Mase: The Second Coming

During Mason Betha's would-be last interview as a hip-hop artist in April 1999, he looked like a man on his way out. He appeared worn out, bitterness slipped in and out of his tone, and he admitted to being happier when he wasn't doing music. His heart was so heavy, he compared leaving rap to defusing a bomb and taking out the garbage.

"This is the realest thing you've ever seen," he said. "I'm walking away from this not knowing where my next job is coming from. That's how much I believe in myself.

"You want a role model? I'm gonna show you what role models do."

Exclusive Mase photos

That year marked a new era of hip-hop role models. Mase and Puffy's shiny-suit gloss was replaced with the grimy grit of gutter MCs like DMX and Big Pun. Jay ascended to the throne, and Master P's No Limit tank was still gassed up and plowing through hip-hop.

So when Mase stepped away from the game to pursue spirituality, fans knew he'd be back. He was just taking a little time to recharge his batteries and weather the storm of the harder-edged rap wave, right? No, he was serious about getting closer to the Lord, even becoming a pastor and starting his own ministry, the Saving a Nation Endangered Church International.

It would be five years before he'd deliver another of his slow flows. Now in the full swing of a comeback, Mase looks physically like he's been holed up in a time capsule. His jewels are icy enough to make the temperature drop 10 degrees on a summer day, his hair is lined up, his clothes still fly.

"Welcome Back" video photos

And yet Mase looks totally different than he did in '99. He can't stop smiling, and he'll tell anyone within earshot that the day is beautiful. Yes, the spiritual unrest is over. He's now at peace, and joy appears to be in his heart.

For years, Mase said, he hasn't really listened to secular music or watched videos, but that doesn't mean the Harlem World representative doesn't know what's up. He told MTV News that he thinks rap has lost its fun factor. He also got a little insulted when we asked if he was rusty.

"Welcome Back"
Welcome Back
(Bad Boy/Fo Reel)

MTV: Watching footage from your "Welcome Back" video, it's almost like you never left the game. Your swagger is crazy, and you look exactly the same. But with such a long hiatus, were you ever worried that you might not be welcomed back so warmly?

Mase: No. I guess what makes this time so wonderful is that it's not about the money and it's not about just music, and this time it's not about me, so I really have nothing to be concerned about. When you're doing things for selfish reasons, you always have to wonder about if they're gonna go right. But when you're doing things for the love, you can always rest assured that they're gonna go well.

MTV: It's one thing to come back and get love from those who missed you, but you came back with a hit record. Did you think "Welcome Back" was going to get as many spins as it has?

Mase: I knew were ready to hear something from me because every time I would go somewhere, someone would ask me, "Hey, yo, when you gonna put something out?" So I expected big things. I can't really say I'm shocked by any of it.

"Every time I would go somewhere, someone would ask me, 'Hey, yo, when you gonna put something out?' "

MTV: And you've still got your flow.

Mase: That's important. Don't nobody want to see Jordan come back and he can't dunk - that don't make sense.

MTV: Yeah. And we want to see Jordan dunking from the foul line.

Mase: [He laughs.] Exactly. If he didn't have his dunk and he can't stick his tongue out no more, you don't wanna pay to see that. You wanna see Air Jordan, not Michael.

MTV: So you weren't even a little rusty when you first picked up the mic again? Five years is a long time.

Mase: You heard the song, right? I mean, the music speaks for itself. Does it sound like I'm rusty? I mean, this time it's a God-given gift. This time what makes it so powerful is that there's a lot of substance in what I'm saying.

MTV: So the first time you stepped back into the booth was as easy as 1-2-3?

Mase: Well, the first time I came in the studio is a hilarious story. I had on this three-piece suit, I walked in, there was Nelly with everyone in the studio. They are like, "Mase! Mase!" They showed me a lot of love. ... Then he let me listen to some of his music. He asked [his manager,] Cudda , "Do you think Mase would get on the record?" And said, "Mase ain't gonna do that. I can tell you that now." Then Cudda came back and asked me, and I said, "What is he talking about on the record?"

MTV: Yeah, it's hard to imagine Pastor Betha on the remix to "Tip Drill" or something like that.

"I went in the booth and I laid the verse down, and before you knew it everybody just swarmed to the studio."

Mase: It was a song called "I Still Love You," and I said, "I'm gonna do it." So he put the beat on and he played it like twice. And I said, "I'm ready to record my part." He was like, "What do you mean you're ready to record your part?" I said, "I've got my part." So I went in the booth and I laid the verse down, and before you knew it everybody just swarmed to the studio - "Oh, you gotta hear this song, you gotta hear this song." After that, we just started recording music. So by the time we talked to Puff, everything was already done.

MTV: You've said you wanted to keep your guest spots down to a minimum because people have already heard you on a million collaborations.

Mase: Well, actually, that's another thing that made this album incredible. I think in times past, I used to do so many collaborations that people never really saw the strengths of me as an artist. I've always watched artists do so many songs with other people, you never really can tell how strong that artist is. It's been so long since I've been in music, I think that I have so much to say, people want to hear me by myself. It really would have been like robbing the fans by not really letting them hear me as much as possible.

MTV: How much are we going to be hearing you? Are you coming back for a full-fledged rap career or is Welcome Back just a one-off LP?

Mase: It depends on how the people appreciate it. I didn't come to force myself on nobody.

"Welcome Back" video shoot photos

MTV: Now that you're in full music mode, how much time will you have to devote to the church?

Mase: Between Saturday and Tuesday I don't do anything other than [the ministry]. I go out between Wednesday and Friday and do all of the musical stuff. But I can't compromise my faith.

MTV: How did the members of your congregation react when you told them about coming back to rap?

Mase: Pretty much relieved that I would even take such a stand, because it takes actually a great deal of integrity to even stand in this arena and be who I am. They look at it like: If you were a part of that world, then you got changed from that, why wouldn't you go back and shed some light on that particular world?

MTV: When you bounced from the game, a gang of MCs adopted your style. How do you feel about all the Mase Juniors out there?

Mase: I think that was a beautiful thing. You know, I'm flattered to know that somebody appreciates the work that I put out. So that's the best way to answer that.

MTV: In "Welcome Back," you say "the game ain't been the same" since you left. What's the biggest change you see?

Mase: When I think of hip-hop, I think of excitement, a fly way of dressing. I think of party music. All of the things you think hip-hop is, is not the way hip-hop is right now. I think I would actually be an advocate to bring hip-hop back to what [it's supposed to be]. Hip-hop was fun, it was dancing. It was the way you dressed. It was the way you carried yourself. It had nothing to do with who did anything to anybody. It was who was the best artist and the most creative artist.

MTV: What are some of the things you like about the game?

Mase: I appreciate how hip-hop done branched out. You've got guys from the country and now they're big artists.

MTV: Yeah, the South has had it on lock for a minute now, but this summer it looks like New York is trying to come back. You're dropping, then there'll be albums from Jadakiss, Lloyd Banks, the Terror Squad ... Nas has new song out. It's looking good for the Rotten Apple.

Mase: Yeah, New York is coming back, but I guess I came to do it for the world. It's good to do it for Harlem one more time, but I came to do it for the world.