I almost skipped this entry in my fathoms-deep dive into Christine McVie’s discography on the grounds that it’s utterly trivial and draws unnecessary attention to a certain S. Combs, about whom the less said the better.
But my determination to re-evaluate every last morsel of music McVie graced simply won’t allow the absence.
So, what in the world does the second album from fleeting late-‘90s rap star Mase have to do with one of the most important women to have ever rocked?
Just this: his song ‘Make Me Cry’ employs a significant sample of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Oh Daddy,’ as penned and sung by Ms. McVie. Mase (or Ma$e, if you will) even turns that song’s opening refrain into a call-and-response duet, albeit with Christine’s voice pitched up to helium-strength Chipmunkette.
‘Oh Daddy, you know you make me cry,’ she sings.
Mase piles on like a jealous sibling: ‘You make me cry, too.’
‘How can you love me?’ Chris asks. ‘I can’t understand why.’
Hey, don’t leave Mase out: ‘I just wanna know why,’ he insists.
What genius.
Of course, reconfigured hooks was the winning formula for He Who Shall Not Be Named But Rhymes with Gee Tiddy. As with Kanye West, that motherfucker was responsible for a hefty list of inarguable bangers that were built on others’ sounds. Exhibit A: ‘Hypnotize’ by the Notorious B.I.G., the greatness of which rests on the throbbing groove of Herb Alpert’s ‘Rise’ as much as Biggie’s incomparable flow.
‘Double Up’ doubles down: ‘Stay Out of My Way’ steals from Public Enemy and Madonna, ‘If You Want to Party’ owes Grace Jones, ‘No Matter What’ soups up Gary Numan’s ‘Cars,’ and so forth. McVie, however, is the only source whose voice is heard, sort of, and as with the Numan ripoff her sample stamps an indelible signature on the song.
She got a songwriting credit for this. It counts.
Is ‘Double Up’ any good a quarter-century later? Not entirely, but it isn’t an especially painful listen thanks to Gee Tiddy’s perma-phat production. Mostly it’s an interesting curio because of what it represented: Mase meteorically flaming out and finding God.
His debut, ‘Harlem World,’ which dropped three days before Halloween ’97, entered the charts at No. 1 having sold more than a quarter-million copies — still a notable feat in those days. ‘Double Up,’ which often hits verbally harder than its predecessor, might have fared equally well had Mase not decided he was done with rap. Success had opened his eyes, and in April ’99 on NYC’s Hot 97 he revealed his retirement, lest he play any part in ‘leading people, friends, kids and others down a path to hell.”
A respectable move. As was enrolling at HBCU Clark Atlanta and becoming an ordained minister. By the time he returned to music five years later with ‘Welcome Back’ (sample: the ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’ theme), he was “just a Bad Boy gone clean.” He’s been un-retiring ever since. Spent some time in 50 Cent’s G-Unit. Befriended then beefed with Cam’ron. Feuded with Bee Ziddy, too.
Eventually teams with Ye.
What comes around, goes around.