Mobb Deep has gone to war to good and bad results with the best of them. When the West Coast began firing shots at the East on record, the Mobb was among the first ones to grab their verbal guns and fire back, as they licked off countless shots at Left Coast figures like the late Tupac Shakur. At the height of Jay-Z’s career, they jousted, and some might argue, directed their entire “Infamy” album at the self-proclaimed god MC. But there have always been a fair share of Mobb Deep critics who’ve claimed their tough talk is just a façade, and that they’re act too gangsta for their own good.
Now, they face an even greater task, as Littles, their once QB comrade and manager, has waged an all out lyrical street war against Mobb Deep. Littles charges that the duo has exercised poor business practices and overall disloyalty to their QB affiliates like Big Noyd, Bars and Hooks, and Infamous Mobb. To punctuate his point, Littles has released “What’s Beef: F**k Prodigy,” a mixtape that’s bubbling in the streets, reaffirms that Mobb has split and he blasts his former brethren like never before. Let the beef cook:
AllHipHop.com: A lot of people know you’ve been associated with Mobb Deep for a long time. You’ve been on their albums, they’ve been on yours. You’ve put out their DVDs. You’ve managed them. Is there an exact reason for this beef with Mobb Deep or is it just a buildup of things?
Littles: It’s a buildup of things for themselves going through problems, but there’s an exact reason for me. And the exact reason for me is basically knowing someone for 20 years and then at the end of the day, getting a 2way from someone wanting to go their own direction. Not wanting to be a part of a group is one thing, but not wanting to be part of a company that’s already up and running is another thing. Basically, Prodigy wanted out all the way after I’ve done nothing but sacrifice my life and time and energy for the longest dealing with this Infamous Records thing.
AllHipHop.com: What was the driving force behind Prodigy wanting to end the company?
Littles: I think the driving force behind him wanting to end the company was him wanting to do what he’s doing with Alchemist. Prodigy probably had a million things, but I’ve learned that he’s the type of person that will have good intentions in the beginning, but when things seem to hard or they don’t work right, he’ll just give up. Prodigy has been getting his chain taken for years, he’s been getting beat up and herbed for years. He’ll promise you something and then give you a wrong number or change his number, or just never answer you back until one day you run into him. And that’s what happened on the side of Nas Central Park stage. Someone just happened to run into him after a year of trying to get in contact with him for something they had already started on. And the brush-in began. And what did Littles do? He jumped in the middle, deaded the brush-in, caused myself to have my friends and their friends shooting at each other in the projects, going to war over someone who doesn’t know what loyalty is. It’s proven that they don’t know what loyalty is, because look where Noyd is- he’s in the projects hurting, on the train. Look where Bars & Hooks are- they’re in the projects hurting, sitting on a bench. Infamous Mobb is the same way. And for years the mindset has been, ‘One more Mobb Deep album, when this blow up, then we’ll focus on everyone else’s album.’ That s**t has been like that album after album, the same talk. That’s where the black couch comes into play. In every studio there’s a black couch. That’s where all the flunkies sit and wait for their career to come to them, and I just refuse to be a part of that black couch.
AllHipHop.com: Would you say you have some issues with Alchemist that sort of conflict with your relationship with Prodigy?
Littles: Actually, I didn’t have anything with Alchemist. What happened was that Alchemist got smacked up and got his chain taken by someone who was affiliated with all of us, and I was guilty by association and they wanted to know why I didn’t stop it. The whole thing is, Alchemist is a grown man. He’s defenseless to me. But what happens is that he put himself in a situation of selling beats and re-selling beats, and getting a bad name for himself around the camp. He’s the same dude who plugged Tru Life into what studio Mobb Deep records in, and had Tru Life come in there and strip all of Mobb Deep’s friends, beat everybody up with guns, blew a shotgun off in the studio. They weren’t wrong for how they felt because Prodigy did a song with them for a lot of money and then re-spit his verse on a mixtape, but it shows you that no matter how defenseless you are, you can still be harmful. By Alchemist letting Tru Life know what studio Mobb Deep was in – he was there and they didn’t touch him. I would watch money transfers and you see Mobb Deep do six or seven songs for him on his album for free, and then you get an invoice from him for double digits and big points, I’m thinking something’s wrong here because things are conflicting here. But at the end of the day, it was just Alchemist and Prodigy breaking money up. The smartest thing that Alchemist has ever done is stay away from the shadows of that pen and paperwork with them. I actually respect his hustle.
Allhiphop: What did P say on the 2way you mentioned?
Littles: [Reading the 2way message] From Prodigy, on October 29th, 2004, 12:07 PM:
You’re going to have to excuse me for not responding right away, I’m still upset over what n##### did to Alchemist, and trust, I’m more upset with myself than anybody else for even being a part of this Mobb Deep s### still, when I had the opportunity to do my own thing when we got off of Loud. When you saw Al around us, the only reason he was there was because of me. He is my producer/dj. I brought him in. Maybe you didn’t know it, but me and him are a team, and I f#### with dun. [At press time Prodigy was unavailable for comment or to verify the validity of this message.]
I’ma stop there. We were all supposed to be a team. When I took off from doing my DVDs to handle their business, I’m the one who sent them around the world. It was their contacts, because for years I traveled with them and stayed in contact with people. They sit down to do radio and then leave. They don’t even know the deejay’s name that they’re dealing. They’re so busy trying to get back to the hotel and jump b###### off. I’m getting numbers, setting up events trying to get money and breaking bread with people. I’m thinking of being a millionaire while they’re trapped in the lifestyles of thousandaires.
AllHipHop.com: How do you stand right now with Havoc?
Littles: It’s whatever. He’s just living on the strength of Killa Black. That was my partner who killed himself. And the reason why he killed himself was because of them. Havoc used to steal my work and Killa’s work. We used to pay for their sneakers and timbs back in the day, before they even came out with the first album. And what happens is, they start moving all around the world, and they leave Killa back in the projects f***ed up and bleeding. And he winds up murdering himself. On the strength of that being his brother, I’m not even f***ing with him. He’s a part of the struggle and leaving n***as behind. Don’t get it twisted. But I’m not gonna focus on him, because Prodigy is the one who sent me that email. Havoc wanted to have dinner with me. I actually quit and wanted to let them know I wanted to do my own thing. I wished them the best. I’m hitting Prodigy trying to see if we could go out to dinner, and then a week later he hits me back with that silly s**t, so that just sparked me off.
AllHipHop.com: At the end of the day, do you feel like they hold you responsible for the Alchemist situation?
Littles: At the end of the day, I don’t care if they hold me responsible. Alchemist has to hold himself responsible. When someone came to him and said they had someone who wanted to do a track for ten grand, and then the next morning you get up and go through someone else to do it, and cut off that original person, you create that situation for yourself. What do I have to save Alchemist for? He’s a grown man. If you can tell someone the studio that you’re people are in so they can get robbed, then you can hold yourself down. They’re to be held responsible. I wish them two the best, and I hope that everything I’m doing brings them back together. And I hope they see the s**t they’re doing to people around them. You can’t be in the game for 15 years and not have any other businesses set up. They’re not ready to be businessmen and entrepreneurs, they’re still artists living in a fantasy world because neither of them n****s are from the curb. He’s walking around with his face screwed up, 110 pounds. I’m walking around happy every day. Why? Because I spent five years of my life for 23 hours a day caged in a cell. I was shot at the age of 13. I’m from the f***ing ghetto. I don’t have no friends. All my friends are dead, locked up, or strung out on f***ing drugs. I’m a survivor.
AllHipHop.com: You have “What’s Beef: F**k Prodigy” out in the streets right now. What’s the reaction been so far?
Littles: I pressed ten thousand, they’re flying. Big Mike took five, I took five. I did the interview on Kay Slay. I’m getting the word out. I’m trying to change things. I’m not trying to battle these dudes and win over their fans, because Mobb Deep’s album sales are declining. They’ve lost fans. This album is not even going gold. It’s not like these are platinum artists and I can reveal them and blow up. Look, he went back and got Craig Mack to get on a song with him, so now he’s calling Infamous Mobb and them.
AllHipHop.com: Where do you see this whole situation going in the future?
Littles: They’ve tasted too much stardom, so to now sell 300 thousand records, they’re not eating at all. They’re either gonna go one of two ways. They’re gonna think Littles is right, and start putting other dudes on, and start eating off of them, which they’re supposed to do. Or, they’re just going to be the legendary group who used to be Mobb Deep. One or the other.
AllHipHop.com: So what’s in store for Littles and Best of the Block?
Littles: Right now, we’ve got Top Gunna, Bandanna, and a new artist from Memphis that I’m about to sign. And I’ve got a few different label situations and joint venture situations on the table. And I’m gonna continue with the CD’s and DVD’s. I don’t need a thousand mothaf***as from Queensbridge on my record to sell. You’re gonna buy my record because you want to hear the truth, and want to get some good tips from someone who’s out there hustling and getting s**t done. Or you can go f**k with someone who doesn’t really live it and don’t give a f**k about their community. Me and Ron Artest are the only people from QB that give back to the community. I wish Mobb Deep the best, and I pray they read this and realize they can’t do s**t without each other. A friend is someone who is there for you when you’re down and up, bottom line.