Prodigy’s personal mythology: Remembering the ‘fallen angel’ of Mobb Deep

Albert Johnson, aka Prodigy, (left) and Kejuan Muchita, aka Havock, of the hip hop duo Mobb Deep in New York in 2006. Johnson died on June 20, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nev.& (AP Photo/Jim Cooper) by Marcus Evans, McMaster University In June 2017, Albert “Prodigy” Johnson passed away due to sickle cell anemia. He was one half of Mobb Deep, a New York City hip-hop duo whose 1995 song, “Shook Ones, Pt. II” drew some attention from the 2002 film 8 Mile. Approaching the seventh anniversary of Prodigy’s death, I hope to convey my own interpretation of his lived experience through a retelling of the myth by which he lived. As a scholar of religion who examines race, religion and myth in the urban arts, I understand myth as metaphors, archetypes and stories by which people make sense of their lives. Myth also encompasses the person’s lifeworld itself, as it becomes enchanted by such mythic qualities. For me, Prodigy’s 2012 autobiography, My Infamous Life, in dialogue with his music and creative choices, suggests he saw himself as living in a world of conflicting forces, particularly positive versus negative or good versus evil. Prodigy’s autobiography, ‘My Infamous Life.’& (Simon & Schuster)...