming Loud label, who released The Infamous, Mobb Deep's breakthrough album.
The Infamous became a touchstone for mid-'90s East Coast hardcore rap beside such similar classics as Reasonable Doubt, Enter the Wu-Tang, and Ready to Die. Partially propelled to awareness by fellow Queensbridge rapper Nas, who lyrically took a similar approach on his championed Illmatic album in 1994, and partially by a successful single, "Shook Ones, Pt. 2," Mobb Deep suddenly found itself with a huge cult following. A year later in 1996, Prodigy and Havoc released Hell on Earth; debuting at number six on the Billboard album chart, the album found the duo further realizing its approach, dropping both evocative beats and cinematic rhymes that communicated the dark side of New York's urban landscape. And thanks to a grim video for "Hell on Earth (Front Lines)" and theatrical Scarface-like photos inside the CD booklet picturing the duo with guns and a mound of cocaine, Mobb Deep had created an elaborate image for themselves that took hardcore gangsta rap to a new level that the East Coast had yet fostered. It was then no surprise when fans heavily bootlegged Mobb Deep's successive release, Murda Muzik, while it was still in its demo stage, leaking rough versions of the nearly 30 songs the duo had recorded onto the streets and the Internet.
Months after the bootlegs first leaked and after several pushed-back street dates, Murda Muzik finally dropped in early 1999. It debuted at number three on Billboard and quickly went platinum on the strength of "Quiet Storm," a song epitomizing the signature Mobb Deep style. In late 2000, Prodigy finally released his long-rumored solo album, H.N.I.C., which saw the more outspoken member of the group collaborating with outside producers such as Alchemist and Rockwilder on tracks similar to the trademark Mobb Deep style. On H.N.I.C. and later in an interview with The Source, Prodigy referenced his bout with illness during the time following Murda Muzik. During this same time, Jay-Z spoke out against Mobb Deep, and Prodigy in particular. The street-credibility challenging incident led to some publicity for Mobb Deep, who were then unwillingly thrown into the spotlight with New York's biggest rappers at the time, Jay-Z and Nas.
Mobb Deep overcame its hurdles with the release of Infamy at the tail end of 2001. The duo didn't challenge Jay-Z as Nas had. Instead, Mobb Deep veered notably toward pop-rap for the first time in their career, bringing in outside producers and vocalists. The crossover success of "Hey Luv (Anything)" resulted, upsetting some longtime fans who wanted to see the duo remain strictly hardcore. Yet for every fan that jumped ship, two climbed aboard, shuffling the composition of Mobb Deep's audience a bit. The duo were unfazed, however. Prodigy in particular noted that his bout with illness and with Jay-Z had changed his outlook. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
