|
 Best
known as Puff Daddy's favorite sidekick, Mase secured his place as a Bad
Boy label favorite through a series of guest appearances on hit singles
by other artists. By the time he issued his debut album, the Bad Boy
promotional machine had effectively already made him a star. His flow
was slow and relaxed, and his raps often unabashedly simple, which
helped make him especially popular with the younger segment of Puff
Daddy's pop-rap audience (they could understand him and rap along). Of
course, he was never much of a critical favorite for exactly the same
reason, but that became a moot point when, just before the release of
his second album, he announced his retirement from rap to pursue a
career in the ministry.
Mase Links
Mase
was born Mason Durrell Betha in Jacksonville, FL, on August 27, 1977.
His family moved to Harlem when he was five, but at age 13, he was sent
back to Florida amid concerns that he was falling in with the wrong
crowd. He returned to New York two years later, and began rapping to
entertain the other members of his school basketball team. He was a good
enough basketball player to win a scholarship to SUNY, but hip-hop soon
grew to be more important; under the name Mase Murder, he joined a rap
group called Children of the Corn, which disbanded when one of its
members died in a car accident. Mase went solo and started making
connections around New York's hip-hop club scene. In 1996, he traveled
to Atlanta for a music conference, hoping to hook up with Jermaine Dupri;
instead, he met Sean "Puffy" Combs, who signed him to Bad Boy after
hearing him rap.
Mase debuted on Combs' remix of the 112 single "Only You," and quickly
became a near-ubiquitous guest rapper on Bad Boy releases and other
Combs-related projects. He was a credited featured guest on the Puff
Daddy smashes "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" and "It's All About the
Benjamins," handled the first verse of the Notorious B.I.G.'s number one
hit "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems," and made prominent appearances on Mariah
Carey's "Honey," Brian McKnight's "You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste My
Time)," Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s "Young Casanova," and Busta Rhymes' "The
Body Rock," among others. By showcasing Mase in such high-profile
settings, not to mention spotlighting him in several videos as well,
Combs ensured that by the time Mase actually released his own album,
every hip-hop fan in America would already know who he was.
Thus, when Mase's debut album, Harlem World, appeared in late 1997, it
was an instant smash, spending its first two weeks of release on top of
the Billboard album charts. It was a star-studded affair, naturally
featuring Combs (both rapping and producing) and a galaxy of guests:
Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, DMX, Lil' Kim, Monifah, 112, the L.O.X., Eightball
& MJG, Black Rob, and Lil' Cease, not to mention additional production
by the Hitmen, Jermaine Dupri, and the Neptunes, among others. Reviews
of the record were mixed; some critics praised Mase's unique rapping
style, but others were far more harsh (this writer is fairly sure it was
Ira Robbins who called Mase "the luckiest no-talent sidekick since Ed
McMahon"). Nonetheless, Harlem World was a smash hit, eventually going
platinum four times over; its first single, "Feels So Good" (which also
appeared on the soundtrack of Money Talks), was a Top Five pop hit, and
the follow-up "What You Want" was a fast-selling success as well.
In the meantime, Mase's string of guest spots continued unabated, with
appearances on Brandy's "Top of the World," Puff Daddy's "Lookin' at
Me," Cam'ron's "Horse and Carriage," 112's "Love Me," and the Rugrats
soundtrack collaboration with Blackstreet and Mya, "Take Me There." In
April 1998, Mase made headlines with his arrest in New York on
disorderly conduct charges (he had initially been accused of soliciting
a prostitute, which he denied). But the controversy was short-lived, and
by year's end Mase had put together his own group of protégés, also
dubbed Harlem World, who issued its debut album, The Movement, in early
1999. With Puffy's Bad Boy empire still riding high, Mase's second
album, Double Up, looked to be another blockbuster. But shortly after it
was completed (and before it was released), Mase stunned close
associates and observers alike by announcing his immediate retirement
from the music business, calling it incompatible with his new calling to
the ministry (he'd experienced a vision of himself leading people into
Hell). He refused to promote Double Up with any live performances,
although he did give interviews on its behalf. Perhaps it was the lack
of promotional support, or perhaps audiences gave up their investment in
him, but Double Up made a disappointing chart debut at number 11 upon
its summer 1999 release, and only reached gold sales status. Despite
what some initially thought, Mase's retirement has stuck; in the years
since, he has worked extensively with inner-city youth, become an
in-demand inspirational speaker on the religious circuit, and published
a memoir titled Revelations: There's a Light After the Lime. |
