Mase

rap musician

Personal Information

Born Mason Durrell Betha c. 1977 in Jacksonville, FL.
Education: graduated, Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, 1994; studied at State University of New York at Purchase.

Career

Rapper, Bad Boy Entertainment, 1997-99.

Life's Work

Barely out of high school, Mason Durrell Betha, a.k.a. Mase, found his way into one of the most successful entertainment circles of the 1990s--Sean "Puffy" Combs' Bad Boy Entertainment. Mase ended up signing with the label and going on to appear on dozens of hit records for artists like chart-topping pop singer Mariah Carey, veteran Tina Turner, and hip-hop brethren like the Notorious B.I.G. He appeared on songs that achieved success on the hip-hop, R&B, pop, and Billboard charts. Mase was seen by critics as Combs' protege, and Combs referred to Mase as "my little brother." When he did release his first record, Harlem World, on Bad Boy, it debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and went quadruple platinum. Although Mase's songs ranged from uplifting hip-hop dance tracks to menacing hard-core raps, he always thanks God--and Combs--for his success. In 1999, just before the release of his second solo album, Double Up, the young and successful rapper announced his retirement from music and his dedication to God.

Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Mase and his family moved to the heart of New York City's Harlem when he was five years old. He divided his time between school, church, and basketball. When he got involved in the Harlem street life a little too heavily for his mother's comfort, she sent him back to Jacksonville for two years. Mase returned to Harlem to graduate the Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics in 1994, and then attend the State University of New York at Purchase on a basketball scholarship. He quit his second year to pursue his career in music. "She wasn't okay with that at all," Mase told Rolling Stone writer David Fricke of his mom. "But she always respected my decisions, and I just told her that this is my dream."

Combs' Cuddly Star

Mase, then struggling to make it as Mase Murder, traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, to meet noted producer Jermaine Dupri. Instead, at a party hosted by Dupri, he met Combs. Mase rapped for him on the spot and Combs asked him to join the Bad Boy "Family" of recording artists. Combs first had Mase rapping on a song by Bad Boy group 112, then on pop diva Mariah Carey's "Honey," Notorious B.I.G.'s "Mo' Money Mo' Problems," and Comb's "No Way Out." Although he had no release of his own yet, Mase was becoming a familiar face to fans--he appeared in more than six high-rotation music videos. On the 1997 MTV Video Music awards, Mase joined the Bad Boy Family and veteran rocker Sting to perform "I'll Be Missing You," a tribute to the Notorious B.I.G.--who was gunned down outside a Los Angeles club in 1997.

Mase is known for his sound, which is monotonic, slow and mellow. Rolling Stone writer Fricke wrote that Mase's rapping has "sleepy, unforced authority." Village Voice writer Robert Christgau defined Mase's sound as a "phlegmatic, just-woke-up drawl." Harlem World executive producer Deric "D-dot" Angelettie told Rolling Stone, that Mase "says things in such a manner where it's real street but also real easy to understand. That's a knack few MCs have." Mase is also recognized for his unthreatening demeanor. While most rappers strove to be known as hard, "gangsta" street characters, Mase eagerly displayed his child-like charisma. Christgau called him the "cuddliest rapper ever," and Mase told Spin's Sia Michel that he wanted to be the "black Barney," referring to the purple dinosaur and children's television star.

Hit Big with Harlem World

1997's Harlem World, aside from going quadruple platinum and debuting at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart, earned approval from critics. A smash hit, Christgau wrote that the record's success may have even been a surprise to Mase and to Bad Boy. "Suddenly, he saw his debut album debut at No. 1, which was a given," Christgau wrote, "and then maintain for a second week, which wasn't."

Once he achieved financial success, Mase sought to help those who weren't as fortunate as he. The athletic director at Laurinburg Institute in North Carolina asked Mase's former coach Richard Pagan to head up a girls basketball team at the school. Pagan picked some of the most talented players from Manhattan's Riverside Church League and moved them to the North Carolina school. Mase footed the $10,000 tuition, books, and board for each of the nine girls. "Coach Pagan and Riverside Church were always there for us and providing us with positive alternatives to running the streets, that I felt it was my job to assist them in supporting the girls here," Mase said in an interview with Jumoke R. Gamble of Newsday. "... I'm trying to create an opportunity for kids in New York to up their chances in life." In exchange for Mase's support, each girl got a "Harlem World" tattoo on one arm.

More Than a Song

"Harlem World" is a concept that goes beyond the title of the rapper's first solo release. It's the name of the first group he put out on his new label, All Out Records, under Dupri's So So Def label, in March of 1999. Mase's twin sister Stason "Stase" Betha appeared on Harlem World's first release, The Movement. Also, Harlem World means "sharing where I'm from and mapping out where I'm looking to go," Mase said in Newsday.

In 1999, the month before the scheduled release of his second album on Bad Boy, Double Up, Mase announced that he would retire from music to follow God. "I'm grateful for all the blessings bestowed on me that were a result of my music career," Mase said in a Bad Boy press release. "Now it's time for me to serve God in His way. The Lord sends you messages when He's ready and not necessarily when we are." He reportedly had plans to get involved helping inner-city kids, while also considering pursuing a psychology degree, preaching, and travel. To promote the record for Bad Boy, Mase agreed to speaking engagements only, and would not do any performances. He told USA Today, "I just felt like my work as a rapper is done."

Awards

Quadruple-platinum award for four million in sales of Harlem World.

Works

Selected discography

• Harlem World, Bad Boy, 1997.
• "Feel So Good," Bad Boy, 1997.
• "Lookin' at Me" [US CD/LP Single], Bad Boy, 1998.
• "Lookin' at Me" [US CD5/Cassette Single], Bad Boy, 1998.
• "What You Want [#1]," Bad Boy, 1998.
• "What You Want [#2]," Bad Boy, 1998.
• Double Up, Bad Boy, 1999.
• "Lookin' at Me" [Australia CD Single], BMG International, 1999.
• "All I Ever Wanted," BMG International, 1999.
• Appears on
• Tribe Called Quest, Beats, Rhymes and Life, Jive, scratching, 1996.
• Turner, Tina, Wildest Dreams, Virgin, drum programming, 1996.
• One Twelve, 112, Bad Boy, rap, 1996.
• Holiday, Tasha, Just the Way You Like It, MCA, rap, 1997.
• Winans, Mario, Story of My Heart, Motown, rap, 1997.
• McKnight, Brian, Anytime, Mercury, rap, 1997.
• Carey, Mariah, Butterfly, Columbia, vocals, 1997.
• Winans, Mario, Don't Know, Motown, Rap, remixing, 1997.
• Dupri, Jermaine, Jermaine Dupri Presents: Life in 1472, So So Def, 1998.
• Bad Boy's Greatest Hits, Bad Boy's Greatest Hits, Bad Boy, rap, 1998.
• Total, Kima, Keisha & Pam, Bad Boy, 1998.
• South Park, Chef Aid: The South Park Album, Columbia, vocals, 1998.
• Carey, Mariah, #1's, Sony, background vocals, 1998.
• DJ Clue, Professional, Def Jam, rap, 1998.
• Turner, Tina, Wildest Dreams [Bonus CD], EMI, drum programming, 1998.
• Harlem World, Movement, Sony, producer, executive producer, 1999.

Further Reading

Periodicals

• Jet, May 17, 1999, p. 22.
• Newsday, January 14, 1999, p. A78.
• Newsweek, June 21, 1999, p. 77.
• Rolling Stone, January 22, 1998, p. 27; February 5, 1998, p. 20.
• Village Voice, December 16, 1997, p. 95.

• Additional information for this profile was obtained from Bad Boy Entertainment publicity materials, 1999, and from a profile of Mase at http://www.ubl.com/ubl_artist.asp?artistid=24162&p_id=p+++276343.

— Brenna Sanchez