

His great-great-great-grandfather, William Jefferson White, founded Georgia's Morehouse College. His father, Budd Johnson Jr., was a member of a doo-wop music group called The Chanters.

His mother, Fatima Frances (Collins) Johnson, was a member of The Crystals. Both of them are remembered for their contributions to the bebop era of jazz. His grandfather Budd Johnson was a saxophonist, and his grand-uncle, Keg Johnson, was a trombonist. Prodigy was born on November 2, 1974, in Hempstead, New York, on Long Island.
