Earlier this week, a firestorm erupted when messages were posted on Havoc's Twitter account slandering Mobb Deep groupmate Prodigy. Though Hav has since denied that he wrote the tweets, revealing that his phone was stolen, a source close to the duo—who spoke on the condition of anonymity—tells XXLMag.com that the rift between Hav and P is very real.

According to the source, who works closely with the Queens veterans, tension has been building between Havoc and Prodigy for some time now. Prodigy was locked up from 2007 through 2011, serving a three-and-a-half-year gun charge sentence, and was determined to stay out of trouble when he came home; he stopped drinking and smoking and hit the gym. "While he was up there, 50 Cent came to visit a couple times," the source said. "And 50 had came to him and said, ‘Listen, man, when you come home, I wanna sign you as a solo artist. I’m gonna give you a $500,000 advance check, but I’m not fuckin’ with Havoc because Havoc has been dealin' with alcohol issues for years. Since you’ve been in jail, he’s checked in to rehab a few times." Mobb Deep had previously been signed to G-Unit from 2005 through 2009. With three months to go in his sentence, Havoc still hadn't visited Prodigy, and though the G-Unit offer was enticing, P was willing to give Mobb Deep another chance if Hav visited him before he was released.

“A week before [Prodigy] comes home, Havoc finally shows up," the source continued. "[He says], ‘Yo, listen, I’m sorry, man. I’ve been battlin' alcohol again. I just came out of rehab. I really wanna work again. Let’s get money.’” Prodigy was open to getting back to work with his longtime comrade. He was released in March 2011, and the next month dropped his autobiography, My Infamous Life: The Autobiography of Mobb Deep's Prodigy. P and Hav hit the studio a few times—even releasing the Black Cocaine EP in November—but the two rarely interacted. "The only time Prodigy would see him was before a show—at the airport or however they’re gonna get there," the source said.

Citing one instance in particular, the source says Havoc spent $20,000 at a casino, but didn't remember the next day because he had been drinking heavily. "When he went into the account, the money was gone," the source recalled. "He forgot because he has these little blackout moments when he’s drunk—that he spent all the money gamblin'. He accused Prodigy’s manager [of] stealin' the money out of his account. So he knocks on Prodigy’s door, he smacks Prodigy across the face, Prodigy wrestles him down, beats him up a little bit. After, he remembers that he was gamblin', so he comes back to Prodigy and apologizes and all that. But at this point, Prodigy is already tellin' me and my other friend, ‘Yo, this is the last Mobb Deep tour. When I get back to New York, I’m gonna disappear. I’m not fuckin’ with H no more.’"

Havoc referenced an altercation on Twitter earlier this week, writing, "I had to smack P, ask him."

The Infamous Mobb hit SXSW in Austin for the first time last month, and though they performed multiple times, the tension was continuing to mount. "When he got back to New York, Prodigy kept his word," the source said. "He stopped takin' Havoc’s calls. He wanted to be out that whole situation." The source also denied accusations that Havoc questioned Prodigy's sexuality, and said it's highly unlikely that the two will work together again. "To be honest with you, there's 120 percent certainty that there will never be another Mobb Deep album again," the source concluded. "How do you come back from that?"

Stay tuned to XXLMag.com as the story develops. —Adam Fleischer (@AdamXXL)

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