Craig Mack - A Mixtape Tribute by DJ Filthy Rich

DJ Filthy Rich Presents: A Mixtape Tribute to Craig Mack
Waking up on March 13th, I was saddened by the news of Craig Mack’s passing the night before. He created some of hip hop’s most loved songs, and with his megahit ‘Flava In Ya Ear’, provided the spark that propelled Bad Boy Records to fame. The idea of recording a ‘Best Of’ tribute mixtape crossed my mind, but my immediate thought was “there’s not enough material”. As I usually do after a beloved musician dies, I spent some time going through his discography /videos/live performances. I find it sort of cathartic. As I dropped the needle on a bunch of white label & independent 12”s, I realized how many dope tracks I had forgotten about over the years. The mixtape idea began running through my head again, but it was after watching his interviews that I 100% knew I had to make this. His responses to questions highlighted his character and heart, which was further corroborated by the accounts of his friends and industry peers on IG & Twitter. Looking past the typical braggadocio on his songs, he came across as pretty humble in real life. The irony that such a good guy was signed to a label called Bad Boy made me chuckle. He felt strongly about sticking to his principles, and conducted his business on his terms. One listen to his off-kilter flow and you could tell that this guy marched to the beat of his own drum. Mack was an unsung hero, and I’m a sucker for a good underdog story. So here I present to you my tribute to Craig…
I wanted to give people a mix that not only highlighted his hits, but also featured his deep cuts, remixes, freestyles, guest appearances and unreleased gems. I’ve also created some custom blends & sprinkled in some interview soundbites to give the mix a unique twist. Some of the features I chose simply because I liked the sound of the artist on the beat (e.g. Lord Finesse on ‘Jockin My Style’), others were to match themes (e.g. Canibus & Roxanne Shante on ‘Get Retarded’ & Kanye West on ‘When God Comes’), but the majority were created with a purpose. According to Erick Sermon, Craig was originally supposed to be a member of the Hit Squad before the legendary collective split. So I took a “What If…” approach, and created a few collaborations with Hit Squad members that I would’ve liked to hear back in the day. Craig’s raw, abstract style would’ve fit perfectly alongside Redman and Keith Murray.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about this mix is the unearthing of “Press Rewind”, a (mostly) unheard song from 1994 that was graciously shared by DJ Mastermind. For those who are unfamiliar, Mastermind is a Canadian hip hop radio & mixtape pioneer, and was to Toronto airwaves what Funk Flex was to NYC (thankfully though, there are no bomb drops every 20 seconds on the track).
Mastermind recounts the story behind the track on his IG:
“I asked [Craig] for a ‘Flava In Ya Ear’ dubplate and he was like no problem, we went to Play De Records basement studio (yes they had a studio in the basement) and he cut something for me. He made a ‘new’ song just for me, I wanted Flava In Ya Ear But how do you say ‘No I’m good’ when Craig Mack, the guy with the hottest song out sits down to make a new beat and cut you an exclusive song just for you?! You don’t...you just smile and nod.”
The result is a dope track with lyrics that will be new to everybody, unless you lived in Toronto & listened to his mixshow in ‘94.
The mixtape is split into two portions, the ‘Funkalicious’ and ‘Mackalicious’ sections, which comprise Craig’s Hip Hop songs and R&B features respectively. Even the most well-versed Craig Mack fan will find something new on this mix, so press play and go on a journey with the Mackaliciousphatfunkflav.
Special Thanks to DJ Mastermind for the exclusive, and to Craig C. The Artist for the cover art sketch.

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