Jump to content

Mase

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 71.228.115.42 (talk) at 01:40, 23 May 2007 (→Controversy). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the rapper. For the municipality in Switzerland, see Mase, Switzerland.
Mase

Mason Durrell Betha (born August 27, 1978 in Jacksonville, Florida),[1] known by stage name Ma$e, is an American rapper, best known as being a complete faggot as well as an artist on Sean "Diddy" Combs' hip hop label Bad Boy Records during the late 1990s. Mase also briefly associated himself with G-Unit and recorded songs with several members of the label, despite not being officially signed.

Biography

Raised in Harlem, New York, The African-American rapper began his music career as a gangsta rapper. Originally a member of Children of the Corn, he called himself "Murder Mase," rapping alongside Big L, Cam'ron, McGruff and Bloodshed. In 1996, he travelled to Atlanta for a music conference, hoping to hook up with Jermaine Dupri; instead, he met Sean Combs, who signed him to Bad Boy after hearing him rap. His image was refined as Combs set about developing a marketable pop rapper out of an artist formerly known for violent imagery in his lyrics.[citation needed]

That same year, Mase was featured on a remix of 112's "Only You," which instantly showcased the young rapper's talent. In 1997, he recorded and released his first album, Harlem World, which became a multi-platinum success, and featured the hit single "Feel So Good," which included a prominent sample of Kool & the Gang's "Hollywood Swinging" and the chorus from Miami Sound Machine's "Bad Boy". Other successful Harlem World singles included "What You Want," "Lookin' at Me," and "24 Hours to Live." Notably popular among mainstream audiences, Mase became one of the label's premiere acts.

Retirement

On April 20, 1999,[2] during an interview with Funkmaster Flex of New York radio station Hot 97, Mase announced his retirement from music. This was during the promotional period for his sophomore album, Double Up, and its lead single, "Get Ready". The rapper declared himself a born-again Christian and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where he would study at Clark Atlanta University. Mase received an honorary Th.D from St. Paul's Bible Institute in New York and addresses himself as Dr. Mason Betha. He is the founder and pastor of both S.A.N.E. (Saving a Nation Endangered) Church International and Mason Betha Ministries in Atlanta. He also became a member of World Changers Church International in the Atlanta suburb of College Park.

Welcome Back: His Return

After a five-year absence, Mase returned to music and Bad Boy Records with Welcome Back, and the like-titled single, which contained a sample from the television series Welcome Back, Kotter. Despite returning to secular entertainment, the rapper still claimed the status of a pastor. Thus, the album contained no curse words and was not derogatory in any way toward women.

About a year after his Welcome Back album hit stores, it was rumored that Mase had defected to G-Unit under his old persona of "Murder Mase." After much speculation, he appeared at a concert in Madison Square Garden wearing a G-Unit spinning medallion. In addition to being featured on the Get Rich or Die Tryin' soundtrack, Mase can be seen in 50 Cent's video for "Window Shopper" and also has his own G-Unit Radio mixtape. Mase's current single is titled "Extraordinary", from his upcoming album, The Revival, set to be released later on this year from The Union Party/SRC Records; recently, Steve Rifkind indicated that Mase will be signing to SRC Records.

Controversy

After badmouthing The Wu-Tang Clan at a concert, Mase had a run-in with Ghostface Killah and his entourage at a club in New York City. There was some sort of physical altercation between Mase's and Ghostface's camps, and Mase left the incident with a broken jaw.

In May 2007, rumors began to spread that Mase had been involved in an automobile accident with a young lady (name unknown) in her Range Rover truck, having side-swiped the vehicle on a local street (Spring Street) in Georgia, while looking for transvestites. Most website articles that have picked up on the story have reported that, a near-by policewoman having demanded the rapper's cooperation before having his car towed (with him still in it, a towel draped over his head), a group of transvestites ("like 5 or 6 of them") walked up to the un-named woman, claimed to have seen the accident take place, and then proceeded to tell that the East-coast rapper had already circled the block four other times "tryin' to pick these Queens up".

The woman later went on the air to tell her side of the story. Neither Mason nor his church have responded to the accusations. Even so these are just rumors the lady who got hit by 'MA$E'S" car went on radio the next morning explaining what happened. Ma$e is yet to respond to these allegations after a week.

Discography

Main article: Mase discography

Albums

Mixtapes

  • Crucifed 4 The Hood: 10 Years of Hate (G-Unit Radio Pt. 16)
  1. ^ http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/mase/bio.jhtml
  2. ^ http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/12051903
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Mase&oldid=132832029"