We caught up with Ma$e in his blinged out Sprinter after his performance at the Bud Light House of Whatever in Lake Havasu, AZ. The NY hip hop icon talked with us about a bunch of different subjects, including his first time on Spring Break, his upcoming plans with Now We Even, and a reflection on the death of the Notorious BIG and what it meant to hip hop as a whole.
What’s the craziest place you’ve ever been on Spring Break?
My first trip on Spring Break was when I first got rich. I took 40 of my friends to Cancun. It was the first time my whole neighborhood got out of Harlem.
You brought them all with you?
Yeah. I didn’t know it was going to cost so much haha. That was my first experience with bad decision making. They never forgot it though. To this day, people talk about those 40 guys.
So were those guys like Puffy?
No, those were guys that I grew up with. Taking my whole neighborhood, you know.
Is there a release date for your upcoming album Now We Even?
It’s interesting you ask that because every time I go in the studio, I make something better than what I had before. It’s been ready to go for like the last three months, I’m just trying to just figure out the marketing of it. The album is actually completed and I’ve heard some people tell me that it’s better than HarlemWorld. I’m really looking forward to it.
Musically, it’s phenomenal. I say that because I won’t stand by a product if it’s not good. Like people say “Why do you step back?” If I don’t think it’s not good, I won’t show it to the world.
Where does the name of your new record imprint RichFish come from?
It’s a secret. It’s just really like a conversation between a catfish and dolphin; they can’t speak the same language because they don’t see the same things. A catfish is a bottom feeder and a dolphin can go in and out of the water and all over the place. They see it all, you know? And myself, I feel like I’m that person. I’ve been able to experience so many things and so many sides of life that sometimes people try to judge me because they don’t know where I come from. But when we sit down and have an intelligent conversation, they can understand what I’m thinking.
Tomorrow is the 18th Anniversary of Biggie’s death and you gave a shoutout to him during your performance today. Do you ever think about what hip hop would be like if Biggie was still around?
That’s such an interesting question. What would hip hop be like if he was still around? Like, what would hip hop be like if I stayed around? You can’t really answer that because anything can happen. He could have stayed and been Jay Z. He could have stayed and been Nas. They’re both great rappers but what you do business wise can really take you someplace different.
So when people say “the state of hip hop,” I really can’t say. Even when you listen to music today there’s a lot of guys still around like Jay Z, but music is still going that direction because it’s just time for something new. You get what I’m saying? You can’t really answer that question. You’d have to answer “where would Bad Boy be?” “Where would Puff be?” You couldn’t answer that question without answering all those questions.
I used to think about it all the time, but then one lady came up and asked me, “What if Biggie fell off and wasn’t as good as he was?” And I said, “I don’t see that.” There are some guys that really have it, and there are some guys who are really good at marketing. I know it’s really God-given that I’m on stage, 19 years later I’m at the Garden and people are going crazy. That’s not just talent. That’s a connection. Like when people see me, I remind them of how they grew up, their fun times. That’s a connection, that’s not just artistry. That’s something that’s given. There are the Beyonces, and then there are people who sing R&B. Some people just have it; it’s not just something you can work at. Like, if you’re consistent you can do more with it but it won’t go as far as if it was God-given.
As a New Yorker who’s a big deal in the world of hip hop, what’s your opinion on what happened with Bobby Shmurder and Epic Records?
I was really elated of what Bobby Shmurder was able to accomplish with one record. Like that’s a beat that came from Lloyd Banks and again that’s exactly what I’m talking about with marketing. Someone else had it and he got it and it became a phenomenal record. Same thing with A$AP Rocky. My favorite in the A$AP Mob is A$AP Ferg. I love what they’re doing because they’re keeping my borough going so I’m kind of drawn to that. I really love even what A$AP did with his fashion, I respect people that dare to do something different.
I really like backpack rappers, they remind me of what I was like before I had money. I still have that ability, that’s just not what people ask or expect of me.
What about backpack rappers?
It’s unorthodox, it’s real. It’s Drake. You hear Eminem rap that way and people say that he’s the best rapper of all time, but people been rapping like that for a long time. And I love Eminem. I love Kanye. I like the greats, you know? I’m starting to like Kendrick Lamar a bit. He’s not in my playlist, but I like him. My playlist is like Makaveli, my playlist is Body Count, NWA and Ice-T. My playlist today is like Drake, OVO, old Kanye, high Weezy. I like Wayne when he’s high, mixtape Weezy. There’s so many guys that I like in music. I even like what Yo Gotti’s doing, he’s growing on me. But my favorite is Meek Mills. Yeah, I work out to Meek Mills.
What about you? Do you have anyone coming up right now?
Ahhhh hahaha. I got something special for y’all. I can’t let you in on it yet because the ink hasn’t dried yet. If I tell people then they’re gonna go out and get him.