Classic Hip Hop

CRAIG MACK Is Dead at 46. The Hip Hop Community Reacts.

Where would Hip Hop be without “Flava In Ya Ear” (1994 Bad Boy Entertainment) ? Craig Mack created a legendary song that will resonate in the culture forever. The NY Daily News reports that original Bad Boy MC Craig Mack died of heart failure in a Walterboro, SC hospital at 46 today. The Hip Hop community is stunned.

Just a quick history, Alvin Toney, produced Mack’s debut album “Project: Funk Da World” in 1994. In 1995, just a year after releasing his hit record, Craig Mack began to fade away.  After the release of Funk Da World, Mack severed ties with Bad Boy Records.

He returned in 1997 after signing a deal with Street Life Records, and released his sophomore album Operation: Get Down. Legendary DJ Eric B. was the Executive Producer on the project, which featured production from Eric B., Johnny “J”, Ty Fyffe, Al West and Mark Morales. The album received mediocre reviews and sales, failing to reach the Top 40, and failing to reach Gold status. The album’s lead single, “What I Need”, failed to make an impact, peaking at #16 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.

The rapper reappearred in 2002 on the remix of the G-Dep song “Special Delivery” with P. Diddy, Keith Murray, and Ghostface Killah, which can be found on the Bad Boy album We Invented the Remix Vol. 1. After starting his own imprint, named MackWorld Entertainment, Mack released the single “Mack Tonight” b/w “Hip-Hop Life” in 2006. Plans for a third album, tentatively titled The Affiliation, were announced, scheduled for release sometime in 2007. hiphopscriptures

Earlier this year, Erick Sermon recruited Mack alongside Method Man and Mr. Cheeks for “Come Thru,” the first single off Sermon’s upcoming album.

Toney, who confirmed Craig Mack’s death, told the NY Daily News he was working on a documentary about Mack. “Nobody got to understand his story,” Toney said. “I wanted the world to know the talent he had. It was something I wanted people to enjoy, but it was cut short because he was very religious and wanted to go to church.”

Source: Rolling Stone

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