Havoc (musician)

This article is about the East Coast rapper. For the West Coast rapper Havocc, see South Central Cartel.

Havoc
Havoc performing in 2014
Havoc performing in 2014
Background information
Birth nameKejuan Waliek Muchita
Born (1974-05-21) May 21, 1974 (age 50)
Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
OriginQueens, New York City, U.S.
GenresEast Coast hip hop
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • songwriter
  • record producer
Years active1991–present
Labels
Formerly of
Websitehavocofmobbdeep.com

Kejuan Waliek Muchita (born May 21, 1974), better known by his stage name Havoc, is an American rapper and record producer. He was one half of the hip hop duo Mobb Deep with Prodigy.

Biography

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Havoc was born in Brooklyn and raised in the Queensbridge Houses. At a later age, Havoc found out his paternal grandfather was jazz musician Bill Dixon. In his teenage years, he shot a Def Jam employee in the belly by accident.[1] He graduated from the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, New York in 1992, where he met Prodigy. He is one half of the iconic hip hop duo Mobb Deep, and in addition to producing nearly the entire Mobb Deep catalogue, has also produced songs for MCs such as The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, Nas, Raekwon, 50 Cent, 112, Method Man, Mariah Carey, Puff Daddy, Kanye West, LL Cool J, Rohff, Big Noyd, Lil' Kim, Capone-N-Noreaga, Foxy Brown, Onyx, and his partner Prodigy on his solo work. In 2005, Mobb Deep recorded for fellow Queens rapper 50 Cent's record label G-Unit Records and left the label in 2009, in a mutually agreed-to release.[2]

Havoc is renowned as one of the most iconic figures in New York hip hop. Popular music magazine Complex ranked Havoc among the top hip hop producers of 1995 after The Infamous.[3] Beattips.com ranked him as the 24th most influential beatmaker of all time[4] citing his dual abilities of rapping and producing. Following The Infamous, he tweaked his skills and transitioned to a more atmospheric production style that incorporated samples from classical music, most notably visible on the 1996 album Hell on Earth. As a rapper, he is known for his hardcore lyricism and consistent flow. He also contributed background vocals and a verse on Black Moon's debut album Enta da Stage in 1993.

In July 2009, Havoc was featured alongside in J Dilla's music video for "24K Rap" off of the Jay Stay Paid album, the video was directed by Derek Pike. In 2010, Havoc produced a beat for Eminem that resulted in a song called "Untitled" which is a hidden track on Eminem's album Recovery and contributed to the iTunes bonus track to Raekwon's album Shaolin vs. Wu-Tang & Bad Meets Evil's Hell: The Sequel EP. He revealed that he plans to record a new Mobb Deep album with Nas.[5] His third studio album 13 was released on May 7, 2013.

Havoc worked with Kavinsky on his 2013 album OutRun. He wrote the lyrics and sang the vocals for "Suburbia", the sixth track on the album.[6] In 2016, Havoc helped produce "Real Friends" and "Famous", two tracks on Kanye West's album The Life of Pablo.[7]

His original productions have been featured in numerous commercially successful films, well known television series and popular video games, and he is a character in Def Jam: Fight For NY.[8] Havoc produced the New York Yankees official 2020 anthem, "Squad Up", that features verses from both Havoc and Method Man.

Feuds

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Prodigy

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In July 2012, Havoc wrote a series of derogatory comments about Prodigy on Twitter, after Prodigy denied engaging in homosexual relationships in prison.[9] At first, Havoc claimed that his Twitter account was hacked.[10] However, he later confirmed that he wrote the tweets and expressed his frustrations with Prodigy in an interview with AllHipHop.[11] He stated that Mobb Deep was on an "indefinite hiatus" until the duo worked out their differences. Havoc later released a diss track aimed at Prodigy, which was titled "Separated (Real from the Fake)".[12] Prodigy did not respond to Havoc's song and even stated publicly that Mobb Deep would eventually reconcile.[13] In March 2013, the duo announced that they had reconciled and were going on tour.[14]

Discography

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See also: Havoc production discography and Mobb Deep discography

Studio albums

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Collaboration albums

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  • 2016: The Silent Partner (with The Alchemist)
  • 2020: In the Name of Prodigy (with Flee Lord)
  • 2021: Extreme Measures (with Dark Lo)[15]
  • 2021: Future of the Streets (Deluxe Edition) (with Nyce da Future)
  • 2021: Wreckage Manner (with Styles P)

Mixtapes

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  • 2007: The One and Only
  • 2009: From Now On (The Mixtape)

Instrumental albums

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  • 2013: Beats Collection
  • 2013: Beats Collection 2

Extended plays

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  • 2021: Future of the Streets (with Nyce da Future)

Singles

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  • 2007: "I'm the Boss"
  • 2007: "Be There"
  • 2009: "Watch Me" (Feat. Ricky Blaze)
  • 2009: "Heart of the Grind"
  • 2009: "H Is Back"
  • 2009: "Always Have a Choice"
  • 2010: "If You Love Me" (Feat. Sheek Louch, Joell Ortiz & Cassidy)
  • 2012: "Same Shit, Different Day"
  • 2012: "Separated (Real from the Fake)" (Feat. Ferg Brim)
  • 2013: "Gritty" (Instrumental)
  • 2013: "Tell Me to My Face" (Feat. Royce da 5'9")
  • 2013: "Gone"
  • 2013: "Life We Chose" (Feat. Lloyd Banks)
  • 2013: "Life We Chose" (Remix) (Feat. Prodigy, Lloyd Banks)

Guest Shots

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  • 1993: U Da Man ---- Black Moon, Smif-n-Wessun, Dru Ha
  • 1995: Da Funk Mode ---- Tragedy
  • 1995:[16] Let's Be Specific ---- Funkmaster Flex, Freddie Foxxx, Tragedy, Cool Whip, Raekwon
  • 1996: [17] No Doubt ---- Tyrone Wheatley
  • 1996: The Promise ---- Foxy Brown
  • 1997: Parole Violators ---- Capone-n-Noreaga
  • 1997: [18] Adidas ---- Mademen, Man Terror
  • 1998: [19] Figaro Chain ---- La the Darkman
  • 1999: Suspect Niggaz ---- O.G.C, Buckshot
  • 1999: "Triflin' (Mobb Deep Remix)" ---- Coko
  • 2000: On the Real ---- Screwball
  • 2000: Wanna Be Thugs; Dealt with the Bullshit ---- Prodigy
  • 2000: We Live This ---- Big Noyd, Roxanne Shante
  • 2001:[20] Don't Wanna Fuck With ---- High & Mighty, R.A. the Rugged Man
  • 2001:[21] Worst Comes to Worst ---- Dilated Peoples, Guru
  • 2001:[22] Crawl Back Under that Rock; Lesson Learned ---- David Jones
  • 2002: Thug Chronicles ---- Kool G Rap
  • 2002: Hold Up ---- Tony Touch, Onyx
  • 2003: The Code; Fall Back ---- Tragedy Khadafi
  • 2003: King of Kings ---- Raekwon
  • 2003: Noyd Holding It Down; Air It Out ---- Big Noyd
  • 2003: Hold It Now ---- Lil Kim
  • 2004: D-Block to QB ---- The Alchemist, Lox
  • 2005: [23] Angel Dust ---- Cormega
  • 2007: That's That ----- Prodigy
  • 2009: [24] Define Yourself; Love Your Family ---- Cormega
  • 2009: Evil Deeds ---- RZA, Ghostface KIllah
  • 2009: Who Dat Guy ---- R.A. the Rugged Man
  • 2010: Do It to Death ---- Statik Selektah, Kool G Rap
  • 2011: Your World and My World ---- Raekwon
  • 2013:[25] Camouflage Unicorns --- N.O.R.E., Tragedy
  • 2013: R.I.P. ---- Prodigy, Raekwon
  • 2014: A Day in the Life ---- A-Villa, Freeway, AZ
  • 2020: Juvenile Hell ---- Conway the Machine, Flee Lord, Lloyd Banks
  • 2020: Way Up ---- Statik Selektah, Bun B, Supreme
  • 2021: Bound to Take Losses ---- Flee Lord
  • 2022: Corvette Rally Strips ---- Currensy, Alchemist
  • 2022: Paradise ---- Cormega
  • 2024: [26] War Ruckas ---- El Camino
  • 2024: Had It Coming ---- 38 Spesh, Lloyd Banks

Video game appearances

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Havoc is a playable character in the video game Def Jam: Fight for NY.

References

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  1. ^ Kweli, Talib (August 3, 2023). "Mobb Deep's Havoc Goes Deep On Prodigy, "Shook Ones Pt. II," His Production, & More". People's Party with Talib Kweli, on UPROXX Video. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  2. ^ Langhorne, Cyrus (November 10, 2009). "50 Cent Released Mobb Deep From G-Unit Records, Says Game Is Still Signed To His Label". Sohh.Com. Archived from the original on May 29, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  3. ^ (Multiple), (Multiple) (December 17, 2018). "Best Hip Hop Producer Alive Every Year Since 1979". Complex. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  4. ^ "BeatTips Top 30 Beatmakers of All Time: Havoc (of Mobb Deep)". BeatTips. September 7, 2014. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  5. ^ Vasquez, Andres (May 25, 2011). "Mobb Deep & Nas To Collaborate On Full-Length LP, Says Havoc | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on January 12, 2015. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  6. ^ OutRun (CD liner notes). Kavinsky. Record Makers. 2013. REC86.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ^ "Havoc Breaks Down His Production Work on Kanye West's 'The Life of Pablo' Album – Exclusive". XXL. February 19, 2016. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  8. ^ "Havoc - Filmography | IMDbPro".
  9. ^ "Mobb Deep's Havoc Confirms He Sent 'Gay' Prodigy Tweets" Archived July 19, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. MTV News.
  10. ^ HipHopDX (April 9, 2012). "Havoc Denies Beef With Prodigy In Statement, Prodigy Tweets Claiming "We Set Traps"" Archived April 4, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. HipHopDX.
  11. ^ "AllHipHop » Exclusive Video: Havoc Speaks Out About Prodigy Rumors And Says Mobb Deep Is On "Hiatus…Indefinitely"" Archived May 22, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. AllHipHop.
  12. ^ Horowitz, Steven J. (July 27, 2012). "Havoc Says Mobb Deep Is On An "Indefinite Hiatus," Confirms He Blasted Prodigy On Twitter". HipHop DX. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  13. ^ HipHopDX (January 10, 2013). "Prodigy Says He's Sure There Will Be Another Mobb Deep Album" Archived October 24, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. HipHopDX.
  14. ^ Mobb Deep Explains Fallout & Reunion Archived July 18, 2019, at the Wayback Machine. xxlmag.com. March 23, 2013
  15. ^ "Dark Lo and Havoc – Extreme Measures". Itunes.apple.com. September 24, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  16. ^ "discogs".
  17. ^ "discogs".
  18. ^ "discogs".
  19. ^ "discogs".
  20. ^ "discogs".
  21. ^ "discogs".
  22. ^ "discogs".
  23. ^ "discogs".
  24. ^ "discogs".
  25. ^ "discogs".
  26. ^ "discogs".
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