According to a recent source, Craig Mack was so eager to leave his Bad Boy record in the mid-1990s that he even pondered signing with Death Row Records, the label’s rival on the West Coast.
Rolling Stone met with the rapper “Flava In Ya Ear”‘s family about his last days at the label he practically put on the map for a comprehensive piece about him. Initially filed for bankruptcy to break his contract following the release of his sophomore album, Operation: Get Down, according to the outlet’s findings.
During the court case, Craig Mack allegedly met with Suge Knight, who later transported him to Los Angeles via plane, and made an offer of a $1.25 million recording budget and a $200,0000 advance.
But Mack was allegedly obliged to drop his bankruptcy claim and effectively buy out his Bad Boy contract in order to walk away once Diddy learned about the potential transaction. But after 2Pac was slain in September 1996, Craig Mack had second thoughts.
Diddy’s rage over the alleged betrayal persisted, according to the rapper’s ex-wife Roxanne Alexis Hill Johnson, even after the proposed transaction was withdrawn.
She claimed that her ex-husband was terrified of his old boss and that Puff was upset that Mack was leaving Bad Boy and joining with Suge. Puff was furious, from what I gather. Puffy really stuck it to him for doing that and became into a spiteful bastard.
Craig Mack formally left the mainstream music scene in 2012. He later joined the Overcomer Ministry, a religious cult in South Carolina, and stayed involved with it until his congestive heart failure death in 2018.
Hill-Johnson is still of the opinion that Diddy was the cause of Craig Mack’s demise and that he had somehow ruined his career.
She said to Rolling Stone, “I do feel like Puff’s the trigger—he fucked my family up.” “Puff was the spark; he started it.”
A spokeswoman for Bad Boy provided a different account of the situation in a statement to the publication, attributing the rapper’s rupture with his former label president to artistic differences.
The statement said, “While Mr. Combs gave him many opportunities and encouraged him, their creative differences led them to part ways.” “Craig was free to sign with any label for his second album when he decided to quit Bad Boy to follow his own interests.
“We only had the best intentions for him, and he took full advantage of every chance that presented itself. Any other story is just untrue; Mr. Combs was supportive of him till his tragic death.
