DJ Premier Releases The Official Version Of His 1992 Collabo With Mobb Deep (Audio)

As Hip-Hop continues to mourn the sudden loss of Prodigy, who passed away on Tuesday (June 20) in Las Vegas, tributes are beginning to surface that celebrate the man and his musical legacy. As was the case with many Hip-Hop legends like Nas, Biggie and JAY-Z, DJ Premier was one of the earliest producers to work with the Mobb Deep, the dynamic duo of Prodigy and Havoc.

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One of the first records they ever did together was “Cop Hell.” Recorded in either 1992 or 1993 (Prodigy refers to it being 1992 on the recording, and Premier cites it as 1993, in his description), the song allegedly was intended for Mobb’s debut album Juvenile Hell, which was released in 1993. According to Premier’s statement accompanying his release of the song today (June 22), it was pulled from the album, amidst the sea of controversy that was then surrounding Ice-T’s song “Cop Killer,” which had drawn intense scrutiny for Time Warner, the record’s distributor. As a result, Mobb Deep’s 4th & Broadway label (also the first home to Eric B. & Rakim) opted not to release “Cop Hell.”

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While the song has surfaced in various iterations over the years, Premier has now released the official version as a tribute to Prodigy. At approximately 17 years old at the time, it is amazing to hear how youthful the young P sounds. The raspy menace that would evolve and add true grit to Mobb Deep’s later records was yet to settle into its final form.

Here’s what Preemo had to say about the record:

“THIS SONG WAS PULLED FROM THE “JUVENILE HELL” LP AFTER THE WHOLE ICE-T “COP KILLER” SONG WAS SHOCKING THE WORLD; SO MOBB DEEP’s LABEL 4TH & B’WAY REMOVED IT AS WELL…

SOME COPIES LEAKED, BUT MOST DJ’s DON’T HAVE IT.

ME, PRODIGY AND HAVOC GOT PULLED OVER BY THE COPS IN 1993 AND THEY WERE ON SOME FOUL SHIT, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO GET AWAY WITHOUT THEM FINDING OUT HOW DIRTY THE CAR WAS BACK THEN…

SO WE WROTE THIS SONG ABOUT IT…

HERE IT IS UNCUT…

WE ARE GONNA MISS YOU PRODIGY…(R.I.P.)

CONDOLENCES TO HIS FAMILY…”