ARCHIVED POST :: THROWBACK THURSDAY :: CRAIG MACK
Craig Mack was working as EPMD’s assistant when he hooked up
with Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs’ (aka
Puffy at that time) who invited him
to rap on a Mary J. Blige remix in
1992. Craig Mack later became the
first MC to release an album on the
Bad Boy label. He released “Project Funk and World” in 1994 which
spawned the platinum selling
single “Flava in Ya Ear.” The remix
featured LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes,
Rampage, and Notorious BIG.
Some credit the remix with launching Bad Boy records. Sadly, Craig
Mack parted ways with Bad Boy
records and Puffy in 1995 and did
not get to reap the rewards of his
labor, nor watch Bad Boy become
the mega force it became. Mack
was cited as saying he severed ties
with Bad Boy over unresolved
money issues with Puffy.
After leaving Bad Boy, Craig Mack
released “Operation Get Down”
in 1997 on Volcano records. The
album was a solid project, yet only
garnished mediocre success reaching #17 on the R&B / Hip-Hop
album charts. It generated a few
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singles such as “Rap Hangover”
and “Jockin’ My Style,” but both
failed to reach the success that
“Flava in Ya Ear” attained. This
album would be his only release on
Volcano.
In an interview with MTV in 2002
on the set of Diddy’s video for the
“I Need a Girl” remix, Craig Mack
announced he was back working
with Puffy and planned to go in the
studio to work on his new album.
He also appeared on Diddy’s remix
album “We Invented the Remix
vol. 1,” via his contribution to G.
Dep’s “Special Delivery” with
Ghostface Killah and Keith Mur-
2006 Craig Mack signed with Matt
“Bean-E” Shaw’s Stereo Nasty
Records and released the single
“Mack Tonite.” Plans for a third
album, tentatively titled “The
Affiliation,” were announced and
scheduled to be released in 2007.
However, the album was shelved
and in 2008 Craig Mack found
himself once again in search of a
label. He found that earning one
Platinum plaque did not guarantee
him permanent status amongst the
elite of the Hip-Hop world.
Shame we didn’t get more music
from this talented rapper, who at
the time changed the game in a
ray. Although he parted ways with
Bad Boy records, he remained
close with the Bad Boys. He said
“I don’t regret leaving the label.
I’m just glad that I am with my
family.” He also told MTV that his
new LP would connect the dots of
what he’d been doing since leaving
the spotlight. He admitted he Y