Havoc Was Almost “Electrocuted To Death” Shooting “Shook Ones, Pt. II” Video

Havoc, one half of Mobb Deep, has reflected on the making of one of the group’s most iconic hits.

Havoc Of Mobb Deep attends VH1 Hip Hop Honors: The 90s Game Changers at Paramount Studios on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. John Sciulli/Getty Images for VH1/Viacom

Sharing with Vevo for the platform’s Footnote series, the 49-year-old remembers moments when creating the music video for “Shook Ones, Pt. II” almost ended in tragedy.

“One shocking moment was when me and a guy from my block got into an argument because he felt he wasn’t getting enough shine in the video,” the rapper detailed.

“We started fighting and we both fell into a puddle of water and one of the movie lights fell in it with us. We could have gotten electrocuted to death. That was wild.”

The New York native continued to detail the work put into the gloomy visual.

“The most challenging part of making the video was staying awake because we shot non-stop from early that morning to 7 a.m. the next day,” elaborated the emcee. “My favorite scene is when we have the whole crew behind us, and Prodigy and myself have on the Hennessy jerseys.

He continued, “I loved those shirts. Prodigy got them made.”

Havoc and Prodigy from the group Mobb Deep make an appearance on MTV 2 Presents Sucker Free Week on April 6, 2006 in New York City. Bryan Bedder/Getty Images

“Shook Ones, Pt. II” was released by the rap duo as the lead single from their acclaimed album The Infamous. Issued via Loud Records April 25, 1995, the album entered the Billboard 200 at no. 15 and the R&B/Hip-Hop chart at no. 3, going on to sell over 500,000 copies.

“During that time we were back and forth from Prodigy’s crib to Queensbridge. We came up with the notion of let’s just take all the equipment to Queensbridge, hopefully, to just have that vibe,” shared Havoc with VIBE in 2020, reflecting on the album’s 20th anniversary.

“We didn’t have a lot of money…So we lived out there, we partied, we worked on the music. We didn’t have all the bread like that, and a lot of drama was still happening. It was a real humble time.”

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