RZA and Raekwon of Wu-Tang Clan were contemporaries of Prodigy and Mobb Deep; and the two veteran hip-hop stars had words of respect and reverence for the fallen emcee. Speaking to MONTREALITY, both RZA and Rae shared their fondest memories of Prodigy, who died June 20 at age 42.

"I remember driving in a van and Mobb Deep's tape came out and Ol' Dirty [Bastard] was bumping it," RZA recalled. "Ol' Dirty was like 'These young boys is fire!'"

Acknowledging that "at 19, the kid was already nice," RZA believed that Mobb Deep was wise beyond their years and that Prodigy's talent was fitting his moniker. For his part, Rae remembered recording with Prodigy over the years--especially in their early days.

"I remember doing [the Mobb Deep track] 'Eye For an Eye' in Queensbridge and just being there wit' him. Many moments, just gettin' in the booth," Rae shared.

"That's my family right there. I just want to send condolences out to his loved ones and immediate family. We're going to hold his legacy down."

Later in the interview video, RZA gives props to hip-hop's new guard of NYC emcees, most notably Joey Bada$$ and A$AP Mob. RZA also defended "mumble rap" against critics, while charging artists to "leave that syrup alone."

"We come from the era when you had to have lyrics and all that, but we don't discriminate," RZA explains.

"They can co-exist."

You can watch MONTREALITY's interviews with RZA and Raekwon in the video above.

Watch Mobb Deep's "Eye For an Eye" Video:

Watch Prodigy's "Keep It Thoro" Video:

Bryan Bedder, Getty Images
Bryan Bedder, Getty Images
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