GRAMMY-nominated rapper Craig Mack has reportedly passed away near his home in Walterboro, S.C., at 46, according to the New York Daily News. His longtime producer Alvin Toney stated that Mack died of heart failure on Mar. 12, following an extended battle with an unspecified illness.
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In 1994, Mack became one of the first breakout stars of the then-nascent Bad Boy Entertainment label, headed by a young Sean "Diddy" Combs.
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Mack's single "Flava In Your Ear" was Bad Boy's first big hit, climbing all the way into the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, and earning Mack the nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 37th GRAMMY Awards. Tantamount to the single's importance in bringing national attention to Bad Boy Entertainment as a rising force in hip-hop, a remixed version of the track was released by Bad Boy as a follow-up, which featured one of the first solo appearances by Busta Rhymes, alongside a then-unknown young rapper known as the Notorious B.I.G.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rest in power Craig. May the almighty embrace your soul & lift up your family and friends. it was a pleasure to know you & rock with you. You <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%24tepped&src=ctag&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">$tepped</a> away from the game & did it your way.. I always respected that.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RIPCraigMack?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RIPCraigMack</a></p>— LLCOOLJ. (@llcoolj) <a href="https://twitter.com/llcoolj/status/973511732864761856?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I'm devastated over the news of Craig Mack.. We just finishing up his new album.. smh.. Rest in Power Craig...</p>— Erick Sermon (@iAmErickSermon) <a href="https://twitter.com/iAmErickSermon/status/973469537432752129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 13, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Mack's friends and collaborators took to social media today to express their reactions to Mack's passing. New York based rapper/producer Erick Sermon, who appeared alongside Mack, Rakim, KRS-One, and several others in a freestyle session on the final episode of "Yo! MTV Raps" also revealed that he was in the finishing stages of releasing Mack's latest album when he found out the rapper had passed away. Further details on the still-untitled project's release date are still forthcoming.
