Mason Durell Betha
(born August 27, 1975), [1] better known by stage name Mase
(often typset as Ma$e
), is an American rapper, songwriter, television personality and inspirational speaker. He was an artist on Sean "Diddy" Combs' hip hop label Bad Boy Records during the late 1990s.
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MASE TICKETS
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Early career
Mase was born August, 27, 1975 in
Harlem according to his autobiography "There's a life after the Lime." He was introduced as
Bad Boy Entertainment's next big artist during the summer of 1996 when he was featured on the remix to
112's debut single, "
Only You", which peaked at number one on Billboard's Hot Dance Singles Sales chart as well as its Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart. With his soon-to-be-trademarked slow flow, Mase would quickly develop a crossover-fanbase as he would be featured on original tracks, as well as remixes, by popular R&B artists such as
Brian McKnight,
Mariah Carey,
Keith Sweat, and
Brandy, amongst others.
Puff Daddy (
Diddy) featured Mase on "
Mo' Money, Mo' Problems", from
The Notorious B.I.G.'s double-LP "
Life After Death" in what would turn out to be the album's biggest hit single. He then featured Mase on several songs on his own debut album,
No Way Out
: the lead single, "
Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", which hit number one on the Rap, R&B, and Pop charts, as well as on "
Been Around the World", which would also reach number one on Billboard's Hot Rap Tracks. By the time Mase released his own debut album in late-1997, "
Harlem World," the rapper had taken the claim to Bad Boy's premier artist, filling the void left by the death of Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace. He is married to Twyla Betha and leads an international ministry.
Harlem World
Mase released his first solo LP, Harlem World, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Pop and R&B LP charts selling over 270,000 copies in the U.S. its first week of release; it has since gone 4x Platinum in the United States. Joining Mase on his solo LP was a long list of rap dignitaries including
Busta Rhymes,
The Lox,
Lil' Kim,
Total, and
Monifah. Mase told MTV about his first solo effort: "Well, basically what I'm trying to establish is a strong identity and foundation for Mase so a lot of people could know that Mase is his own person and Mase can do other things besides rap and music and things in that nature." Entertainment Weekly said of the album: "...creatively refreshing, well-crafted lyrics... rap's newest bad boy more than holds his own on his solo debut... his distinctive marble-mouthed drawl... creates a regular-guy persona all too rare in hip-hop."
The album spawned hits such as "Feel So Good" and "Lookin' At Me" which both reached number one status on the Rap Billboard charts, as well as "What You Want," which peaked at number three on both the Rap and R&B Billboard charts.
Double Up and Retirement
Mase's sophomore effort,
Double Up, was released in 1999 and distributed by Bad Boy Records and sold 107,000 copies in its first week, debuting at #11. However, though it reached Gold Certification status in the US and was well-received by critics and fans alike, the album failed to meet expectations due to the rapper's turn to religion and subsequent retirement from rap.
The album offered several notable differences from Harlem World. After having moved to Atlanta, Mase adopted a "dirty-south" style to adapt with the changing trends in hip-hop at the time, as popular rap music at the time was dominated by Master P and his No-Limit crew. Double Up also featured much more aggressive material from Mase. Perhaps this was a response to his reputation of a pop-rapper or a response to the dwelling tension between himself and his confidants
Cam'ron and
Jim Jones. Perhaps no other sign was as clear as the line he raps on the last song of the album, "From Scratch," when he says "If I could do it all again, I'd do it all for Christ."
On April 20, 1999,[3] during an interview with legend
Funkmaster Flex of New York radio station
Hot 97, Mase announced his retirement from music to pursue a lucrative calling from God.
Return to Music and Subsequent Controversy
After a five-year hiatus from the music industry, Mase made a comeback with
Welcome Back during the summer of 2004. Prior to the album's release, the rapper was featured on
Nelly's "In My Life," as well as the remixes to
Fat Joe's "Lean Back" and
Kanye West's "Jesus Walks."
Mase's third album,
Welcome Back, released August 24, 2004. The album debuted at #4 on the charts, selling 188,000 copies in the first week; the album would eventually go gold, selling 559,000 copies in the United States. Released after a five-year break from the rap scene, the album was a product of Mase's newly developed "Christian" persona. Portraying a "cleaner" image during this short-lived return to the industry, Mase dubbed himself "a Bad Boy gone clean," on the lead single, also titled "Welcome Back." This new approach to rap was received with mixed reviews. However, even though the album was not a commercial success like
Harlem World, the singles, "Welcome Back" and "Breathe, Stretch, Shake," received moderate radio airplay and video play on BET and MTV, with the latter reaching #28 on the Billboard Hot 100; both singles were also certified gold by the RIAA.
Mase was for a short time a member of
G-Unit. He has since called his time there a mistake. He then went on to add, joining the group wasn't the mistake, but the message he was sending was. He joined
G-Unit to appeal to a different audience so they could see that they could change just as he did. To quote Mason, "in order to get people where I'm at, I have to go back to where I once was[4]." He released a mixtape under
G-Unit and the Whoo Kid series which harked back to his earlier street story days, but no album was ever released. According to
50,
Diddy refused to let Mase out of his contract with
Bad Boy for anything less than $2 million. Uncertain that Mase's album would sell well enough to make up for that type of investment, [50] gave up on trying to bring Mase onto
G-Unit.
After the G-Unit deal couldn't be finalized, Mase was linked to
SRC Records. SRC founder
Steve Rifkind was working on signing Mase in 2007, but, like
50, was unable to come to terms with
Diddy over buying out Mase's contract. Rifkind has been on record talking about the album that Mase recorded for SRC, which was to be titled either "Suicide Note" or "The Revival." In an interview with Hip-Hop magazine XXL
[2], Rifkind claimed that it would be released by the end of that year and that it was "crazy." The album, of course, was never released.
Second Comeback
Following the formula that worked for him 13 years ago, Mase has begun to appear on popular R&B artists' remixes. In early June, he was featured on the last verse of "Uptown Boy" by
Harry O, signed to
The Inc. (Murda Inc.), which also features
Ron Browz. Weeks later, Mase appeared on a street remix for
Drake (entertainer)'s "Best I Ever Had." Mase stated that since the death of
Michael Jackson it has lit the fire inside him and he is ready to come back. He appeared on
Power 105.1 to have a phone conversation with "The Prince of New York"
DJ Self to discuss his latest attempt at a comeback. During this interaction, former-friend-turned-rival, Jim Jones, called in to make peace and hinted at the possibility of the two working together in the near future. Mase would then use that very radio show as his outlet to release new music throughout the rest of the summer as he'd have a new song or feature premiere every Friday on
DJ Self's show. On July 3rd, Mase appeared on the remix to
Trey Songz' hit single "I Need A Girl"[1], where he shouts out "And Diddy told them that '10 years from now we'll still be on top. I thought I told you that we won't stop," referring to the line on "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems."
July 10 would be the first time a brand new track featuring Mase would be released as he drops the first verse on "Get It," which was produced by
Big Ran and also featured
Cam'ron. There are two versions out, one featuring newcomer
B. Rossi and the other featuring
Vado, but what makes this song special is that it marks the first time in over ten years that Mase has worked with
Cam'ron. Mase released "Thinkin' 'Bout You," his first solo effort, on July 17 and then appeared on the street remix to
Teairra Mari &
Kanye West's "Diamonds", on July 24. Mase used the last Friday in July to "Shut the City Down," which was the title of his second solo release since his comeback began. The song primarily discusses the rapper's legacy and makes reference to the ways in which Rap music, as a business, has changed since he reigned atop of it. He also makes reference to his new Batman-esque logo, and hints at himself as Hip-Hop's superhero. Mase added a verse to
Ron Browz's "Gimme 20 Dollars" on August 7. Mase released the song "Radio" on August 21 as a prelude to an upcoming mixtape.
Discography
Albums
- Harlem World
(1997)
- Double Up
(1999)
- Welcome Back
(2004)
- The Mason Betha Story
(2010)
References
- XXL Magazine September 2002, page 101
- http://www.xxlmag.com/online/?p=9237