I win so much, they wanna know who I'm coached byĮveryday approached by chicks when I was on top See I rep the most high, still I'm the most fly Welcome back, welcome back, Harlem's back (You know you like that) Welcome back, welcome back, Betha's back (You know you like that) Right here's where we need ya, right here's where we need ya Ooh you know we need ya, ooh you know we need ya See the names have all changed since I been aroundīut the game ain't the same since I left out Me and Kunta Love rollin' back to back in one You know there's more man where that come from Three bots in the hood top down, it ain't nova (My homie) I'm the diamond chain choker, always remain soberĭon't drink liquor and all the games over
These young boys don't know what a don mean Girls from brunettes down to blonde queens These rap cats man they all got they style from meĪnd if I ever seen them then they probably bow to meĪnd when this beat - drop I know they gon' leanĮverything, Mississippi to the Palm Springs
I see the girls in the club, they gettin' wild for meĪnd all the pretty chicks all wanna smile at me You good? I know you like that (Yeah you good, you doin' good) In 2013, Mase announced that he is working on his fourth album, Now We Even.Yeah man, how you doin' (Come on, come on, come on) Over the last decade, Mase has split his time between the church and music, appearing on songs by artists like Drake, Rick Ross, Wale, French Montana, and 2 Chainz. In 2005, Mase began working with 50 Cent and G-Unit, but contractual obligations to Bad Boy prevented him from officially signing with the G-Unit label. In 2004, Mase staged a comeback to music with his minor hit “Welcome Back,” along with a high-profile verse on the remix to Terror Squad’s hit “Lean Back.” His third album Welcome Back went gold. He’s remembered as a pioneer of a more laid-back “slow flow” style of rapping that became common in his wake. Despite his absence, a new generation of rappers, including Kanye West and Pusha T, have cited Mase as a major influence. Mase became a pastor and spent the next five years building his ministry in Atlanta. With Mase not participating in the album’s promotion, it failed to go platinum like his debut. Weeks after his sudden announcement, Mase’s second album Double Up was released. On May 4, 1999, Ma$e announced his retirement from music, revealing in an interview with Hot 97’s Funkmaster Flex that his newfound focus on Christianity had compelled him to leave hip-hop in order to serve God. The group’s 1999 debut The Movement went gold.
For the label’s first act, Mase created the group Harlem World, which featured his twin sister Baby Stase, his brother Blinky Blink, and five other rappers from Harlem. In 1998, Mase formed his own record label, All Out, and signed a distribution deal with Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def via Sony Music. It spawned two more top 10 pop singles, “What You Want” and “Lookin' At Me.” Harlem World went on to sell four million copies and is widely considered one of the classic hip-hop albums of the late 1990s. On the album art, his name was styled as “Ma$e” for the first time, a variation he would use for the rest of his career. Mase released his debut album Harlem World in October 1997. That summer, Ma$e released his debut solo single “Feel So Good” (which hit #5 on the Hot 100), and also appeared on Biggie’s #1 hit “Mo Money Mo Problems,” Puff Daddy’s #2 hit “Been Around the World,” and the remix to Mariah Carey’s #1 hit “Honey.” In early 1997, Mase’s stardom was solidified when he wrote and appeared on Puff Daddy’s debut solo single “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down,” which hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for six weeks. Within a week of signing, he appeared alongside the label’s superstar Biggie in the music video for 112’s platinum single “Only You (Remix).” He dropped the “Murda” from his name and was credited simply as “Mase.” In 1996, Mase signed with Bad Boy as a solo artist after his manager Cudda Love-who was also a road manager for The Notorious B.I.G.-introduced him to Puff Daddy. He started rapping as a teenager under the name “Murda Mase,” getting his first taste of the spotlight as a member of Children of the Corn, a group that also included well-known rapper Big L and Mase’s childhood friend, Cam'Ron. Mase is a Harlem rapper best known for his string of hits with Bad Boy Records in the late 1990s, including the top 10 pop hits “Feel So Good,” “What You Want,” and “Lookin' At Me.” He also appeared on Puff Daddy’s #1 hit “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” and The Notorious B.I.G.’s #1 hit “Mo Money, Mo Problems” in 1997.īorn Mason Betha in 1975, Mase moved back and forth between Harlem and Florida for much of his childhood.