Havoc and Prodigy, as the duo Mobb Deep, played a seminal role in the evolution of East Coast hip-hop in the 1990s. While Figures such as Diddy and Biggie Smalls produced lavish, glossy rap music, Mobb Deep brought the sound back to the streets alongside acts such as Nas and Big L.
One of Mobb Deep’s most renowned projects is their 1995 sophomore album, The Infamous. With appearances from the likes of Nas, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, and Q-Tip, the classic boasted some of the 1990s biggest hits, most notably ‘Shook Ones (Part II)’ and ‘Quiet Storm.’
Released in 1995, ‘Shook Ones, Pt. II’ was released as a follow-up to their 1994 hit of the same name and is considered one of the collective’s greatest hits. However, in an interview for Vevo’s YouTube series ‘Footnotes’, Havoc unveiled that he didn’t have the best experience on the set of the ‘Shook Ones, Pt. II’ music video.
Opening up about the video’s recording process, Havoc (real name Kejuan Muchita) unveiled that he nearly got electrocuted to death. Filmed in Long Island City in Queens around the Queensbridge Houses, the visuals for the single are legendary.
Opening up to Vevo about the recording process, Muchita explained, “One shocking moment was when me and a guy from my block got into an argument because he felt he wasn’t getting enough shine in the video. We started fighting, and we both fell into a puddle of water, and one of the movie lights fell in it with us. We could have gotten electrocuted to death. That was wild.”
Before speaking to Vevo, during an appearance on SiriusXM’s ‘Shade 45’, Muchita disclosed that the single and The Infamous are his two favourite Mobb Deep productions.
Explaining Why, the rhymer stated, “A lot of the supporters be like, ‘Yo, Infamous is dope, but Hell on Earth is crazy.’ But, for me, the reason why I say The Infamous [over Hell on Earth is] because without The Infamous album bringing us back from an album that didn’t really do good [Juvenile Hell], we probably wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you.”
You can listen to Havoc explaining his near-death experience in the video below.
