Mase |
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Mon. August 02.2004 12:00 AM EDT |
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Mase: You Can Call It a ComebackThe rapper talks about giving up music for the ministry, how he's voting for Bush, and why he now rhymes without cursing. by C. Bottomley |
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(Bad Boy) |
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Ma$e wasn't the first rapper to retire. LL Cool J, Too Short, and Ma$e's guru Puff Daddy had all said they were calling it quits at one time. But Ma$e was one of the first to leave while still at the top of his game.
In 1999, Ma$e had
And that, it was thought, was that. Mason Betha went back to school and built his own church. Then, earlier this year, came the rumors he had dropped a verse on Nelly's new album. He celebrated his return proper with "Welcome Back," a big warm-heated hug of a record. Floating along on a sample of the Welcome Back Kotter theme, the onetime Bad Boy seemed to brim over with goodwill when he rhymed, "People give me daps and hugs, so it must be love/and I love the country grub." The shiny suit has been dumped (as has the dollar sign on the S of his name), and Mase says he now rhymes from a "different perspective." He's got a lot to say, too; so much so that he's already recorded two album's worth of material. Welcome Back is out in August, to be followed next year by a second album called either Karma or The Second Coming, with production from Neptunes and Lil' Jon. "I'm not a doubter, I'm a believer," Mase tells VH1 when asked if he's having second thoughts about picking up the mic. He talked about why he decided to leave, why George W. Bush is misunderstood, and why Puffy now looks to him for advice. VH1: During the 5 years, how strong was the temptation to pick up a mic again? Mase: There was no temptation to do any music, because I had come to the conclusion that I may never do music again. It wasn't like I was sitting somewhere wondering, "Man, I would sound good on this track or that track." I wasn't even listening to music. VH1: Why did you leave in the first place? M: I just got real tired of living behind music and living behind the money, while all the while knowing I wasn't really happy with [the way] my life was. Some people can live with just knowing they made incredible records. I felt like I had so much more to offer and like my life really had a purpose. That was actually true. My life really did have a purpose. VH1: What achievement of the last five years would you say you're most proud of? M: Just to know that I was able to live without music. That was one of my biggest fears: "Who would I be without music?" Now that I've answered that fear, I have none. VH1: How long did it take you to decide to come back? M: A mentor mentioned that it would be good for me to be a part of hip-hop again, and I began to consider it. Then I began to think about what kind of music I would make, what my style would be like, and who would I be able to touch. Because I didn't wanna make music to make music this time, I wanna really touch people. VH1: Describe Welcome Back for me. What are people gonna hear that's different? M: It'll be the same type of beats and melodies, and the same type of big hooks, but a different perspective. "My Harlem Lullaby" samples Madonna's "La Isla Bonita," and it's got a real Miami feel to it. Then we have this song called "Breathe, Stretch, Shake" which is like an intensified club song. It's the same vibe of Harlem World, just in some of the songs I put little messages in there. In one of the songs called "Wasting My Time" I talk about the topic of "what is love?" and how "love wanna see you more than once a week", and "love doesn't cheat, love doesn't creep, love is not a freak." Things like that. VH1: Is it the record you've always wanted to make? M: Yeah. Whenever an artist comes from any great adversity, they always have so much to say. It's better that they get it all out. VH1: Do you mean your years away from music have been a struggle? M: No, I mean there are many things that I have overcome. You think of a guy that was in hip-hop and then he goes to the extreme of doing something totally leftfield. It was a lot of things that I had to overcome to be here to even talk to you today. I had to defy all the odds, denounce all the stereotypes, live above reproach -all of the things that a person have to do to be credible, to say what it is I'm saying today. VH1: Is it more difficult to write a rap without swearing? M: No, it's actually easier. Even in the older songs, I never did curse a lot. In "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems" I didn't curse and "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" I didn't curse and "Been Around the World" and the remix I didn't curse; "Feels So Good" I didn't curse. It's nothing new. VH1: When you perform now, do you have to change the lyrics to older songs? M: Yeah, to a certain degree, but I'm not gonna change them to the point where it's gonna take the flavor away. A lot of the stuff that I said, I would still say. It's just certain things ... like when I'm making sexual gestures to women, I'll change that a little bit. But it will be the same fly flow, the same slow flow, the same melodious sound everybody fell in love with. VH1: Is it true that you're now a doctor? M: Well I actually have two honorary doctorates, one in divinity and one in theology, but that's a whole other story. When I was at Clark-Atlanta [University], I was studying mathematics. I'm real good with numbers. VH1: You can do your own accounting. M: Yeah, that's ultimately what I wanna do. VH1: Whatever happened to the aluminum foil suit in the "Feels So Good" video? M: I don't know. It's probably covering somebody's sweet potato pie right now. VH1: P. Diddy signed you and is in the "Welcome Back" video. Is he still a mentor figure for you? M: No. I mean, I'm now in a position to give him advice [laughs]. It's amazing how things can turn around. We both talk to each other like men and we both respect each other and the things that each other does, and I guess that's where our relationship has grown to be. He really respects what I stand for and what I'm about. I'm quite sure that he can appreciate having real people around him. VH1: You're working with P. Diddy's Citizen Change movement. How important is it to vote this year? M: It's very important because a lot of times people complain about the person in leadership and the decisions they make. However they're very lackadaisical about going out to vote. So you can't really complain about who's in office if you didn't vote. VH1: When was the last time you went to vote? M: I always vote. VH1: Who did you vote for in 2000? M: I think 2000 was the year I wasn't able to vote. That was the year everybody was going in and they was turning people around and stuff like that. But if I had the chance to vote, I would have voted for Bush. VH1: Do you think he's done a good job? M: I think all leaders are misunderstood and people love to judge a leader, when realistically they can't really say what they would do if they was in those shoes. VH1: What music do you listen to when you're at home? M: When I'm at home, I listen to...y'know that instrumental music that has the water running? I listen to massage music, so I can have a clear head. My life is peaceful right now, and even though I'm back in music, I'm not gonna let them make my life chaotic. |
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