I was shocked this morning to find out that Craig Mack, one of my favorite rappers of the golden era of Bad Boy Records, has died near his home in Walterboro, South Carolina.
Before Notorious B.I.G. emerged to eclipse pretty much the entire rap industry, Craig Mack was the next hot rapper via his hit debut album Project: Funk Da World and it's infectious signature single Flava in Ya Ear. The Flava remix features a breakthrough verse that launched B.I.G's career, as well as the post-LONS reign of Busta Rhymes. That's how hot Mack and Bad Boy were at the time...
Funk Da World rocked the hip hop charts in 1994-1995, my first year at the University of North Texas. My fellow student residents at UNT's West Hall bonded over lots of dope music, and Craig Mack's iconic meaty baritone bark still reminds me of playing pool and basketball with those guys. I got away from popular rap music as I became more devout during that time of my life, as Mack's star declined beside Biggie's colossal ascendancy, I was less and less interested in Bad Boy as a source of music.
But enough about me. I loved Craig Mack's music. He was not the most acrobatic lyricist, but I always enjoyed his spirit. Now he is gone. According to what I've read, he always suffered from health problems, and died of heart failure. "He was prepared for whatever comes... To go home with the LORD," said producer Alvin Toney of Mack, who was known to be very devout himself.
Anyways, Craig Mack is survived by his wife and two adult children. He was only 46.
Rest in Peace, Mack.
Samax Amen is a professional Content Developer, Illustrator and Cartoonist. He is the artist of many great comics you never heard of like Herman Heed, Champion of Children, The Brother and The World As You Know It. He even writes and draws his own comics, like Dare: The Adventures of Darius Davidson, Spontaneous, and Manchild when he gets around to it. Because making comics is hard and stuff, he started GhettoManga as a blog in 2006 and as a print magazine in 2008. GhettoManga.com
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