Prodigy Mural Vandalized & Restored in Queens

A rest in peace mural dedicated to the late Prodigy was vandalized over the weekend, less than 24 hours after it was painted on a wall in Queens, New York.

The Mobb Deep legend’s frequent collaborator Cormega shared an image of the vandalized wall, which had white paint splattered across Prodigy’s face. His caption: “This is some sucker shit.”

Shortly afterwards, Cormega posted another photo, showing that the mural was being restored. “Return of The Mac,” he wrote. “Mural being fixed.”

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‘Mega told the New York Daily News that he was upset about the vandalization. “I was in a great mood and then I seen that thing,” he said. “But the beautiful thing is that it’s being fixed. I definitely want to see it restored. I want to stand in front of it and reflect just like everybody else.”

The mural — painted by Jeff Henriquez and Eli “Eli Los” Lazare — is situated on the side of a building for the non-profit Urban Upbound, which sits across the street from a housing project that Prodigy once lived in.

“Prodigy is one of the pillars of Queensbridge hip-hop,” said Cormega. “So I thought it was a tremendous and well-deserved honor when they did that mural.”

It is unclear why the mural was vandalized.

Prodigy, one half of Mobb Deep, passed away on June 20 at the age of 42, following a long battle with sickle cell anemia. Havoc, the other half of Mobb Deep, mourned his death, saying, “I still can’t believe it.”