Mase's 'Harlem World'; Classic!, Dope, Regular, or Garbage?

Mase has accused Diddy of improper compensation practices for quite some time. But it’s all cap according to his former boss in a recent interview (October 5th) with Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club.

“Just in general, the Mase thing. I did one album with Mase. One album. How much money do you think I owe this guy?”

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For the record, Mase has given Diddy more than one album. Harlem World, Double Up, and Welcome Back were all released under the Bad Boy imprint. However, it is safe to assume the one album Diddy was talking about is the former. And that’s the one I would like to discuss.

Harlem World was released in 1997. Puffy, the executive producer, went with a balance formula. “Feel So Good,” the album’s lead single, was funky and up-beat. The Kool & The Gang sampled-track had us all dancing upon it’s release.

Mase catered to the ladies on “I Need to Be” and “What You Want,” with vocal help from Monifah and Total, respectively.

“24. Hrs to Live” and “Niggaz Wanna Act” was created with the streets in mind.

One of my favorite joints was “Cheat On You” featuring Lil Cease, Jay-Z, and 112. Puffy reached out to South legends, 8Ball & MJG to assist with “The Player Way,” which was also one of my favorites.

Harlem World reached the number 1 spot on both the US Billboard 200 and US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

There’s nothing like a street Hip Hop record. The culture was built on it. However, we can’t discredit the radio friendly albums such as Harlem World, which helped crossover into homes of all ethnicities.