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Robbers nab $340K from Prodigy

By Peter Sorkin

Albert Johnson, 26, who is better known as the rapper Prodigy, was wearing $343,000 worth of jewelry when he was approached by two men outside a grocery store at 13-13 40th Ave. at 12:30 a.m., said Officer Theresa Farello, a police spokeswoman. Farello said there have been no arrests and an investigation was ongoing.

Johnson, who is one half of the rap duo Mobb Deep, was filming his video at Broadway Stages at 39-25 21st St. when he left the studio to get something to eat, police said. Farello said Johnson was approached by two men in their 20s after he left the deli.

She also said one of the two robbers brandished a gun and ordered Johnson to give up his jewelry. After the robbery the two men fled. Johnson was unharmed.

One of the workers at the deli was not working at the time of the robbery but said the mostly residential neighborhood is relatively safe and he was surprised by the crime.

Police said most of the jewelry was rented to Johnson just to be worn during the filming of the video.

The rapper, who was born in Queens and who now lives upstate, released his first solo album last month. Mobb Deep has released four albums.

Workers at Broadway Stages would not comment but did say that the video shoot was finished last Thursday, and Johnson had been out of the neighborhood since then.

Record officials at Prodigy's music label in Manhattan, HSI Productions, said they could not comment on the matter and would give no additional information about the robbery since it under police investigation. They did confirm, however, that the Johnson's affiliation with Broadway Stages was over because the video shoot had been completed.