Diddy has been in the news constantly in the past several weeks, regarding several salacious improprieties in both his business and personal relationships. While it's no secret that misfortune has befallen many of Diddy's known collaborators, Mase has remained one of the most fascinating figures in the rap mogul's orbit. Mase has been lucky enough to escape from his tumultuous tenure at Bad Boy records. However, the prolific performing artist has maintained a years-long feud with Diddy, mostly due to financial and business disagreements.
Read More: Mase Insinuates Diddy Is Tied To Keefe D, Tupac's Murder Suspect
Mase Attempts To Leave Bad Boy
Mase first quit music in 1999 to pursue his newfound passion as a minister. During his time at the Bad Boy label, several unfortunate events transpired which prompted the "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" rapper to find God. Some of these events may include the violent and untimely death of labelmate The Notorious B.I.G. in 1997. At the time, the Bad Boy label also dealt with a number of legal issues, leading to the incarceration of several artists. Shyne, for instance, faced a conviction for armed assault in connection to a 1999 shooting incident.
Mase came out of retirement on two occasions. Once in 2004 with an album titled Welcome Back, and again in 2009 with a non-album single titled "Get It" and later, Double Up. Unfortunately, his 2009 reemergence was halted by label antics, prompting Mase to crash Diddy's live radio interview with V103’s Ryan Cameron. Mase stormed into the interview, armed with documents that the rapper claims absolved him from his label requirements, allowing him to function as a free agent. Diddy allegedly signed the documents, allowing Mase to perform as a featured artist on other rappers' songs. It was later revealed, however, that Bad Boy Records had kept the publishing rights to all of Mase's music, retaining control over the minister's career on the mic.
The Beef Escalated Over The Years
In the years since the initial spat, Diddy and Mase have each taken public shots at one another. In 2020, Mase took to Instagram to lament that Diddy refused to sell him back his publishing rights, even going so far as to claim that he offered the mogul over $2 million for the entire catalog. The rapper-turned-minister even put his frustration on wax in a 2022 track titled "Oracle 2: The Liberation of Mason Betha."
In the track, Mase raps “Yeah, I’m just a Harlem n***a reppin’ down a Vegas strip with my own Suge. You from Mt. Vernon, n***a, go and rep your own hood... You ain’t no architect, you just a n***a who know how to market death.” Diddy reacted to the track by branding Mase a "fake pastor." He also asserted that Mase still owed the label a $3 million album advance for a project that he never delivered.
Read More: Mase Responds To Diddy's Claim About Owing Him $3 Million
The Beef Is Over... For Now
As of this writing, the most recent update in the ongoing Mase vs. Diddy saga came in September of 2023, when Diddy claimed the pair had made up. During a Billboard interview, Diddy stated, "You know, we’re brothers and brothers fight. I love him and that’s it," in response to a query about whether the two had reconciled. Of course, we've heard the pair sing this tune before, so there's no telling if and when this beef could heat up again.
[Via]
