Prodigy, one half of iconic New York hip-hop duo Mobb Deep, has died at the age of 42.
According to XXL, he was found unconscious Tuesday morning and passed away, possibly from complications related to sickle cell anemia.
The group’s publicist gave more details in an official statement:
It is with extreme sadness and disbelief that we confirm the death of our dear friend Albert Johnson, better known to millions of fans as Prodigy of legendary NY rap duo Mobb Deep. Prodigy was hospitalized a few days ago in Vegas after a Mobb Deep performance for complications caused by a sickle cell anemia crisis. As most of his fans know, Prodigy battled the disease since birth. The exact causes of death have yet to be determined. We would like to thank everyone for respecting the family’s privacy at this time.
Mobb Deep performed in Las Vegas over the weekend as part of the Art of Rap tour. Ghostface Killah, Onyx, KRS-One, and Ice-T were also on the bill.
There was an outpouring of celebrity tweets and Instagrams honoring the rapper Tuesday afternoon:
Damn. RiP to the great one Prodigy. Rap game lost a legend the world lost a G. 🙏🏽 to and for his fam. Love. MOBB
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) June 20, 2017
https://www.instagram.com/p/BVkh6MEn7Sj/
https://twitter.com/sfj/status/877234097151717376
Damn, not Prodigy.. #RIP
— DRAM back (@DRAMsaid) June 20, 2017
RIP PRODIGY sleep well king…
— little farma (@stylesp) June 20, 2017
This prodigy shit hurts b
— Desus MF Nice💯 (@desusnice) June 20, 2017
And at least one fan on Twitter learned that her favorite lyric isn’t actually from “Hamilton“:
https://twitter.com/ayizzzle/status/877231556011667456
Mobb Deep’s biggest hits include “Quiet Storm” and “Shook Ones.” Listen to them below.