Sometime after midnight on Saturday, July 8, the
mural was defaced by unknown vandals. Was it the work of stupid, reckless kids? Or could it be that, despite all the love for Prodigy in these streets, there was also a certain amount of hate? No answers were immediately forthcoming, although a
wide range of theories spread via word of mouth and social media.
Many members of the community were outraged at the disrespect for P’s legacy.
Others advised that the problem was not going to be easily resolved. “They should move that mural to somewhere else in the city,” said one person with knowledge of the situation. “I am afraid that ish is gonna continue to happen. QB cats will stay acting wild and crazy. It’s a damn shame.”
Not to be deterred, Lazare and Henriquez got back to work and repaired the mural within 15 hours. “I was hurt by it. It was disrespect, not just because it was Prodigy, but it could’ve been anyone’s memorial,” Lazare said. “But we didn’t want to let it fester, we wanted to bounce back. We were trying to take everybody out of that funk, that pain that everyone felt. That was the goal.”
A few people from Queensbridge and members of Mobb Deep’s camp stayed with the artists while they made the repairs. “Throughout those 15 hours, we seen it all,” Lazare added. “
There was a lot of anger and pain about the mural. There were also people telling us not to paint. Cats had a fight right there on the street in front of us. It was tension or beef from like 15 or 20 years ago. People were driving by and screaming at us, looking at us. But we kept rocking.”