Tony Yayo Recalls NYPD Pressuring Prodigy To Set Up 50 Cent

BYAron A.Updated on September 26, 20227.0K Views

Bryan Bedder/Getty Images, Jemal Countess/Getty Images

Prodigy of the group Mob Deep performs onstage at the 2007 J.A.M. awards and concert at Hammerstein Ballroom on November 29, 2007 in New York City. Rapper/actor Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson attends the New York Premiere of "Noah" at Clearview Ziegfeld Theatre on March 26, 2014 in New York City.

Tony Yayo details the time the NYPD tried to use Prodigy to plant a gun on 50 Cent.

The early 2000s were a crazy time for hip-hop in New York City. In a recent interview with Vlad TV, Tony Yayo recalled the time when Prodigy of Mobb Deep, who was signed to G-Unit, caught his gun charge, but the police attempted to use the legendary rapper to take down 50 Cent. Yayo said, "They wanted him to plant the gun on 50."

Rapper Tony Yayo appears onstage during MTV's Total Request Live at the MTV Times Square Studios - Scott Gries/Getty Images

The clip then cuts to a throwback interview of Prodigy on VladTV where he discussed the case in-depth. He said that the NYPD was applying pressure to either get him to confess or reveal who had possession of the gun that was found in the vehicle. P recalled that they offered to let him "walk right now," if he was able to help them "get something on 50."

Yayo said that the police already had plenty of issues with 50 Cent at the height of his career, even though many members of the NYPD were fans of G-Unit.

"There’s a lot of cops that are fans,” he said. “They’ll run down, ‘Yo, I was gonna give you a ticket but I knew it was your car.’ It be stuff like that in New York because we legends out there and we appreciate everybody. But you know, there were some bad cops. They wanted to, you know, set a mothafucka up."

About The Author

Aron A.

Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.