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There have been a few books released recently covering the topic of hip hop that have been well received - The Big Payback and Decoded, in particular - but given the short attention span of the internet generation it seems that much of the target audience has been missing out on them. As something of a public service, I wanted to start up a series that covers some of the highlights and choice quotes of these books, a rap blog version of Cliff's Notes if you will, for those of you lacking either the time, money, or the inclination to read an actual book. Whether or not this series continues beyond the initial installment remains to be seen, but let's give it a shot.
The first book I want to cover is Prodigy's new "autobiography" My Infamous Life. Referring to this book as a true autobiography seems a bit generous, as the style of writing might best be described as schizophrenic, alternating between Thun Language and proper grammar, as if Prodigy and his co-writer Laura Checkoway continually swapped turns at the keyboard while putting this together. The book begins with a less than auspicious start, as the very first sentence on the very first page has a glaring error; editorial issues aside, though, I have to admit this has been a fairly entertaining read. So on to the highlights of the first three chapters, in which Prodigy discusses his childhood and the start of Mobb Deep:
- His grandmother was a millionaire, earning her fortune as a performer and as owner of the Bernice Johnson Dance School, where Prodigy took dance classes (the "Ballerina P" phase of Prodigy's life).
- His mother was a member of the group The Crystals, famous for Da Doo Run Run and Then He Kissed Me.
- Due to his sickle-cell anemia, Prodigy was a "bubble boy" when he was four years old.
- As a child, Prodigy was offered the starring role in the Broadway play The Tap Dance Kid. He turned down the role, which eventually went to Alfonso Ribeiro (aka Carlton from Fresh Prince).
- He lost his virginity at age 11, to a girl on her period.
- He attempted suicide twice, with his mom walking in on him during the second attempt.
- Prodigy originally started rapping under the name Lord-T The Golden Child, a reference to Eddie Murphy's classic movie.
- He bought his first car at the age of 15 with cash he had raised by robbing kids from his neighborhood, driving around with tints on the windows because he had no driver's license or insurance.
- The first time Havoc met Prodigy, Hav planned to rob him until he found out that Prodigy had a record deal.
- Tragedy came up with the name "Havoc".
- Karate Joe (referenced on Party Over) is an actual martial arts expert.
- On their first meeting at Def Jam, Havoc accidentally shot one of the interns in the gut with Prodigy's gun. The bullets in the gun were so old they had mold on them, which caused an infection in the intern's intestines. "They had to take [the intestines] out and let them heal outside his body so the infection wouldn't spread." Ali Shaheed Muhammed, of A Tribe Called Quest, called the police and had Havoc arrested. This incident led Def Jam to hire full time security.
- The "Thun Language" was invented by a kid named Bumpy, who had a speech impediment that caused him to pronounce the letter "s" as "th".
- The general consensus in Queensbridge at the time of Illmatic's release was that Cormega was a better rapper than Nas.
- Prodigy and his crew invented the slang term for police, "jake," a name that they took from the 80's tv show Jake and the Fatman.
- During his recent stint in federal prison, Prodigy served time with former Tyco CEO Dennis Kozlowski.
And some of the best quotes:
- On learning that his great-great-great grandfather was Irish, and the founder of Morehouse College: "All I could think about was some white slave master raping my black ancestors. But then I learned to accept it."
- On hanging out with Emmanual Lewis when he was twelve years old: "I asked [Emmanual], 'Is Michael gay? What's up with him for real?' Webster acted as if he didn't hear my questions."
- On his first freestyle battle against Nas: "After I battled Nas, Nas told everybody that I sounded weak and corny and Havoc should go solo. I wasn't surprised."
- Describing a date with an older woman: "Money No and I were smirking at each other as Tonya served us drinks because the apartment was to' up from the flo' up. But those big asses Tonya and her sister had made us not care."
You can pick up a copy of My Infamous Life over on Amazon. It's unlikely you'll gain any intellectual benefit from it, but it is fairly entertaining.
5/1/2011 6:30:00 PM posted by Fresh