Betha, better known as Mase, was one of Bad Boy Records’ most popular and successful artists in the ’90s. While hip-hop was becoming increasingly violent, Mase stood out with his baby face, sensitive eyes, and charming dimples. His laid-back, slow-flow lyrics often revolved around his adventures with women, the high life, and his flashy jewelry. But then, out of nowhere, he vanished from the spotlight.
The exact reason for his sudden departure remains unclear, with various conflicting stories floating around. However, one thing is certain: Mase still has a deep-seated grudge against his former boss, Diddy. This begs the question: Why should we keep supporting the same gatekeepers who have exploited us and used our talents for their gain?
There’s a lot to unpack in this story, and we won’t be able to cover every single detail. However, we’ll do our best to highlight the most important aspects to give you a clear picture of what went down.
Let’s go back to 1993 when Harlem rapper Big L started the hip-hop group Children of the Corn with fellow rappers McGruff, Mase (who was known as Murder Mase back then), Bloodshed, and his cousin Killa Cam, now famous as Cam’ron. They were briefly managed by Dame Dash and put out several songs and mixtapes, hoping to get signed by a major label.
Fast forward to 1996, after Mase dropped out of college, he had a chance meeting in Atlanta where he freestyled for Sean “Puff Daddy” (P. Diddy) “Brother Love” Combs. Although Mase initially wanted to sign with Jermaine Dupri’s So So Def label, Diddy’s East Coast-based Bad Boy Records made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: a $250,000 contract with a $50,000 advance. Mase signed on the dotted line, a decision he later regretted. He dropped “Murder” from his name, becoming simply “Mase” with a dollar sign instead of the “S.” He toned down his raw, gritty lyrics for a more radio-friendly sound and quickly became Diddy’s right-hand man, often seen wearing matching flashy outfits.
Just a week after signing, 20-year-old Mase performed the same freestyle that got him noticed on the remix of 112’s song “Only You.” His life changed overnight, going from running the streets of Harlem to working with top industry artists. He even wrote much of the material for Puff Daddy and the Family’s album “No Way Out.”
With all the writing Mase was doing, you might think he was rolling in money. But The Notorious B.I.G. knew better; they had both signed similar shady contracts. In case you’re curious, Biggie’s mom revealed in her memoir (linked in the description) that Biggie only got $25,000 when he signed with Bad Boy. Seeing Mase’s talent and potential, Biggie wanted to get some cash into his hands as quickly as possible.
Biggie co-owned a marketing-turned-production company called Undeas Entertainment with his friends Lance “Un” Rivera and Jacob York. The company managed Biggie’s protégé group Junior M.A.F.I.A., which included Lil’ Kim and Lil’ Cease.
So, Biggie told Un to give Mase $30,000 to write five songs for Lil’ Cease. Mase took $5,000 of that and gave it to Cam’ron, asking him to write one or two of the songs for him. Cam’ron ended up writing Lil’ Cease’s verses on “Crush on You,” which later appeared on Lil’ Kim’s 1996 solo album “Hardcore.” This opportunity led to Cam’ron landing his own solo deal. Even though Mase tried to help his friends, he had to focus on his own career for a while. As Diddy started noticing his potential, Mase was pushed to the forefront. Alongside Bad Boy’s hip-hop trio The Lox, all four rappers appeared on the cover of The Source magazine.
With tensions rising between Bad Boy and Death Row, known in the media as the East Coast versus West Coast beef, Mase managed to stay neutral. Tragedy struck when Tupac was killed on September 13, 1996. Just months later, on March 2, 1997, Mase’s Children of the Corn groupmate Bloodshed died in a car accident at the age of 21. Meanwhile, Biggie was in Los Angeles filming the music video for “Hypnotize,” doing press for his upcoming album, and finishing some songs for Diddy’s new album. He decided to stay in LA to attend the Soul Train Music Awards on March 8. Mase joined a celebrity basketball tournament in the area, with other entertainers like Death Row artists Snoop Dogg and members of Tha Dogg Pound also in attendance.
A post we found on Facebook mentioned that Biggie tried to attend the event but couldn’t get in because the gym was full. Despite Mase’s good relationship with West Coast artists, someone from Death Row reportedly warned him that the beef was still on after Tupac’s death, with a lot of animosity remaining from their side. According to Diddy’s former bodyguard, Gene Deal, who spoke to Vlad TV, Mase shared this information with Diddy. However, Gene claimed that Diddy didn’t take it seriously because he was too busy enjoying himself in LA and having an affair with actress Sally Richardson.
Years later, Mase shared with EmRec TV that he wasn’t worried about his safety while on the West Coast because he felt he wasn’t giving off any bad energy. However, he had a gut feeling that something terrible was going to happen while he and other Bad Boy artists were in Los Angeles. Mase said, “If you go into a tense area without any security or backup, you’re just asking for trouble. We were in a stupid situation. There was no security.”
The day after Mase was warned about the high tension, Biggie was tragically killed at the age of 24, shot four times in LA. In her memoir, Biggie’s mother wrote that his death hit his so-called friends hardest in their wallets. She noted, “They mourned more for the loss of their money train than for the loss of a special person.” With the label’s star gone, Mase told Angie Martinez that he turned to writing to help the label bounce back. In October 1997, he released his four-times-platinum debut album, “Harlem World,” with hit songs “Feel So Good” and “Lookin’ at Me” both reaching number one. From there, he secured a production deal for his new group, Harlem World, which included his twin sister Stasean Betha and rapper Loon, who later found solo success on Bad Boy.
Mase then teamed up with Jermaine Dupri and launched his own label, All Out Records, as a division of So So Def, with Harlem World as the first act signed. Around this time, Mase was also featured on Brandy’s song “Top of the World.” Although Brandy never confirmed it, the two were definitely an item. In his memoir, Mase described a woman named Brandy as one of the four serious girlfriends he had. He also had a fling with Aaliyah. In an article celebrating Aaliyah’s life, producer and DJ Mark Ronson recalled seeing Aaliyah at The Cheetah Club with Mase. Ronson told The Fader, “I think they were on a date, and I was like, ‘Holy…!'”
Mase drops both Brandy and Aaliyah’s names in his song “Lookin’ at Me.” In February 1999, tragedy struck when his Children of the Corn groupmate, Big L, was killed at just 24, leading to the group’s breakup. Then, in March 1999, Harlem World, the group he was part of, released their debut album, “The Movement.”
A month later, on April 1, Mase announced he had signed with Magic Johnson’s management company. Not long after that, he appeared on the Funkmaster Flex radio show to promote his second album, “Double Up.” During the interview, Flex got a fax from Magic Johnson Management announcing Mase’s retirement from rap. When asked about it, Mase simply said,
“It makes me happy, you know.”
[Applause]
“I’m about to put something in your heart, you know. God talks to everybody differently.”
And just like that, Mase was done with the rap game. Despite his retirement, “Double Up” did really well, reaching number two on the Billboard hip-hop charts and going gold. Many people think he hints at his relationship with Brandy in the song with lines like,
“In case you forgot, the song goes a little something like this:
Me, me, me, I wanted big bucks, no whammies. Understand me? I show love, and they underhand me. Then they wonder why I want no family. Would I need a hooker for getting head from?”
He didn’t mention her by name, but we all know Brandy rhymes with family, so it’s pretty obvious who he was talking about.
The album went gold. But when Mase suddenly disappeared, everyone was left wondering why he stepped away from the industry at the peak of his career. An insider told the New York Daily News that Mase had a change of heart after a close friend was miraculously cured of an illness, attributing their recovery to their newfound faith in Christ. It’s also said that Tia and Tamera Mowry played a role in his decision to quit music. They met him on the set of his song “I Really Like It” and had a deep conversation about God.
Then, there was another theory: some people believed that Mase was unhappy with how Puffy had changed his image from a hardcore MC to a smooth, pretty boy, and he just couldn’t get comfortable with it.
More rumors surfaced when an anonymous executive claimed that Mase was feeling the heat from other rappers who thought he hadn’t paid his dues. Some of his hardcore fans from the Children of the Corn days started calling him a sellout after he became popular in the suburbs, which reportedly made him want to retreat from the spotlight.
The most believable theory came from Cam’ron and Lord Jamar, who said Mase left the industry because he was scared of some old street troubles catching up with him. “It’s kind of weird how many ex-Bad Boy artists turn to religion afterward,” Cam’ron said in an interview. He suggested that Mase thought hiding behind religion would make him untouchable, believing that whoever was after him would back off since no one wants to go after someone who’s devoted their life to God.
Mase firmly denied all the allegations against him, saying that God was leading him in a new direction. Even though he was still under contract with Bad Boy, he told Diddy, “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down.” He enrolled at Clark Atlanta University to study math and worked hard to separate Mason the man from Mase the rapper. According to the New York Times, he gave away all his luxury items, including a Range Rover, BMW, Mercedes convertible, and Rolex watch.
Mase attended different churches, but wherever he went, women were drawn to him, making it difficult to keep his vow of celibacy. He often failed and realized he needed to make significant changes when he began feeling physically ill after intimate encounters.
Eventually, Mase became a pastor and married a woman named Twyla. They founded churches in Atlanta and Phoenix and both served as pastors. They started a family but later decided to end their marriage. Looking back, Mase told TBN that he regretted becoming a pastor too quickly, saying, “I didn’t give myself any room to grow. I went from one extreme to another extreme.”
Mase made a comeback in 2004 with his album “Welcome Back,” but his church members weren’t too happy about their pastor returning to rap with worldly lyrics. Around 2005, Mase tried to join 50 Cent’s G-Unit Records, but the deal fell through because Diddy wanted two million dollars to release Mase from his Bad Boy contract, while 50 Cent was only willing to pay one million. As a result, Mase faded away for a while but reappeared in 2009 to settle some unfinished business.
In 2009, when Diddy and his group Dirty Money visited a radio station in Atlanta, Mase unexpectedly showed up with papers for Diddy to sign, which reportedly granted him a release from his Bad Boy contract. Diddy signed the papers, freeing Mase, but only for a year. The signed document only gave him a one-year release from his contract. Mase finally left Bad Boy for good in 2012, 16 years after he first signed with the label.
It seemed like Mase and Diddy had patched things up in 2016 when Mase joined the Bad Boy Family Reunion Tour. However, by 2020, their relationship had soured again. In a since-deleted Instagram post, Mase revealed that Diddy had paid him only twenty thousand dollars for his publishing rights over two decades ago. When Mase offered two million dollars to buy them back in 2020, Diddy allegedly refused, saying he had a European buyer willing to pay more. Mase accused Diddy of living a prosperous life while leaving his artists struggling and broke.
In 2022, Mase dropped some diss tracks aimed at Diddy. In “Oracle 2: Standing on Bodies,” he raps, “We ain’t gang, we ain’t goals, we ain’t family, we ain’t foes, and we definitely not bros. We ain’t nothing.” Diddy responded in an interview with The Breakfast Club, vehemently denying Mase’s allegations and calling him a fake pastor who conned people. Diddy claimed, “There has been negative propaganda put out about me,” and said he had proof that Mase owed him three million dollars.
Later in August 2022, Mase announced he signed with Death Row Records after Snoop acquired the label. However, it’s unclear if he is actually part of the label’s roster. As of now, it doesn’t seem like there will be any more collaborations between Mase and Diddy, and can you really blame him? “Puff can’t beat me at anything. Anything. And he knows that. And I’m up for the challenge,” Mase declared.