Former New York rapper Craig Mack, best known for his 90s smash hit single “Flava In Ya Ear,” passed away at age 46, in March of 2018. Mack died of heart failure at a hospital near his Walterboro, S.C. home, according to his producer.
“God bless my friend. He was a good friend of mine,” said Alvin Toney, who produced Mack’s debut album “Project: Funk Da World” and his “Get Down Remix.”
“Nobody got to understand his story,” Toney told the NY Daily News. “I wanted the world to know the talent he had. It was something I wanted people to enjoy, but it was cut short because he was very religious and wanted to go to church.”
Tony said Mack told him during his visit that he had been ill for some time and knew he wouldn’t live long.
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“He was prepared for whatever comes, to go home to the Lord,” Toney said. “He was prepared to do that. He wasn’t scared. He was ready.”
In a video posted by TMZ, legendary rapper and producer Erick Sermon of EPMD fame says: “Craig Mack called us about six months ago and told us that he was real sick and that he might be dying soon, so he called all his friends that he went to school with.”
He adds: “We kind of knew what was going on. He only had 25 percent of his heart that he was using and when you would talk to him on the phone he would kind of daze off for 10 minutes at a time to catch his breath sometimes and then he would come back to the phone, so this is not a surprise to us, we knew he was dying.”
This may be the cause of why people commented on his darker, blue-ish skin color before his death.
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Gray, blue or purple skin is a sign of blood vessel blockage. Any of the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body – arteries, capillaries and veins – can become blocked and prevent adequate oxygen from reaching the blood. The lack of oxygen results in gray, purple or blue-colored skin, usually in the fingers or toes. Circulatory issues like blockages may be a sign of heart disease. Without treatment, they can cause permanent tissue damage or death.
As a boy, Mack dreamed of making it big like LL Cool J and Run DMC, according to a New York Times profile of Mack. He began penning his own lyrics at age 12.
With the help of Sean “Diddy” Combs that dream came true.
The Bad Boy Entertainment founder met the aspiring artist at the Manhattan club Mecca and promised to sign him if he could freestyle to Mary J. Blige. Mack did not disappoint.
Soon, Mack’s star-studded hit, “Flava In Ya Ear,” was born. The song went on to earn a Grammy nomination for best rap solo but lost to Queen Latifah’s “Latifah’s Had it Up 2 Here.”
A remix to the song featured other hip-hop all-stars, Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J and Busta Rhymes.
“This is my life here,” Diddy said, gesturing to Mack and Biggie Smalls during an 1992 interview with MTV Raps. “We all need each other to live and breathe. That’s the way we treat each other.”
Mack departed the label in 1995, hoping to strike out on his own, but the iron didn’t strike twice and he never was a hot as the first hit.
He released “Operation: Get Down,” in 1997 under the Volcano Entertainment label, but it failed to produce a hit single.
Mack appeared in the music video for Diddy’s 2002 hit “I Need a Girl Part 1,” but he was missing when Diddy reunited his Bad Boy crew for the 2015 BET Awards.
It was the first public appearance people have seen of Mack in awhile after he left the label to pursue his Christian faith…
