PRODIGY PREDICTED SEAN BELL VERDICT MONTHS BEFORE ACQUITTAL!

(New York, NY) Well before he began serving his three-and-a-half year prison sentence, Prodigy saw it coming: The acquittal of three New York City police detectives on charges related to the shooting of Sean Bell, killed in a hail of 50 bullets from police weapons in November 2006, early in the morning on his wedding day. The not guilty verdict for the three policemen sparked a storm of protests that Prodigy foresaw when he recorded "Field Marshal P," a song from his recently released album, H.N.I.C. Pt. 2, prior to his incarceration in March from a gun possession conviction.

Prodigy has good reason to be skeptical of the official police version of the events related to Bell's killing, which is the eighth major incident of questionable NYPD violence against Black New Yorkers over the last 14 years. His own arrest in November of last year was marked by what he contends was an illegal search and seizure; the conviction a result of the arresting detective's dishonesty at the grand jury hearing.  Rather than face a possible 15-year sentence - and not trusting the justice system to be just - Prodigy pled guilty and received three-and-half years.

His interest in Bell's case isn't just solidarity with the victim because he's an African-American, instead he sees the acquittal of the officers as a reflection of the dishonesty, corruption and racism perpetrated by the authorities which results in police brutality against the African-American community.  On "Field Marshal P," he and Un Pacino who is featured on the song discuss what they feel are the racial profiling tactics of police. The lyrics are poignant and timely considering the case, the verdict, and the topic of race relations which has become front and center in the presidential campaign. 

There is a personal connection as well. Apparently Joseph Guzman, one of the wounded who was in the car with Bell when the incident occurred is a friend of Un Pacino's who is featured in the last verse of "Field Marshal P." Portions of the upcoming video for the song were filmed Sean Bell's Candle Light Vigil in Queens and Guzman is featured on the H.N.I.C. DVD Collection which drops June 17^th. 

In a missive from state prison following the Bell case verdict, Prodigy says,

"First of all, rest in peace to Sean Bell and I want to send my condolences to his wife, kids, family and friends and all the Sean Bell boys - Hold your head.  We lost a lot of battles but we will win the war. The decision in the Queens courtroom on Friday, April 25 was simply a display of power. The NYPD is just a branch of corruption connected to a giant corrupt tree called the United States government. This tyrannical corrupt tree has its roots planted deep into the United Kingdom. The Sean Bell murder cover up is less about race and more about power. This evil family tree of corruption will do whatever it takes to remain in a position of power. They will put a judge who they can control on the case in order to get the outcome they want and eliminate the risk of being exposed and exposing the higher ups. I want to be very clear that all judges, DAs, lawyers, cops are not corrupt, just most of them.

"People of all races need to come together to control our government and run a giant comb through it, so we can see the filth that comes out. Right now we have a government that controls the people, instead of people that control their government. Until we can do that, there'll be several more incidents like the murder of Sean Bell."

He concludes by saying, "America is under a spell and we need to snap out of it."

As a member of the rap group Mobb Deep as well as on his own, Prodigy is known for his hard-hitting, street savvy lyrics that pull no punches when it comes to telling the truth as he sees it. Since he began serving his time, he has been writing a provocative and controversial bi-weekly blog for Vibe.com, which the Los Angeles Times calls "a reliably great read." Even from behind bars, Prodigy epitomizes Chuck D's assertion that hip hop is "the Black CNN." As he says, "I'm a real controversial person and a lot of the things I say may shock and scare a lot of people. But if you really read it through and really pay attention, you'll see it has meaning. I'm just sharing my experiences and life with the world."

 H.N.I.C. Pt. 2, released on April 22, has already won praise from Spin ("completely gripping"), All Music Guide ("a masterwork") and Vibe ("Prodigy has embraced the chaos, pain and disarray that's cursed much of his life and used it to power an angry, pained, and ironically vital album, [He] may be incarcerated, but his music has never sounded freer"). The album's first single, "The Life," debuted at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart rising to the #1 position the following week. H.N.I.C. Pt. 2 was produced by The Alchemist, Steve Sola, Havoc and more and is released on Voxonic Music in association with AAO/Reality.