They earned titles like "the premiere dance act for the alternative masses" and "the Godfathers of Rave", and remain one of the most successful electronic acts of all time. Third single “ Smack My Bitch Up” was also successful, and later the chart-reaching " Omen" in 2009. The Prodigy emerged in the underground rave scene in the early 1990s and achieved popularity and worldwide recognition with UK number one singles such as " Firestarter" and " Breathe", both singles coming from their UK and US chart-topping album The Fat of the Land (1997). The Prodigy describe their style as "electronic punk," being the pioneers in this rhythm, with a punk conceptual expression in many of their albums accompanied by strong and groundbreaking rhythms. Howlett's rock-inspired drum rhythms infused with electronic rave music beats/breaks were combined with Maxim's omnipresent mystique, Thornhill's shuffle dancing style and Flint's modern punk appearance.
Along with the Chemical Brothers and Fatboy Slim, the Prodigy are cred as pioneers of the breakbeat-influenced genre big beat, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s. The band's line-up has included MC and vocalist Maxim, dancer and vocalist Keith Flint (until his death in March 2019), dancer and live keyboardist Leeroy Thornhill (who left to pursue a solo career in 2000) and dancer and vocalist Sharky (1990–1991). The Prodigy are an English electronic dance music band from Braintree, Essex, formed in 1990 by record producer and songwriter Liam Howlett.