Last week, the death of Prodigy – one half of the legendary rap group Mobb Deep – shook the hip-hop community. Prodigy had fought a lifelong battle against sickle cell disease, an inherited red blood cell disorder, and tragically lost the battle at the age of 42.

Tributes began to fly within the hip-hop community around the world, one such tribute was from Temi “Othelo” Gomez. This is what he posted on Instagram:

Celebrating the life of a #warrior! Prodigy of Mobb Deep lived his life to the fullest. May his soul rest in perfect peace.

While the news of Prodigy’s death no doubt hit the hip-hop community, it must have hit Temi especially hard being that he too has had to live with the disease all his life.

Recently, Temi was interviewed on Wana Udobang’s “Warriors” show and he opened up about what it’s been like having to live with sickle cell, watch the short clip below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVrQgR5DPMd/?taken-by=mswanawana

 

Temi Gomez is a respected music and media executive. He is currently a director at Knighthouse Productions but was also an important part of the organization when they ran one of the most exciting record labels in the country between 2009 and 2013/14. Knighthouse had promising acts such as Mo’Cheddah, Phenom and Willy Bang on their roster at different times and were on the verge of doing bigger things.

Being an executive at the label, Temi oversaw a lot of that success and made a name for himself as a visionary in Nigerian music but in latter years, he has also became known for a cause dear to his heart – fighting sickle cell. Temi has used his voice to raise awareness for sickle cell in the past and has been part of events aimed at doing so.