It was one year ago today that Hip-Hop fell into a state of mourning after news surfaced that Mobb Deep’s Prodigy passed away from complications with sickle cell anemia.


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The New York-bred MC struggled with the disease for years. He even released a song addressing his battle with sickle cell on his debut album, H.N.I.C., called “You Can Never Feel My Pain.” The track dropped 18 years ago, and was used to explain the effects the arduous disease had on this life since birth.

“Nineteen seventy four/motherf—ker I was born with pain/My moms and my pops pass it down to me/So don’t talk to me about can I feel yours/Cause I ain’t feeling you at all, your pain isn’t pure.”

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He even used the single to talk about his addiction to the medicine he needed to get through the day and his recurrent visits to the ER.

“And through the years that pain became my friend; sedated/With morphine as a little kid/I built a tolerance for drugs, addicted to the medicine/Now hospital emergency treat me like a fiend/I rather die sometimes I wish a n—a OD/Begging God for help, only to find/That I’m all by my Godd—n self.”

Although Prodigy survived the disease for several decades, his plight with sickle cell came to an end when he became too weak to eat and passed away from an accidental choking involving an egg.

Now, one year after his passing, friends, family and fans are remembering the HNIC with their words, videos and tributes to the late rapper, including Havoc, who’s giving fans an exclusive listen of unreleased Mobb Deep freestyles to honor his partner in rhyme.

Check out how Hip-Hop is paying homage to the cultural heavyweight below.