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People used to call him "Puff Daddy's sidekick." But when Mase's solo debut "Harlem World" went into the "Billboard" album chart at number one, everyone knew his name.
Soon the rapper was starting up his own label, All Out Records, and recruiting twin sister Stase and brother Blinky-Blink into Harlem World. With a new management deal with Magic Johnson Music inked in March and his hotly anticipated latest, "Double Up," due out on June 15, it seemed as though Mase was just getting started.
But on April 20, he shocked the world with the announcement of his retirement from hip-hop to pursue his faith.
The original announcement came from Magic Johnson Music. The company's statement read, "As of today Bad Boy multi-platinum artist Mase declares that he will be retiring from music to follow God, effective immediately." Mase's label, Bad Boy Records, seemed to back up the rapper's decision in an official statement released on April 22. Vice President/General Manager Jeff Burroughs stated: "We wholeheartedly support Mase's decision in this matter. It's a personal decision that everyone at the label respects to the utmost. Our relationship with Mase has evolved to a higher level -- one that is sure to be beneficial to all involved."
So the industry people -- those who had the most to gain or lose, business-wise, from Mase's decision -- had made their feelings known. But nobody really knew what Mase himself had to say about it. No one had any idea if Mase really meant it.
Early retirement is something that rappers and musicians from all genres have toyed with. Some have stuck with their word while some have returned. And if we take Mase at his word, he's done with making rap music after a career that spans only two albums.
MTV News had a chance to talk to Mase just days after he announced his retirement. In this exclusive interview, the rapper talks about his decision and how it touches his life, his career, and his relationships with Bad Boy and Sean "Puffy" Combs.
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