Havoc (musician)

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.

This article is about the East Coast rapper. For the West Coast rapper of the same name, see South Central Cartel.
Havoc
Havoc in 2014
Background information
Birth nameKejuan Waliek Muchita
BornMay 21, 1974 (age 46)
Queens, New York City, USA
GenresHip hop
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • record producer
Instruments
Years active1989–present
Labels
Associated acts
Websitehclassentertainment.merchdirect.com

Biography

Havoc is from Queensbridge, Queens; but was born in Brooklyn. Havoc is 1/2 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, 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 was signed to fellow Queens rapper 50 Cent's record label G-Unit Records and left the label in 2009, in a mutually agreed to, release.[1]

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.[2] Beattips.com ranked him as the 24th most influential beatmaker of all time[3] 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 which 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 on recording a new Mobb Deep album with Nas.[4] 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.[5] In 2016, Havoc produced "Real Friends" and "Famous", two tracks on Kanye West's album The Life of Pablo.[6]

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.[7]

Havoc produced the New York Yankees official 2020 anthem, "Squad Up", which features verses from both Havoc and Method Man.

Feuds

Prodigy

In July 2012, Havoc wrote a series of derogatory comments about Prodigy on Twitter, after Prodigy denied engaging in homosexual relationships in prison.[8] At first, Havoc claimed that his Twitter account was hacked.[9] However, he later confirmed that he wrote the tweets and expressed his frustrations with Prodigy in an interview with AllHipHop.[10] 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)".[11] Prodigy did not respond to Havoc's song and, even stated publicly, that Mobb Deep would eventually reconcile.[12] In March 2013, the duo announced that they had reconciled and were going on tour.[13]

Discography
See also: Havoc production discography and Mobb Deep discography

Studio albums

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

Instrumental albums
  • 2013: Beats Collection
  • 2013: Beats Collection 2

Singles
  • 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)

Video game appearances

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

References
  1. Langhorne, Cyrus (2009-11-10). "50 Cent Released Mobb Deep From G-Unit Records, Says Game Is Still Signed To His Label". Sohh.Com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-29. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  2. (Multiple), (Multiple) (2018-12-17). "Best Hip Hop Producer Alive Every Year Since 1979". Complex. Archived from the original on 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  3. "BeatTips Top 30 Beatmakers of All Time: Havoc (of Mobb Deep)". BeatTips. 2014-09-07. Archived from the original on 2018-12-18. Retrieved 2018-12-17.
  4. Vasquez, Andres (2011-05-25). "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 2015-01-12. Retrieved 2012-03-30.
  5. OutRun (CD liner notes). Kavinsky. Record Makers. 2013. REC86.CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. "Havoc Breaks Down His Production Work on Kanye West's 'The Life of Pablo' Album – Exclusive". XXL. 19 February 2016. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  7. {{cite web|url=https://pro.imdb.com/name/nm0369895/about
  8. "Mobb Deep’s Havoc Confirms He Sent ‘Gay’ Prodigy Tweets" Archived 2019-07-19 at the Wayback Machine. MTV News.
  9. HipHopDX (April 9, 2012). "Havoc Denies Beef With Prodigy In Statement, Prodigy Tweets Claiming "We Set Traps"" Archived 2015-04-04 at the Wayback Machine. HipHopDX.
  10. "AllHipHop » Exclusive Video: Havoc Speaks Out About Prodigy Rumors And Says Mobb Deep Is On "Hiatus….Indefinitely"" Archived 2013-05-22 at the Wayback Machine. AllHipHop.
  11. 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.
  12. HipHopDX (January 10, 2013). "Prodigy Says He's Sure There Will Be Another Mobb Deep Album" Archived 2013-10-24 at the Wayback Machine. HipHopDX.
  13. Mobb Deep Explains Fallout & Reunion Archived 2019-07-18 at the Wayback Machine. xxlmag.com. March 23, 2013
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