R.I.P. Craig Mack

Today in Hip-Hop History: Craig Mack’s Debut Album ‘Project: Funk Da World’ Turns 30 Years Old!

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On this day in Hip-Hop history, Craig Mack released Bad Boy’s second LP as a label Project: Funk Da World. This successful debut introduced Craig Mack as one of Bad Boy’s original artists alongside The Notorious B.I.G., 112, Faith Evans and Total.

Unlike like Bad Boy’s debut, Biggie’s Ready to Die, Project: Funk Da World concentrated less on the hardcore street aspect of Hip Hop and focused more on getting its listeners moving on the dance floor. Similar to the West Coast’s G-Funk movement, this LP was smooth and effortlessly funky. It created a vibe that every time it was spun, did exactly what it’s title intended. The album featured Craig Mack’s smash hit single “Flava in Ya Ear”. The version of the is single featuring Biggie Smalls was actually Bad Boy’s first release and the duo’s only collaboration.

The album was certified gold within the year of its release although partially overshadowed by the quadruple platinum Ready to Die.

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Craig Mack’s Debut Album ‘Project: Funk Da World’ Turns 30 Years Old! first appeared on The Source.

The post Today in Hip-Hop History: Craig Mack’s Debut Album ‘Project: Funk Da World’ Turns 30 Years Old! appeared first on The Source.

Craig Mack’s Cause Of Death Revealed As HIV/AIDS-Related Complications

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Craig Mack

Six years ago, premiere Bad Boy Records artist Craig Mack died from an unknown, acute illness that was first believed to be heart-related. A recent article from Rolling Stone has unveiled that Mack’s death certificate now reads that the “Flava In Ya Ear” rapper died from HIV/AIDS-related illness.

Published on Friday(August 18), the Rolling Stone article contained an interview with his first wife, Roxanne Alexis Hill-Johnson, his daughter Amanda Mack, and his younger brother Andrew Mack, who all opened up about the “Flava In Ya Ear” rapper’s life from his peak at Bad Boy Records to his final days on his deathbed.

“I’ve truly, honestly never seen a human being in that condition before,” Andrew Mack said. “He was catatonic.”

“I believe he was very much in denial, but that’s him living his truth to the end,” he continued. “I know that sounds really crazy, but you have to know him to understand that. As much as that bothers me, I understand why he did what he did. He lived his truth.”

His widow and brother contend that the New York native learned of his diagnosis before he left his hometown in 2007. mack moved to South Carolina, where he joined the Overcomer Ministry. By 2014, Mack had already shown signs of failing health after he lost au unmistakable amount of weight and was frequently sick. Mack originally told people he had congestive heart failure and was hospitalized, but he didn’t seek out any further medical treatment.

By 2018, Mack walked with a cane until he was unable to walk on his own. His family drove from Vermont to spend a few days with Mack in his final hours.

Mack’s family still has a lot of questions about his life and Hill-Johnson hopes to answer some of them in a documentary she’s developing with Alvin Toney, who recorded Mack’s final interview before his death.

The post Craig Mack’s Cause Of Death Revealed As HIV/AIDS-Related Complications first appeared on The Source.

The post Craig Mack’s Cause Of Death Revealed As HIV/AIDS-Related Complications appeared first on The Source.

Today In Hip Hop History: Former Bad Boy Artist Craig Mack Passed Away 16 Years Ago

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In 2008, Craig Mack, whose 1994 hit single “Flava In Ya Ear” thrilled the era of 90’s hip-hop, died from heart failure near his home in Walterboro, South Carolina. He was 47 years old.

Produced by Easy Mo Bee, “Flava In Ya Ear” audibly captured the exactitude of one of hip-hop’s most celebrated eras. In the early 90’s, a time east coast rap was faint in hype, the coming of Craig Mack sparked its resurgence. The remix of “Flava In Ya Ear” featuring Puff Daddy (Diddy), LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, and Rampage pushed one of the most iconic rappers to the forefront, The Notorious B.I.G, creating a timeless hip-hop melody.

Mack was signed to Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment when he dropped his 1994 debut Project: Funk da World, making him a Bad Boy Records pioneer. He is the first artist to release an album off of Bad Boy records, which would become the mecca for east coast rap of the 1990s, and its resurgence.

The distinctive rhymes and flows of Craig Mack are essential to the rutty and sensationally groggy sound of 1990s rap. Prior to his dawning with Bad Boy, as a young teen under the moniker MC EZ, he released one single “Just Rhymin’” in 1988, followed by “Get Retarded” with his group MC EZ & Troup.

Native to Long Island, which at the time was one of New York’s maturing hip-hop epicenters, Mack was close friends with Parrish Smith and Erick Sermon of EPMD prior to the golden era duo’s debut, and eventually went on tour with them. He helped DJ Scratch, EPMD’s DJ, amass his turntables for performances.

DJ Scratch revealed how Mack disclosed the making of his documentary a couple of years ago, The Roots’ Questlove describes “Flava In Ya Ear” as “one of the greatest hip hop single debuts in the culture,” while Foxy Brown recalls Mack’s sincerity, “Your grace and humility spoke volumes…,” and Diddy declares the late icon as “very important to the Bad Boy legacy.”

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Former Bad Boy Artist Craig Mack Passed Away 16 Years Ago first appeared on The Source.

The post Today In Hip Hop History: Former Bad Boy Artist Craig Mack Passed Away 16 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.