Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Is Mase Underrated?


I just got done reading a old issue of Vibe Magazine from '99, and Mase was on the cover and it had a article about him. As i was reading that i was thinking to myself, does Mase get enough credit for the artist he was? Why people only focus on the shiny suits and all that? This is my blog so i get to talk about certain subjects that i feel free to, and this was one that was on my mind.

Lets go back to Murder Mase when he was on Children of the Corn. When Mase was Murder, he was Murder on the mic! If u heard any of his rhymes and the things he spit was incredible! His whole flow was dope. He wasnt on that pretty stuff just yet, he was still hard. To me thats the real Mase right there. Thats how he orig. was...hard.

But then like Mase said "I was Murder, Puff Daddy made me pretty, did it for the money now can u get wit me." Hey it is what it is, Puff saw the potential and switched some things up and Mase went from hard to flossy. Which it isnt so bad, cause Jay was already on it and Mase added his own flava to it. U cant sit here and say his 1st LP was wack, it sold 4 mil!! To me its a classic. Then Mase was rhymin on everybody shit, that nigga was everywhere droppin hot 16's!! Then we all know him & Camron as a duo was one of the all-time best in my opinion.

Now lets get into the swag Mase had! Mase was Fabolous before Fabolous for all u new heads. Mase whole swag on point man! He had the ill waves (one of the 1st niggas to rock a caesar haircut), his ice game was crazy (one of the few niggas early on to rock a jesus piece) and his dress game was crazy. Whatever what was hot at that time he was rockin it. So his style was new to the game that other than Jay Z, everybody was biting it!

Mase was a nigga that could switch it up lyrically, he could go hard like he did on X's "Niggas Done Started Somethin" or smooth like he did on 112's "Only U". Whatever style u want, Mase had it. Now as u can see im only focusing on Mase's early career all the way up to right before the release of Double Up. Im not even gonna front and try to big up that LP cause we all know it wasnt up to par that we expected from Mase. And that lil comeback he made in '04 & '05 dont count either.

Mase in his prime was one the illest niggas on the mic and i will stand by that. Dont get it twisted with that shiny suit shit. Like in that Vibe article, Nas told Mase " dont trip on the haters, cause niggas be quick to put on that shiny suit if they can have ur success too." So that says it all right there. So go back analyze Mase early career and u will see that he didnt receive enough credit for the artist he was. And to me for the record, he is Underrated. Let ur feelings be known.

9 comments:

vincentlopez said...

Brandan - Even if Mase sold 10 million copies of his first album, you know it's not a classic. Puff did a great job marketing him (and everyone else) but he took away his edge and his soul. Mo Money, Mo Problems!

Brandan E. said...

yo vincent, u still puttin up mags on ur other blog? i been trying to get on but its blocking my e-mail address.

sdot said...

murda was that work i thrived off mixtapes definitely was in my top 5-7 and i didnt fuck with none of his albums

vincentlopez said...

@Brandan - I stopped doing it last year. I no longer have the time. The private blog is closed to everyone. If you're looking for a particular article though, then just let me know.

Roe Lup said...

Sorry yo, Mase was extremely overrated. His skills weren't wack but there is a certain integrity MC's should have, like standing for something thats true to yourself. Mase was the prime example of a nigga that would anyhing for the money. He even admitted that in his g-unit "back to murda" mase days. How do you do that? How do you flip flop like a fish outta water between being a player, a man of god, a gangster. I couldn't take him seriously because if Puff said "Dress up like Ronald McDonald and get this money", He would've done it. if Nas really felt what he said in that srticle, than why wasn't Nas rockin shiny suits doin dance steps? He had a colorful ensemble in the street dreams video but he wasnt shuckin & jivin'. Mase & Puff were a 90s minstrel show, and the fact that Mase aint shit now proves he never really counted at all.

Brandan E. said...

yo Bruno Lee, everybody has their opinion. and i appreciate u voicing urs.
remember i only validated what Mase did early in his career all the way up to 2nd LP. anything he did after that im not talkin about. thats that other shit. im talkin about in his prime Mase.

Roe Lup said...

I respect your opinion dog, mos def. but its Bruto Lee not bruno.
Nuff Respect, im glad we have this forum to exchange opinions.

REALNIGGATUMBLR said...

Bad Boy was the shit to me, but in retrospect Mase album wasn't that great. Of course there were some classics on there, but there was just as many really terrible moments on his debut. Even though he sold a lot of records there was always untapped potential for being thrown up there with the greats.

Unknown said...

I really like Mase, his style and his flow.I think his really cool.I honestly don't think he gets the respect his deserve. But obviously he hasn't done enough and put out enough material too be considered great. He was a dope rappers with an enormous talent and wasted potential. So sad.But I still listen to his music. I think he has the best flow with Pusha (T) coming in second. Fab is Alryt. Mase could have done more to soliduso his place in rap history. Consistency and longevity. Unlike Jay Z he remained in the rap game for most the tint mase took a break, came back and left again. Mase is still one of my favourite rappers. The dancing and the shiney suits were really entertaining. Duffy had great influence in how mase dressed and appeared in public ( his public persona). NinetNoneth they made a great team.