Akashic Remembers Albert “Prodigy” Johnson

We are torn apart at the news today of the passing of rapper/author Albert “Prodigy” Johnson, reportedly due to conditions related to his sickle cell anemia, which he struggled with for most of his life. Prodigy entered the rap game as a young teen and he was half of the group Mobb Deep (the other half being Havoc). He continued making music in his twenties, thirties, and early forties. He performed as recently as this past weekend in Las Vegas, so his death comes as a complete and total shock—he was a mere 42 years old.

We had the pleasure of hosting Prodigy’s Infamous Books imprint for several years, producing books like HNIC by Prodigy and Steven Savile, White House by JaQuavis Coleman, Black Lotus by K’wan, and Swing by Miasha. He is pictured above at the Akashic office signing copies of HNIC.

Prodigy was one of the toughest guys I’ve known, but this never kept him from being a true gentleman in all of our dealings with him. He was passionate and compassionate, a man of honor and integrity. His battles with sickle cell gave him a deep appreciation of the value of life, and healthy living was one of the gospels he preached.

We lost Prodigy way too young, but his legacy of music and writing will live forever.

—Johnny Temple

Posted: Jun 20, 2017

Category: News | Tags: Albert "Prodigy" Johnson, HNIC, Infamous Books, Johnny Temple