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To do this to an entire buffer, type M-< M-x replace-regexp RET ^ RET your text RET.
To do this to a region, use string-insert-rectangle.
Set the mark (C-SPC) at the beginning of the first line you
want to prefix, move the cursor to last line to be prefixed, and type
M-x string-insert-rectangle RET. To do this for the whole
buffer, type C-x h M-x string-insert-rectangle RET.
If you are trying to prefix a yanked mail message with ‘>’, you
might want to set the variable mail-yank-prefix. In Message
buffers, you can even use M-; to cite yanked messages (M-;
runs the function comment-region, it is a general-purpose
mechanism to comment regions) (see How do I change the included text prefix in mail/news followups?).