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Page 1
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Holier than thou? Mase's old friends think so ...
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Page 2
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The Diplomats and Foxy Brown attack; Kanye, Lil' Kim and Jadakiss defend ...
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Page 3
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"Leave your guns at home" ...
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Page 4
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"I'm real cool, I think that's why people come from everywhere to hear me speak" ...
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Browse Bands by Name
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Or enter a band name below to search:
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 Bands Main
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Mase has said that he plans to ease religion into his music gradually, and if Welcome Back has an overall theme, it's simply about enjoying life and having fun. "I just went with what I know works for Mase," he says. " 'Mo Money,' 'Been Around the World' — all of those types of songs on one album. Songs with messages like that, when you're feeling down, that's the music that makes you feel good, that makes you smile, that makes the guy with the hoodie take his hood off and say, 'Only Mase can do that.' It's time that the people have fun again and dance. Leave your guns at home."
His current partner in crime is familiar, too: Mase says there was never any question that he would return to the only label he's ever known.
"I think that's one of the most powerful moves that I made in coming back," he gushed about staying with P. Diddy and Bad Boy Records. "In a game where it's so fickle and nobody is really loyal, that's what I wanted to show. It would have been so easy to get somebody to buy me out from Bad Boy, but why do that? I came up with Bad Boy, so out of loyalty, you roll with your team. I remember when I told Diddy [I was coming back], he was excited."
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Mase and P. Diddy at the 2004 VMAs
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It's not surprising to hear that Diddy was excited about Mase's return: Bad Boy hasn't exactly been on a hot streak since Mase retired. "It's just not the same," Betha said. "If you're used to seeing Batman and Robin, you can't do Batman and Aquaman. You need Robin right there. Me and Puff, we just work incredibly well together. He is a hard guy to work with, but after you're done working with him — if you listened to him — you have a hit. I have always listened to him, so we always have had a hit."
For more, see "Mase Clears The Air About Diddy, DMX And Jay-Z."
But no matter how many hits he serves up, if his musical career ever conflicts with his other profession, there's no doubt which one will take a back seat. His Georgia-based S.A.N.E. Ministries and Mason Betha Ministries are his top priorities, and except for a rare circumstance like the VMAs, he only engages in music business from Wednesday to Saturday, keeping a schedule almost comparable to that of a presidential candidate. And he's about to take on perhaps his biggest job of all: being a father. He gushes about the ultrasound photos of his unborn child, which he's apparently embellished with his imagination (certain of the following details can't be discerned on ultrasound photos).
"I got a handsome baby boy, light skin with curly hair, with dimples like me. Dime [perfect 10] out the womb!" he says, flashing those trademark dimples. "He's kinda stocky too. He looks like his muscles is all big. My son, his arms ain't as big as mine, but he's light skinned — from what they say — he's got curly hair and he has two dimples on both sides. Oooooooooooh!"
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Photo: Jonathan Mannion
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