Mobb Deep and Jay-Z end their feud

By: Yves Erwin Salomon

Queensbridge, New York-based rap duo Mobb Deep release their new album, Blood Money, today (May 2nd) on 50 Cent's G-Unit label. The label change isn't the only thing that's new with the duo, as they've resolved their five-year-old beef with Jay-Z. The group has agreed to executive-produce Sam Scarfo's debut album, which will be released through Jay-Z's Def Jam Records. Mobb Deep's Prodigy explained that they were able to resolve their differences after a sit-down was set up by a mutual friend. Prodigy told MTV.com, "Me and Jay-Z had a sit-down over it. We ironed out our little differences. We reached out to each other like, 'Let's have a sit-down, have a meeting.'It's all business, it's all good. Basically, (the meeting) was (put together) through our manager Storm. Storm also manages Scarfo." As for Scarfo's project, Prodigy explained, "We're going to help him with a little bit as far as the beats and all that."

The beef between Mobb Deep and Jay-Z began in 2001 when Prodigy took a couple of shots at Jay-Z during a Source magazine interview. The conflict rose to another level at the 2001 Summer Jam concert in New York City when Jay-Z displayed on the big screen a picture of Prodigy as an adolescent dressed up in a Michael Jackson outfit, while also attacking the rapper's street credibility in a verse that would later be included on the song "Takeover" from Jay-Z's The Blueprint.

Prodigy fired back at Jay-Z on several mixtapes and Mobb Deep released the song "Burn" featuring Vita and Big Noyd. At the height of the beef in 2001, Prodigy downplayed the situation as just rap music drama. He said: "I mean, you know, it is what it is, you know what I'm sayin'? It's drama with rap music, you know what I'm sayin? It's drama with the crews, whatever, you know what I'm sayin'? It is what it is. He dissed me, I dissed him, back and forth, you know what I'm sayin'? It's just how it is, know what I mean?"