Let’s say Mase Doesn’t retire, how much longer do you think his run would have lasted?

[JustCKing]

You can have an occasional hit and still not being a major factor in the grand scheme of things

I don’t think Mase is going 3 or 4 times platinum in 2002 no matter who is making the beats

Who said he was going e or 4 times platinum. Few rappers during that era were doing those numbers. Outside of Nelly, Luda, 50, Em, and Ja, nobody was really doing that.

 

[Street Knowledge]

Think he would have blocked/delayed the rise of Jay Z.

Jay Z was superstar by 98 when Mase was actually active

 

[Street Knowledge]

Who said he was going e or 4 times platinum. Few rappers during that era were doing those numbers. Outside of Nelly, Luda, 50, Em, and Ja, nobody was really doing that.

Yeah so Mase would be a second tier rapper with the occasional hit

 

[Street Knowledge]

When Mase initially retired he had just dropped a seriously lackluster 2nd album, artists like DMX, The Lox, Jay, Pun and Fab were making much more waves than him in the streets and alot people looked at him as corny because of some well publicized Ls. His run been finished by his retirement announcement.

Yeah mase was getting surpassed by everyone in NYC before he officially retired

 

[JustCKing]

Yeah so Mase would be a second tier rapper with the occasional hit

That wouldn't necessarily make him second tier. There are several rappers who weren't doing those numbers who weren't second tier.

 

[Street Knowledge]

That wouldn't necessarily make him second tier. There are several rappers who weren't doing those numbers who weren't second tier.

Who was the first tier, The original people you named?

Let’s just do NYC, would mase be top 3 in NYC in 2002? He wasn’t top 3 in 1999

Mase would just be another guy

 

[Street Knowledge]

Mase would have done his numbers

“Numbers” as in Gold like Double Up?

 

[Ghostface Trillah]

Mase would have ran rap. A lot of revisionist history in here. He was the second coming of LL Cool J. His career would have been as long as he wanted it to be. He could make songs for the girls and the thugs. Let's not pretend he wasn't about to put his foot on Jay-Z's neck with the little beef they had.

Y'all saying that Mase would've fizzled out because of Double Up but I you guys forget that he has already checked out by the time it got released. He wasn't even doing promotions for it. Everyone he ran with is still here doing it and fabulous who completely jacked his lane when he left is still here doing it.

 

[malleymal]

Mase first album was tough, but the rest of that shyt was straight garbage. Be filled a void that was quickly consumed by other parties.

He needed to leave for his own good.

 

[Woodrow]

The bandwagon was already running out of gas when he relocated to Atlanta. If anything, the retirement helped him because it renewed his relevancy during a period when the style he was known for was being phased out.

Mase was talented enough to adapt. But he and puff were basically the front men for the shiny suit era. I don’t think he shakes the stigma if he stuck around.

 

[Billy Ocean]

Mase would have ran rap. A lot of revisionist history in here. He was the second coming of LL Cool J. His career would have been as long as he wanted it to be. He could make songs for the girls and the thugs. Let's not pretend he wasn't about to put his foot on Jay-Z's neck with the little beef they had.

Y'all saying that Mase would've fizzled out because of Double Up but I you guys forget that he has already checked out by the time it got released. He wasn't even doing promotions for it. Everyone he ran with is still here doing it and fabulous who completely jacked his lane when he left is still here doing it.

Lol...naw. Mase already was well into his decline in 99. He dropped a wack solo album, he dropped a wack and cheesy group album, the shiny suit shyt Puff had him on was already cornball status, he was taking Ls on the street and his sales declined. And Jay was gonna smash him if Mase dared to go there (peep Imaginary Player) and Wu broke his jaw. By 99/2000 Mase was looked at as corny and his image got worse with the tranny accusations. You're the one with the revisionist history, bro.

 

[dh86]

His run was over by '99.

I remember some of the Hitmen saying that dude was basically "burned out" by the time they started working on the second album. That whole sound they had him jump on for the Bad Boy stretch that did well, was over. Had he signed somewhere else early on, when he was still on his COC sh*t, I think his career would've mirrored something like Killa's. But the whole Bad Boy tenure changed dude's whole direction. If anything, he was just used to prop Puff up and cover the bases that losing BIG left open for the label.

Mase on Bad Boy was done but if he had the freedom to move around and leech off what’s popular a little, he could’ve went into the mid 00s. I can see rappers from the Atlanta boom having a Mase verse like Ross and Jeezy did having Jay verses early on legitimizing them

 

[JustCKing]

Who was the first tier, The original people you named?

Let’s just do NYC, would mase be top 3 in NYC in 2002? He wasn’t top 3 in 1999

Mase would just be another guy

I don't think his status in 1999 is really relevant. There were a lot of rappers who looked like their careers were sinking in 1999, but had strong comebacks commercially in the '00's.

Even outside of the artists I named, you still had artists like Juve who dropped a gold album and another album that went platinum as late as 2004. He, like Mase, was multi-platinum, but took a nosedive commercially with his next album. There's Puff, who went from multi in 1997 to quietly going platinum in 1999. He came back in 2001 with Saga Continues and We Invented The Remix. Cam'ron got with The Roc and his third album was a much bigger deal than his previous two.

Then you had the Top 5 guys like Nas and Jay who were consistently going platinum or better.

 

[BK The Great]

Mase might've went the same route, started with the usual topics and then switch up to the church talk. That Welcome Back album was a success.

 

[GollyImGully]

Honestly I think it would have been tough for mase at that point. The album after Double Up coming from him would had to have been amazing. That would literally be make or break for him considering how weak double up was. The 1st single was still on that jiggy shyt which was phasing out. I cant even pick a 2nd one from that album.

He had a lot of pros then but some bad points as well

Pros
- Amazing song writer
- Great ear for beats and had the next generation of producers already a phone call away (neptunes, kanye, just blaze)

Cons
- Had to compete with X & prime hov the next coming years
- Stuck in that bad boy deal (probably woulda been on some let the lox go shyt)
- Jiggy era was dying


If the man was truly burnt out at that point I couldnt see him having the longevity we think he should have if he continued on. Dipset could have potentially been his second wind.