Prodigy Didn't Want To Respond To Tupac Dis, N.O.R.E. Says

N.O.R.E. contradicts account of events in Prodigy's autobiography.
By Rob Markman

Capone N Noreaga
Photo: MTV News

The accounts in Prodigy's newly released book "My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep's Prodigy" (Simon and Schuster) has fellow Queens rapper N.O.R.E. up in arms about P's recollection of things. On Wednesday, Noreaga spoke to MTV News and questioned why his longtime friend would bring up already-settled street beefs that eventually left two men shot.

The "Super Thug" rapper is also refuting Prodigy's claim that "L.A., L.A." — a 1996 dis song aimed at Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound and Tupac Shakur — was originally a Mobb Deep track. Noreaga goes on to say that originally, Prodigy wanted no parts of the much-hyped East Coast/ West Coast beef.

"Now, is he delusional?" Nore asked. "Have you seen the record ever been [credited as] Mobb Deep featuring Capone-N-Noreaga?"

The original "L.A., L.A." was recorded in 1996, and a remixed version later appeared on Capone-N-Noreaga's 1997 debut album The War Report. The track was a direct response to Tha Dogg Pound's "New York, New York" and its video, which famously featured larger-than-life versions of Snoop Dogg, Kurupt and Daz kicking over New York skyscrapers. While N.O.R.E. does admit that Prodigy originally had a verse on the C-N-N song, he says that P had his record label, Loud Records, request to have his verse removed.

"Loud called us and said, 'You have to make sure that Prodigy verse doesn't exist,' " Nore said. "What happened was in between that time 'Pac dropped ['Hit 'Em Up'] and said, 'Mobb Deep, don't one of you dudes got sickle-cell.' "

"L.A., L.A." provided a notable moment in the mid-'90's East Coast/ West Coast feud, when rappers from both New York and California hurled disses at each other. The late Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur were the principal players, but rappers like Nas, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep and Snoop Dogg were also called out at one point in the coastal rivalry.

In his book, Prodigy criticized Jay-Z for not standing up to 'Pac's slander, but Nore contends that originally Prodigy also had some apprehension in involving himself in the war of words. "So, even when he said he was mad at Jay-Z for not representing New York, he's delusional," he says. "['L.A., L.A.' wasn't him; that wasn't his idea. That was a Capone-N-Noreaga, Tragedy thing."

N.O.R.E. also points out another discrepancy in the autobiography that was released earlier this week. Prodigy claimed that his Mobb Deep counterpart Havoc once punched veteran Queensbridge rapper Tragedy in the face for having an affair with his girlfriend while Nore looked on.

"When he says that [Havoc] stepped to Trag and I was there, it was all fabricated," he says. "All I know from Havoc and Trag's relationship was that they were cool. So, when I read the book, and he's actually saying things that he's heard, maybe from his perspective, but he's definitely not speaking the truth when it comes to me."

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