Mase signed a solo deal with Puffy and Bad Boy records in 1996. He talked about he was initially going to Atlanta to meet and rap for Jermaine Dupri but end up meeting with Puffy.
Soon after inking a deal, Mase was featured on 112’s song “Only You” and dancing in the video with Puffy.
In 1997, Mase released his first album ‘Harlem World’ which debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. The same year he introduced Cam’ron to legendary rapper and label mate Notorious BIG. Cam signed to Biggie’s business partner Lance “Un” Rivera’s Untertainment label. In 1998 Cam’ron released his debut album Confessions of Fire. The album went gold and included the single “Horse and Carriage” that featured Mase on the hook.
In the midst of his success with his Harlem World album and the release of his buddy Cam’ron dropping his album; Mase started his own label All Out Records in 1998. The next year he dropped his second album called Double Up. That same year, in an interview with Funkmaster Flex; Mase announced that he was retiring from rap music and was dedicating his life to God. In the fall of 1999, he enrolled as a student in Clark Atlanta University.
I just want to recap these years of 1996-1999, because those years, as we later will found out, served as the time that things shift in the friendship/relationship of Cam’ron and Mase. A lot of things occurred within this time frame that contributed to that change. Just for clarity, I want to go summarize some of those details.
- Mase signed to Bad Boy records.
- Mase dropped his first solo album.
- Bloodshed dies in a car crash.
- Mase introduced Cam’ron to Biggie.
- Cam’ron gets signed to Untertainment records.
- Biggie Smalls gets killed.
- Cam’ron drops his first solo album.
- Mase starts his own label.
- Big L gets killed.
- Mase drops his second album.
- Mase retires from rap music.