As one of the less-heralded architects of '90s hardcore rap, Queens native producer-MC
Havoc (born Kejuan Muchita) never received the same level of credit accorded to
Wu-Tang Clan's
RZA, but his productions on his albums with
Prodigy as
Mobb Deep -- especially 1995's classic
The Infamous -- were among some of the starkest, grimiest, and deceptively musical beats of the era.
Havoc didn't keep his work strictly to
Mobb Deep releases. He granted early productions to
Nas'
It Was Written and
Nastradamus,
Capone-N-Noreaga's
The War Report,
the Notorious B.I.G.'s
Life After Death, and
Method Man's
Tical 2000: Judgement Day. While
Mobb Deep remained on ongoing concern throughout the 2000s,
Havoc also issued his first proper solo recordings, including The Kush (2007) and Hidden Files (2009). His
Mobb Deep partner chipped in on a track for each album. A rift between the two preceded
13 (2013), an album named after
Havoc's lucky number. It benefited from verses delivered by
Royce da 5'9" and
Raekwon and was quickly trailed by a production-oriented release, 13 Reloaded (2014). A full-length collaboration with the Alchemist, The Silent Partner (2016), arrived the same year
Havoc landed a pair of co-production credits on Kanye West's The Life of Pablo. ~ Andy Kellman