Craig Mack One of Hiphop's authentic & unique styles will be Missed !

Just like Uniblab, robotic kicking flab
My flavor bidder badder chitter-chatter
Madder than the Mad Hatter
I bet you my shit come out phatter
I got the data to turn your body into anti-matter
And just like a piece of Sizzlean
You'll fit inside my stomach with the eggs and grits between
The king is what I mean, I mean 

During the height of the golden era, Bad Boy Records, was starting to rise, before the world was introduced to the Late Notorious Biggie Smalls, Before the LOX, Before the Ciroc, Puff Daddy's first major hiphop hit was Flava in Ya Ear Remix. A legendary Track, featuring icons this song has been bumping in speakers for over twenty years. In those years the question arises what happened to Craig Mack ? Why did Craig Mack leave the music industry to live a life not in the mainstream and to join a ministry group. 

Craig Mack, you were the first artist to release music on Bad Boy and gave us our first hit. You always followed your heart and you had an energy that was out of this world. You believed in me and you believed in Bad Boy. I will never forget what you did for hip-hop. pic.twitter.com/qvnxRTcdXv

— Diddy (@Diddy) March 13, 2018

I can only speak from my experience that the music industry has it wears and tears if you aren't careful, one must have balance to be successful in anything you aspire to due. Regardless of the rumors of him joining a religious cult or what drove him away from NYC city, the voice the talent is what I feel reigns amongst the fans. Craig Mack was one those guys you had to like, there really was no gimmick, no props, he was from the cloth of content aka Bars.. The man could spit. 

Craig Mack represents an era that created the blueprint to what we see now. World's Famous DJ Scratch from EPMD & ScratchVision touches on his personal experiences with Craig Mack via his Instagram. Below is also some footage from Future Flavas Radio with Legendary Dj Marley Marl & Tim Westwood where Craig demonstrates his ability to go off the dome and freestyle. Craig's impact clearly is being felt already when an Meteorologist in Atlanta is referencing his lyrics in the forecast. Craig Mack taught me to be original, to be myself he was a self reflection of hard work and most important on his later years he decided to dedicate his life to the God, he will be missed looking forward to this documentary that he was working on so we can see his work through his eyes despite the speculation. 

Craig Mack was one of the few people to strike lighting twice in Hip Hop. First with "Get Retarded" on Fresh Records in 1988, then with Bad boy. After his first strike of lightning, he went through a lot of struggles, a lot. He mentions his struggles in many interviews after he blew up with Bad Boy. You all know how cruel the public can be when someone falls off in Hip Hop. Unfortunately, that cruelty is ALWAYS by "Our People". Craig recently requested me to speak about these things in his upcoming documentary because I embraced him during his trying times after just meeting him. If I had to describe him with one word I would say "Innocent". He was sooooooo innocent, a dope MC, a hell of a beat maker & cool GREAT Dude. Craig was Hit Squad before K-Solo, Redman & Das Efx were discovered. Unfortunately Craig never got the opportunity to get his chance with the Hit Squad because EPMD broke up. Everyone's careers were in jeopardy & Craig was back on his own again. A few years later, EPMD's longtime bodyguard Alvin Toney took Craig Mack's demos to Puffy, Puff signed him & put Bad Boy Records on the map with the platinum single "Flavor In Ya Ear". I cried when I saw Craig had finally made it to superstardom because I saw the struggle, the set backs, I was extremely proud of him!!!! The underdog finally wins!!!!!! He's my definition of never giving up when you're going through it & he's an example of what can happen when you believe in someone regardless of their set backs. This industry is very cruel & backstabbing, I've saw my fair share of it & Craig has seen even more than me. So years ago he left the industry & gave his life to GOD. At that moment is when he was most happy, regardless if no one understood his life changing decision. This has hit home for a number of reasons. First, is because he's the first person in our camp to pass away. News that I wouldn't expect to hear for another 40 years. Second, because he passed away 3 days after Biggie. I won't say rest in peace, because he was already at peace before he passed. I will miss you Craig.

A post shared by Turntable Whisperer (@djscratch) on Mar 13, 2018 at 10:35am PDT