The Infamous: Where Are They Now?

Mobb Deep's seminal sophomore LP dropped 19 years ago.

The Infamous: Where Are They Now? - On April 25, 1995, Mobb Deep released their landmark sophomore album, The Infamous. With shockingly grimy lyrics from Havoc and Prodigy over stark, dramatic beats from Hav, the album was a pillar of East Coast rap's street-focused mid-'90s golden age. Today, nearly 20 years after the album was released, BET.com takes a look back at the key players that made The Infamous an undeniable classic. — Alex Gale(Photo: Courtesy Sony Music)

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The Infamous: Where Are They Now? - On April 25, 1995, Mobb Deep released their landmark sophomore album, The Infamous. With shockingly grimy lyrics from Havoc and Prodigy over stark, dramatic beats from Hav, the album was a pillar of East Coast rap's street-focused mid-'90s golden age. Today, nearly 20 years after the album was released, BET.com takes a look back at the key players that made The Infamous an undeniable classic. — Alex Gale(Photo: Courtesy Sony Music)

Big Noyd - Mobb Deep's right-hand man, Big Noyd's beautifully ignorant verse on "Give Up the Goods" immediately made him a hot commodity, and he signed to Tommy Boy and released Episodes of a Hustla the following year. His career has frequently been stalled by legal troubles — he was incarcerated when his debut album dropped — but he's continued to steal the show on Mobb albums and he releasesd his own music independently, including Queens Chronicle in 2010. (Photo: Courtesy E1 Records)

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Big Noyd - Mobb Deep's right-hand man, Big Noyd's beautifully ignorant verse on "Give Up the Goods" immediately made him a hot commodity, and he signed to Tommy Boy and released Episodes of a Hustla the following year. His career has frequently been stalled by legal troubles — he was incarcerated when his debut album dropped — but he's continued to steal the show on Mobb albums and he releasesd his own music independently, including Queens Chronicle in 2010. (Photo: Courtesy E1 Records)

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Nas - A year after reviving Queensbridge's musical legacy with his classic debut, Illmatic, Nas delivered an amazing sing-songy verse on Mobb Deep's "Eye for an Eye (Your Beef Is Mines)." He's established himself as a rap legend in the years since, in case you haven't noticed. Nas and Mobb have had a rocky relationship, as detailed in his 2001 song "Destroy and Rebuild" and Prodigy's 2011 memoir My Infamous Life, but they've patched things up, as Nas appeared on Mobb's appetite-whetting Black Cocaine EP in 2011. Nas' last album, Life Is Good, was widely hailed as one of the best rap albums of 2012 and he celebrated the 20th anniversay of his own classic debut with Illmatic XX, released April 15, 2014.(Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images)

Crystal Johnson - Singer Crystal Johnson is the husky, soulful alto featured on the hook for album highlight "Temperature's Rising." She'd already been featured on Heavy D's 1994 hit "Got Me Waiting" and went on to work with Dr. Dre, Usher, Anthony Hamilton and others. In 2011, she released her solo debut, The Day Before Heaven.  (Photo: Courtesy Myspace)

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Crystal Johnson - Singer Crystal Johnson is the husky, soulful alto featured on the hook for album highlight "Temperature's Rising." She'd already been featured on Heavy D's 1994 hit "Got Me Waiting" and went on to work with Dr. Dre, Usher, Anthony Hamilton and others. In 2011, she released her solo debut, The Day Before Heaven.  (Photo: Courtesy Myspace)

Q-Tip (@QTipTheAbstract) - TWEET: "listen rush simmons, toure, and all Black folk who are sympathist to this gwen paltrow n---a thing…"   Q-Tip disagrees with Russell Simmons and Toure about Gwyneth Paltrow's use of the N-word in a recent tweet referring to the Jay-Z and Kanye West song "N----s in Paris."(Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

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Q-Tip - An early friend and fan of his young Queens compatriots, unexpected guest Q-Tip broke up the dark and stormy undertones of Havoc's production by remaking earlier versions of "Temperature's Rising" and "Drink Away the Pain" with his own bouncier beats and also kicking a tongue-in-cheek rhyme on the latter. However, Tip played a less recognized behind-the-scenes role as well, helping to mix records, program drums and mentor Hav. It was some of his earliest work outside of A Tribe Called Quest, and he followed it up by embarking on a successful, if sporadic, solo career a few years later. After producing for Kanye West and Jay Z on Watch the Throne, Tip signed a deal with Yeezy's G.O.O.D. Music imprint and is working on his third album, The Last Zulu.(Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

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Raekwon - "My condolences goes to him and his family! R.I.P. HEV!" (Photo: Adrian Sidney/PictureGroup)

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Raekwon - 1995 was a massive year for the Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon, who was behind two classics that year: his own solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, and The Infamous, which features razor-sharp Rae verses on both "Right Back at You" and "Eye for an Eye (Your Beef Is Mines)" — he arguably outshines Nas on the latter. Raekwon, already a hip hop hall of famer, revived his solo career with a 2009 sequel to his debut album and also dropped a dope mixtape in 2012, Unexpected Victory, which featured a guest spot from Mobb Deep. The Chef is now in the kitchen cooking up his new F.I.L.A.  album, which is slated to drop in 2014.(Photo: Adrian Sidney/PictureGroup)

Chi Modu - Photographer Chi Modu, photo director for The Source during most of its '90s heyday, took the simple but unforgettable images for the album cover. Through his 21-year career, Modu's taken iconic shots, including ones of The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Snoop Dogg and more. His work continues to be featured in galleries, private collections, movies, television shows and commercials.(Photo: Courtesy Facebook)

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Chi Modu - Photographer Chi Modu, photo director for The Source during most of its '90s heyday, took the simple but unforgettable images for the album cover. Through his 21-year career, Modu's taken iconic shots, including ones of The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Snoop Dogg and more. His work continues to be featured in galleries, private collections, movies, television shows and commercials.(Photo: Courtesy Facebook)

Matty C - Matty C, aka Matt Life — who had already left his mark on hip hop by helping to discover The Notorious B.I.G. as an editor at The Source — executive-produced the album along with Schott Free, his fellow Loud Records A&R. He also co-produced the album closer, "Party's Over." Matty is currently a DJ and radio host and is often featured in documentaries about Biggie's career. (Photo: Courtesy eastvillageradio.com)

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Matty C - Matty C, aka Matt Life — who had already left his mark on hip hop by helping to discover The Notorious B.I.G. as an editor at The Source — executive-produced the album along with Schott Free, his fellow Loud Records A&R. He also co-produced the album closer, "Party's Over." Matty is currently a DJ and radio host and is often featured in documentaries about Biggie's career. (Photo: Courtesy eastvillageradio.com)

Schott Free - As an A&R at Loud Records, Schott Free executive-produced the album along with Matty C and also co-produced "Right Back at You." Schott Free is now a DJ and on-air personality on the Frozen File internet radio show alongside Matty. (Photo: Courtesy eastvillageradio.com)

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Schott Free - As an A&R at Loud Records, Schott Free executive-produced the album along with Matty C and also co-produced "Right Back at You." Schott Free is now a DJ and on-air personality on the Frozen File internet radio show alongside Matty. (Photo: Courtesy eastvillageradio.com)

Ghostface Killah - Ghostface Killah traded vicious bars with his right-hand man Raekwon on the Mobb's "Right Back at You," following the formula of Rae's classic solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, which dropped that same year. Soon after, he dropped his own dope solo LP, Ironman, and went on to become the most prolific and active member of the Wu. He dropped Apollo Kids in 2010 and spit a lethal verse in 2012 on G.O.O.D. Music's "New God Flow." He's currently working on a sequel to his 2000 magnum opus, Supreme Clientele, as well as Wu-Tang's reunion project, A Better Tomorrow.  (Photo: Andrew Marks/PictureGroup)

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Ghostface Killah - Ghostface Killah traded vicious bars with his right-hand man Raekwon on the Mobb's "Right Back at You," following the formula of Rae's classic solo debut, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, which dropped that same year. Soon after, he dropped his own dope solo LP, Ironman, and went on to become the most prolific and active member of the Wu. He dropped Apollo Kids in 2010 and spit a lethal verse in 2012 on G.O.O.D. Music's "New God Flow." He's currently working on a sequel to his 2000 magnum opus, Supreme Clientele, as well as Wu-Tang's reunion project, A Better Tomorrow.  (Photo: Andrew Marks/PictureGroup)

"Say Something" - "I am not normal, let me be the first to warn ya," announces Havoc over Illmind's bouncing synths. The Mobb's chemistry explodes as they trade intricate flows. Prodigy follows up spitting flawlessly, dropping simple couplets that unfold with multiple meanings to those familiar with The Mobb's past.(Photo: Johnny Nunez/WireImage)

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Mobb Deep - After The Infamous made them hip hop heavyweights, Mobb Deep continued to drop great albums over their two-decade career, including Hell on Earth and Murda Musik. Their legacy was put on hold in 2008 when Prodigy served a three-year bid for weapons possession, but they returned with the Black Cocaine EP in 2011. In 2012, their legendary career took a bizarre turn when Havoc's Twitter page was inundated with a series of messages deriding Prodigy, accusing him of engaging in homosexual relations and threatening him physically. Hav blamed the inflammatory tweets on a lost cellphone, but many critics — and audio of a leaked phone call — cast doubt on his story. He later fessed up to writing the tweets. But Prodigy and Hav say that's all water under the bridge now as they reunited in March 2013 to perform on the Paid Dues tour. The Mobb has been back together sinc...

Photo By Johnny Nunez/WireImage