Prodigy Mural in Queens Defaced After Less Than 24 Hours (UPDATE)

UPDATE 7/09/207 11:49AM EST: Jeff Henriquez, who is one of the two artists who painted the Prodigy mural in Queensbridge, NY, took to Instagram to say that it has been restored.

"The hood love is strong," Henriquez said. "15 hours in one shot to bring back our fallen hip hop general." What's sad is that Henriquez feels like this restoration won't last.

"Sadly, I expect my wall to get hit again," Henirquez continued, "But regardless. The statement we made today represents the resilience of a community and a deep love for one man. I'm honored to have been asked to do the piece."

Original post is below.

After Prodigy died at the age of 42 last month, condolences and tributes for the Mobb Deep member poured in on all forms of social media. But some felt that the legendary rapper deserved a more lasting memorial, and so in the last week, two artists took it upon themselves to honor Prodigy's legacy by painting a large mural in Queensbridge, New York. QB was home to P's Mobb Deep partner Havoc, and a place with which Prodigy would become closely associated as well—closely enough that many people mistakenly thought he was from there too.

But the touching tribute to Prodigy did not last for very long. The mural was ruined less than 24 hours after it was completed.

The rapper Cormega, a friend of the late artist, was one of the first to share a photo of the defaced mural on his Instagram earlier today. He summed up the situation with the succinct caption: “This is some sucker shit.”

The mural, which took five days to complete, was painted by artists Jeff Henriquez and Eli Lazare. It can be found on the Urban Upbound building on 13th Street and 40th Avenue in Queens, right across the street from QB.

The artists were clearly working hard on their memorial. Henriquez shared many behind the scenes photos to his Instagram throughout the week, keeping fans updated on his progress.

It remains unclear who would disrespect a piece of art in this way or why. In any case, angry fans have already started reacting to the news on Twitter.