Mobb Deep frontman Prodigy was scheduled to go to jail yesterday (Jan. 8) on gun charges but caught a break from Manhattan Supreme Court which allowed him five more weeks of freedom.
Prodigy (born Albert Johnson) was due to begin a 3-1/2-year bid in state prison, after being caught with a loaded, unregistered .22-caliber gun in his $150,000 bulletproof SUV in 2006.
But because the 33 year-old rapper is plagued with sickle cell disease - a life-long, genetic, incurable blood disorder that can lead to organ damage and stroke among other problems -- Supreme Court Justice Edward McLaughlin decided to give Prodigy's doctors 30 days to assemble his medical records. The rapper may be assigned to a prison with easy access to medical treatment, according to New York's Daily News.
Prodigy's lawyer, Irving Cohen, said his client has been in and out of hospitals his entire life.
Prodigy was fully prepared to begin his sentence yesterday. He told SOHH in an exclusive interview that he recorded videos for each song on his forthcoming album, H.N.I.C. 2, set up a social networking site where his fans can interact with each other and posted his prison address so fans can hit him up while he's behind bars.
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Update: Prodigy Saved By Sickle Cell, Illness Bides Him 30 More Days | Daily Hip-Hop News | SOHH.com /
