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

[JustCKing]

I think people are placing too much on how Mase went out. Double Up was a dated album even in 1999. "Get Ready" sounded like 1997. They didn't even drop a second single. I'm surprised The album did what it did.

The fact that Mase was able to come back and go Gold with a mediocre album speaks volumes. He returned after 5 years went gold with that album, and had a few notable features that year in the "Lean Back" remix and "Jesus Walks" remix.

 

[L. Deezy]

Not long..

Rappers like him who chase the big pop records dont last long anyway..

 

[FunkDoc1112]

I think a more interesting question is if Biggie lived, how would he have reacted to Ruff Ryders and all that. Because we know he didn't all the way fukk with the Shiny Suit shyt and preferred making harder records. When he saw the tides changing to DMX, Jay, etc. and Bad Boy was sticking to their guns with the Jiggy shyt, would he have tried to force his way out? WOuld he have gone to Roc-A-Fella???

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Jay did 5 Mil in 98. NOTHING was stopping Jay-Z except perhaps Biggie living. And even then it wouldn’t have “stopped” him he just wouldn’t have been able to claim KONY

I've always said that the game doesn't change DRASTICALLY if Biggie lived...it's Pac dying that's the real monkey wrench, because of how directly correlated it was with the West falling off and leaving an opening for the south. Biggie was more of a "go with the flow" type of guy, and after the car accident he was already starting to look beyond the game.

 

[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 is still here

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.

Jay was not going to smash Mase. Mase could out rap Jay then and he still can now. Imaginary Player sounds ridiculous if it's about Mase who was way more successful than Jay at the time. The biggest line is about Mase being able to add more diamonds to a watch that has diamonds. Wow, such ether. He dropped a solo album that he didn't want to drop and didn't promote because he didn't want to be there. The shiny suits didn't make Mase a cornball. Stop it. He was still dropping Murda Mase type verses here and there and his Ma$e very were still lyrically fire. If you're going to shyt on him for wearing the shiny suits then you shytting on Biggie and the Lox too. Shiny suits got all those dudes rich. L's on the street? Pre internet? Ok. Harlem World was a money grab to get the homies paid. Cam and Mase writing all the raps for a 5 man group. No one was holding that against Mase. Mase took his foot off the gas for whatever personal reasons but we're not going to pretend like Mase got kicked out the game and didn't walk away from it at the highest level. That's revisionist history. Let's not do that

 

[Saysumthinfunnymike]

I'm a fan of Mase but he was in his decline before the retirement. Let's not try to change history.

yeah Double up flopped (for wat it was supposed to be)

 

[Bondye Vodou]

Nelly and 50 Cent took his fanbase.

 

[Street Knowledge]

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.

You still haven’t said where he would rank in his city in 2002. Would be hotter than Jay? JA? DMX? Nas?

Would he even be the biggest Harlem Rapper of 2002 as Camron was?

If the answer is No, then he would just be a guy. Which is the point

And again I’m just being nice and talking about his city, I haven’t even talked about the rest of the rap game. Mase was top 5 in rap in 97, in the 00’s he would just be another guy.

 

[Street Knowledge]

I think people are placing too much on how Mase went out. Double Up was a dated album even in 1999. "Get Ready" sounded like 1997. They didn't even drop a second single. I'm surprised The album did what it did.

The fact that Mase was able to come back and go Gold with a mediocre album speaks volumes. He returned after 5 years went gold with that album, and had a few notable features that year in the "Lean Back" remix and "Jesus Walks" remix.

That could be chalked up to just a nostalgia run and even that album no one cared about the next year.

People are just saying Mase was Washed in 99.

 

[JustCKing]

That could be chalked up to just a nostalgia run and even that album no one cared about the next year.

People are just saying Mase was Washed in 99.

Most albums aren't going to have a year run unless they have a bunch of singles or the album is a classic.

Mase was washed in 1999 for a reason. He wasn't just some played out rapper that nobody cared about. I can name a lot of rappers people wrote off in 1999 that came back.

 

[Street Knowledge]

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 is still here


Jay was not going to smash Mase. Mase could out rap Jay then and he still can now. Imaginary Player sounds ridiculous if it's about Mase who was way more successful than Jay at the time. The biggest line is about Mase being able to add more diamonds to a watch that has diamonds. Wow, such ether. He dropped a solo album that he didn't want to drop and didn't promote because he didn't want to be there. The shiny suits didn't make Mase a cornball. Stop it. He was still dropping Murda Mase type verses here and there and his Ma$e very were still lyrically fire. If you're going to shyt on him for wearing the shiny suits then you shytting on Biggie and the Lox too. Shiny suits got all those dudes rich. L's on the street? Pre internet? Ok. Harlem World was a money grab to get the homies paid. Cam and Mase writing all the raps for a 5 man group. No one was holding that against Mase. Mase took his foot off the gas for whatever personal reasons but we're not going to pretend like Mase got kicked out the game and didn't walk away from it at the highest level. That's revisionist history. Let's not do that

This nikka said Mase could out rap Jay Z

 

[Stuntone]

I think he couldve done really well, especially if he started collabing with South Artist early.

The South already liked his style. We loved that Playa shyt. "The World is Filled...."

If he couldve got on some Pimp C beats.

 

[Ghostface Trillah]

This nikka said Mase could out rap Jay Z

Post the last verse Mase did and post the last verse Jay Z did and tell me which one is better. I'll wait.

Then post I'm no Killa and then post Imaginary Players and tell me which one is harder. Once again I'll wait.

 

[EA]

As much as I don’t think Mase was a good album artist, I think that he would have still been successful in the early 2000’s. Loon pretty much filled in his spot at Bad Boy so I imagine him churning out songs like “I Need A Girl” and comfortably dominating that lane of ladies’/money man.

 

[Street Knowledge]

Post the last verse Mase did and post the last verse Jay Z did and tell me which one is better. I'll wait.

Then post I'm no Killa and then post Imaginary Players and tell me which one is harder. Once again I'll wait.

Mase hasn’t had a verse anyone has given a shyt about since the Clinton Administration. Maybe if you want to count the camron diss that people moved off from a month later

People forget, he’s tried to “comeback” multiple times and it flopped