Within the span of 48 hours, the mural that artists Jeff Henriquez and Eli Lazare created in honor of Prodigy has been created, defaced, cleaned and vandalized again.
Instagram user, Raphael Gonzalez, posted a picture Monday morning (July 10) of Prodigy’s mural splattered with paint for a second time.
The mural can be found across the street from Queensbridge Houses in NYC, scaled on the wall of the Urban Upbound building on 13th Street and 40th Avenue. When the honorary art was first discovered, hip-hop fans rejoiced, sharing pictures across social media. Just hours later, it was ruined with white paint splattered across the portrait of the late MC.
On Sunday (July 9), Henriquez and Lazare were found repainting and restoring their masterpiece without the knowledge that it would be disrespected again—this time, with red paint.
The artists shared a combined statement with DNAinfo upon the initial reveal of the Mobb Deep rapper’s mural: “His deep and meaningful lyrics inspired and influenced many young rappers and followers.”
Although the task at hand is tedious and time-consuming, we know both Henriquez and Lazare return, undefeated and ready to restore the mural again.