While purists look fondly look back at the early '90s as a superior era in Hip Hop, the truth of the matter is when it was good, it was great; when it was bad, it was horrible. To make up for this disparity, the culture slowly evolved into two different sounds—underground and commercial.

C-Rayz Walz and Prodigy are virtual polar opposites, as distinct as rappers can be: underground and commercial; G-Unit and independent. But at the Midstate Correctional Facility in Marcy, New York the two find the middle ground, discovering any differences between underground and mainstream rap can be reconciled.

When one focused on lyrics and wordplay to build a buzz, the other used gangsta imagery and slick production to make it to the top. And while some artists—like a ’95 Jay-Z or a ’99 Eminem—catapulted from underground fame to superstardom, the two genres (like the two rappers) never really interacted until now—and it took the permission of the New York State Department of Corrections to get it done.

So for the first time in rap history, a backpacker interviews a commercial rapper—in jail.

C-Rayz Walz: You're still that same nigga I used to wild out with back in the days. With all of the shadiness in this industry, how do stay grounded without totally losing it and really doing some violent shit?
Prodigy: Really, it’s my partner [Havoc] you know what I mean. My name should be Havoc and his name should be Prodigy. That’s our character really. I’ll be ready to really hurt somebody and Hav will be the one to tell me, "Yo chill. Don’t do that. We gotta worry about our careers." We keep each other balanced. Hav will be the one that will chill me the fuck out. Sometimes it’s opposite. But most of the time, he’ll be the one to tell me to chill the fuck out.

C-Rayz Walz: I always want people to ask me this but they never do. What made you realize that you wanted to make music for a living instead of a full life of crime?
Prodigy: I was raised by good parents and a family that influenced me to do positive things in life. Instead of criminal things, you know what I’m saying. I ended up doing music, and doing something good with myself.

C-Rayz Walz: Is/are there anyone out right now that you're feeling? Why/why not?
Prodigy: That’s a hard question, but there are a few people. Lil Wayne [click to read], he got fire right now. I like Juelz Santana [click to read]. He got fire. There’s not too many people I’m feeling though, man. Of course, the love of my G-Unit [click to read] brothers is doing it. Tony Yayo—he be killing it all the time; 50 [Cent] of course. People like to talk down on Mobb Deep and G-Unit for some strange reason. Like, "[Why they] thinking they hot?" or some shit. Like it’s wrong for me to think that 50’s hot or Yayo’s hot. People would think that’s the wrong kind of answer, but, those are my answers.

C-Rayz Walz: Of all the collabs you've done, what's been your favorite and why?
Prodigy: I don’t even know. I can’t even say, man. I don’t even know man. Probably…maybe like, working with [Big] Pun on ["Tres Leches"]. He was just a fun dude to be around. That dude was mad funny, yo. I had a lot of fun with that nigga. Hanging out with Pun was crazy. The song we did was one of the illest songs in rap music. RZA [click to read] did the beat. It was me, Pun and Inspectah Deck [click to read] from Wu-Tang. It was an ill song.

C-Rayz Walz: True Mobb fans have been die hard from the beginning, why do you think they remain loyal after so long?
Prodigy: Because they were like raised on our music and we try to always give that same feeling when we do our beats and our lyrics. We try to make something that you gonna feel in your soul. It’s like soul music. I think the fans, they identify with that. They know that Mobb Deep is gonna give you that shit. It’s a certain fix. It’s a certain high that you know you’re not gonna get from no where else but listening to our music. I’m gonna say things that no one else is gonna ever say and you’re gonna have a style of production that no one else can really do.

C-Rayz Walz: So many groups fall apart and have beef after a while together. How have you and Hav managed to stay strong after so long?
Prodigy: Me and Hav are like brothers, man. The way we just came up together, our friendship was real close. We understand that the music that we make is real important. Our goal was to last longer than these other groups. We always strived to last longer than them, be better than them. That was our goal, and it still is. Continued on page 2 »