Mase - Harlem World (Puff Daddy Records/BMG) It seems you can't turn a corner in the R & B and rap world these days without seeing the name Puff Daddy on an album. Mase is no exception. Puff's protege since the slaying of rapper Notorious BIG, Mase has appeared on a number of albums, including R & B crooners 112 and on Puff's debut No Way Out.
Mase's solo effort is testament to the fact that he really ought to stick with guest appearances. This young rapper's style - a monotone nasal voice - is at best irritating. And his debut is a far cry from Biggie's ghetto tales that shot him to fame. Harlem World is an excessively long ode to Puff and Mase. Rapping about money and women, it is an encapsulation of Puff's ego, with one redeeming quality: it has beat.
If Puff's goal is to make you dance, he succeeds. Do You Wanna Get $, The Player Way and Feel So Good are in true Bad Boy form: slick production, trite sampling and weak lyrics - but with chart potential.
The interludes are entertaining. The Mad Rapper that made his debut on Notorious' Life After Death is still funny. And White Girl seems to be poking fun at the fact Mase is probably the only rapper, with the exception of Vanilla Ice, with more white fans than black.
Overall, probably Bad Boy's worst yet.
