Craig Jamieson Mack (May 10, 1970 – March 12, 2018) was an American rapper. He is best known for his tenure with Bad Boy Records, during which he released his 1994 single "Flava in Ya Ear" (1994), which peaked within the Billboard Hot 100's top ten. The song preceded his debut studio album Project: Funk Da World (1994), which spawned his second top 40 single, "Get Down". His second album Operation: Get Down (1997) was released by Scotti Brothers Records.
Later in his life, Mack joined the Overcomer Ministry in South Carolina. in The Bronx, and raised in Brentwood, Long Island. Mack then secured a record deal with Combs's newly founded label with the help of his friends Busta Rhymes, Len Len, Scenario and Sande Kodwaney, Bad Boy Records.
Mack is best known for his 1994 hit single "Flava in Ya Ear", which was released under his real name. The remix of the single was the breakout appearance of The Notorious B.I.G., as well as one of the first solo appearances by Busta Rhymes. While Mack was technically the first rapper to release music on Bad Boy Records, the success of The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut album Ready to Die, which was released a week before Mack's debut album Project: Funk da World, overshadowed Mack's early success on the label. In 1995, Combs told The New York Times that "Craig is hip-hop's George Clinton, because his stuff is really off the wall." The single "Mack Tonight" was released for the album in 2006.
Mack was absent from the hip hop industry until in 2012, when a video was leaked on YouTube saying he had joined a Christian ministry, surprising family members and fans. From 2012 until his death, Mack resided in the Overcomer Ministry located in Walterboro, South Carolina. The Overcomer Ministry is a secluded Christian commune that has been described as a cult,
The Overcomer Ministry's YouTube channel released a video, "Craig Mack Testimony", on May 22, 2016, in which Mack appears in the middle of the church to rap about Christianity through a remix of "When God Comes". The last part of the video entails a full version of the song with better production quality and a beat. The song expresses his personal beliefs. Mack planned to stay in the ministry and said that he had no intentions to come back to mainstream rap. The song mentions that he "moved [his] family to South Carolina", which did not align with other reports expressing the family's concerns for his choices. According to the video, Mack felt he was doing "wickedness" in New York, and "righteousness" in South Carolina.
In November 2012, Beazylife Distribution released a new Craig Mack mixtape, Operation Why2K? – Hosted by B-Eazy, through DatPiff.com. In 2017, The Mack World Sessions was released, containing 18 previously unreleased tracks. Dutch record label MECSMI released the That's My Word mixtape, hosted by DJ Tape Deck King, via DatPiff and YouTube on August 20, 2018. In November 2018, 'That's My Word' posthumously won Mixtape of the Year at Bout Dat Online's Audio Dope Awards. This marked the first time Mack had won an award since "Flava In Ya Ear" won Single of the Year at the 1995 Source Awards.
Personal life and death
Mack was married to Roxanne Alexis Hill-Johnson and had two children, a son and a daughter. Among his close friends was rapper and beatboxer Biz Markie. After his death, tributes were posted to social media by musicians LL Cool J, DJ Scratch, and others. He had known of the diagnosis but had refused treatment.
! style="width:40px;"| US R&B<br />
|-
! scope="row"| Project: Funk da World
|
- Release date: September 20, 1994
- Label: Bad Boy Records
- Formats: CD, cassette
| 21
| 6
| style="text-align:left;"|
- RIAA: Gold
|-
! scope="row"| Operation: Get Down
|
- Release date: June 24, 1997
- Label: Street Life Records/Scotti Brothers
- Formats: CD, cassette
| 46
| 17
|
|-
! scope="row"| The Mack World Sessions
|
- Release date: September 1, 2017
- Label: Mack World
- Formats: Digital download
| —
| —
!
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Years
! rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Single
! colspan="4"| Peak chart positions
! rowspan="2" style="width:10.5em;"| Certifications<br /><small>(sales threshold)</small>
! rowspan="2"| Album
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:35px;"| US<br />
! style="width:35px;"| US R&B<br />
! style="width:35px;"| US Rap<br />
! style="width:35px;"| UK<br />
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1994
! scope="row"| "Flava in Ya Ear"
| 9
| 4
| 1
| 57
| style="text-align:left;"|
- RIAA: Platinum
|-
| rowspan="3" | 1994
| "Flava in Ya Ear"
| Craig Henry
|-
|"Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)
|Hype Williams
|-
|Get Down
|Unknown
|-
| rowspan="4" |1995
|Makin' Moves with Puff
|Unknown
|-
|If You Love Me (Remix)
<small>(Brownstone featuring Craig Mack)</small>
|Unknown
|-
|Tonight's the Night (Remix)
(<small>Blackstreet featuring Craig Mack & SWV)</small>
|Hype Williams
|-
|Vibin' (Remix)
<small>(Boyz II Men featuring Craig Mack, Method Man, Busta Rhymes & Treach)</small>
|Hype Williams
|-
| rowspan="2" |1997
|Spirit
<small>(Sounds of Blackness featuring Craig Mack)</small>
|Unknown
|-
|No One but You
<small>(Veronica featuring Craig)</small>
|Unknown
|}
Guest appearances
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Year
!Title
!Artist
!Album
|-
|1993
|You Don't Have to Worry (Remix)
|Mary J. Blige
|What's the 411? Remix
|-
|1994
|Do You Have What It Takes?
|
|Street Fighter OST
|-
| rowspan="4" |1995
|If You Love Me (Street Vibe Remix)
|Brownstone
|
|-
|"Tonight's the Night (Brand New Remix)
|Blackstreet, SWV
|
|-
|It's Alright
|Sista
|Dangerous Minds OST
|-
|Vibin' (New Flava Remix)
|Boyz II Men, Treach, Method Man, Busta Rhymes
|
|-
|1996
|The Things That You Do (Darkchild Remix)
|Gina Thompson, Mr. Mike Nitty, Craig Mack, Raekwon
|
|-
| rowspan="3" |1997
|No One but You
|Veronica
|Rise
|-
|Spirit
|Sounds of Blackness
|Time for Healing
|-
|Treat Me Right
|DJ Skribble
|Traffic Jams
|-
|1998
|Won't Stop
|Miss Jones
|The Other Woman
|-
|1999
|Let Me Get Down
|The Notorious B.I.G., G Dep, Missy Elliott
|Born Again
|-
| rowspan="2" |2002
|Special Delivery (Remix)
|G Dep, Ghostface Killah, Keith Murray,
|We Invented the Remix
|-
|And We
|P. Diddy, Foxy Brown, Black Rob, Kain, The Mighty Ha, G Dep, Big Azz Ko
|Barbershop OST
|-
|2003
|Everybody Wanna Shine
|DJ Kay Slay, Black Rob, G Dep
|The Streetsweep Vol. 1
|}