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Biography
Born in Jacksonville, Florida, but raised in Harlem, New York City until the age of 13, young Mase’s earliest hip-hop excursion came as a member of the rap group Children of the Corn alongside Big L and Cam’ron in 1993. The rapper subsequently attended the State University of New York on a basketball scholarship, before being introduced to Sean Combs and dropping out. Originally performing under the moniker Mase Murder, the rapper signed with Sean Comb’s Bad Boy Entertainment, and made his debut on Combs’ remix of the 112 single “Only You”. Bad Boy Entertainment’s marketing machine was in full motion by this point, and before Mase could release any original material of his own he had appeared on songs by Mariah Carey, Brian McKnight, and Busta Rhymes.
Mase’s debut album “Harlem World” hit the shelves toward the tail-end of 1997 featuring a host of high-profile appearances including Jay-Z, Lil’ Kim, 112, DMX, and Lil’ Cease. Spending its first two weeks atop the Billboard 200, the four-times platinum album was a smash hit, aided by the singles “Feels So Good” and “What You Want”. The rapper continued to contribute to other artists’ music including on Brandy’s “Top of the World”, Cam’ron’s “Horse and Carriage”, 112’s “Love Me”, and Puff Daddy’s “Lookin’ at Me”, later forming his own rap group named Harlem World, who issued their debut album “The Movement” in 1999. The rapper’s sophomore album “Double Up” arrived shortly after in June 1999, debuting at No. 11 on the Billboard 200. Led by the single “Get Ready”, Mase shocked audiences following its release announcing he was retiring from music and was to pursue a calling from God.
Following a five-year hiatus in which Mase appeared only on Nelly’s “In My Life” and Fat Joe’s “Lean Back”, Mase returned to release his third album “Welcome Back” in August 2004. Featuring his Christian persona the album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, supported by the singles “Welcome Back” and “Breathe, Stretch, Shake”. Following time spent with G-Unit, where he released the mixtape “Crucified 4 The Hood: 10 Years of Hate”, Mase began rekindling his flame by appearing on popular R&B remixes by the likes of Drake and Trey Songz.
Live reviews
Mase might seem like a pretty predictable name for a rapper, especially one born Mason Durrell Betha; the dichotomy between his actual name and the pepper spray commonly used by the police is a clear one, but when you also take into account that Betha is also a pastor, you quickly come to realise that he’s a far more complex fellow than you might initially jump to conclusions about. He spent sixteen years on P. Diddy’s Bad Boy Records label, although it’s fair to say that in that time, he became known as much for his incendiary live shows as for his recorded output; again, his aggressive onstage style, which frequently saw him steal the spotlight from some of his more illustrious contemporaries, is perhaps not reflective of his personal life, but the fact that Betha is so accomplished at inhabiting a character during his energetic shows is just another testament to the man’s talent; he’s capable of enthralling an audience with minmal backing, through force of character alone - an increasing rarity in the world of hip hop.
Joeg_67
