The 2017 BET Awards will reportedly honor Mobb Deep’s Prodigy, after the critically acclaimed rapper died a mere five days before the ceremony’s taping. While such tributes are common, such as Chris Lighty being honored at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards, a recent report indicates things will be toned down for Prodigy’s tribute.
“The BET Awards will pay tribute to Prodigy, but it won't be a major spectacle—instead, his rap partner Havoc and Lil Kim will do the honors on their own,” read a TMZ report published Saturday, citing anonymous sources.
Lil Kim and Mobb Deep collaborated on the 1999 single “Quiet Storm (Remix).” Both Kim and Havoc are expected to share personal statements about Prodigy during the award show taping.
The report went on to add that executives behind the scenes at the BET Awards attempted to arrange a tribute performance which would have incorporated other artists, but they were leery of damaging relationships with other acts after contracts to perform had already been confirmed.
Prodigy died Tuesday, June 20 from complications of a life-long battle with sickle cell disease. The founding member of Mobb Deep was 42, and according to a statement released by his publicist, he was hospitalized after a recent performance in Las Vegas. While reports surfaced of Prodigy allegedly choking during the hospital stay, Prodigy’s camp maintains the exact causes of death have yet to be determined.
Prodigy is survived by his wife, Ikesha Dudley and their two children, T’Shaka and Fahtasia.
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