Ma$e:
Welcome Back

Release Date: 23 August 2004

Reviewed By: Arif Amin

1. Welcome Back

2. Breathe, Stretch, Shake

3. Keep It On

4. My Harlem Lullaby

5. I Owe

6. Wasting My Time

7. Gotta Survive

8. The Love You Need

9. Money Comes And Goes

10. I Wanna Go

11. Into What You Say

12. Do You Remember

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A lot has happened in the last five years, from losing the angel Aaliyah (Rest in Peace) and 50 Cent taking his share of fame, to the highly respected and loved Jay-Z hanging up his mic. The one thing that hasn’t changed though, is the quality and style of music that Ma$e has been laying down for us. Despite a five-year break, this bad-boy-rapper-gone-clean has produced yet another good album, which many artists would struggle to do after such a long time. Everyone knows where the Harlem rapper’s been, after he publicly announced his retirement to give his time to God and help develop the S.A.N.E. Church International, enhancing the Bad Boy line ‘God first, money second…’

In my opinion Ma$e has the same monophonic voice as Puffy, and a lot of times I find it hard to distinguish between the two of them, leaving the question, ‘who is the better of these two?’ One thing is for sure though, and that’s that Ma$e can work with Puffy to make hot track with a bangin’ beat that will definitely get those Air Force Ones moving, and rhymes that will make you smile.

The album ‘Welcome Back’ starts with the title track which we have all checked out by now, and most would agree that this track proves he can still make joints as good as he did from day one. What makes this a heavy track is that the beat is to perfection and subtle enough for Ma$e to clearly get his message across, along with the catchy, repetitive chorus that literally shouts: ‘MA$E IS BACK!’ (Although I’m sure you’ve gathered that by now).

The second single, ‘Breathe Stretch Shake’, is being released soon, and this track is definitely going to be all over the clubs, with the girls all over the dance floor shaking their asses… Trust me, it’s going to be a natural reaction for them with a beat like this!

‘Keep It On’ follows this track, and contains really good lyrics which Ma$e delivers in his laid back style over a chilled out beat. However, the chorus, ‘We don’t have to take our clothes off to have a good time’, totally ruins the track by turning this into a Hip-Pop song, which I’m just not feeling. ‘I Owe’ and ‘Wasting My Time’ are also standard tracks, which appear to be just album fillers. It must be said though, these tracks are pretty chilled too, which is cool.

After the disastrous female appearance on ‘Keep It On’, songstress Rashad accompanies Ma$e on ‘The Love You Need’, with a sweet vocal chorus which tightens this track for you and your girl to lie back to.

‘I Wanna Go’ is a track dedicated to his wife Twayla. This is one of the first tracks I fell in love with on the album, one of the reasons being that it’s not often done where rappers dedicate a whole song to their wife and actually mention their name, showing how down to earth Ma$e has become, (unlike the stereotypical rapper talking about f***ing hoes even when in reality their already married). These lyrics are from the heart and naturally deep.

Nothing is deeper however, than the intro to the track ‘Gotta Survive’: ‘I don’t regret nothing that I’ve ever done…/ And at this point I don’t owe anybody an explanation.’ The track is intense, explaining his reasons for retiring, and is so tight that we won’t want to question this man’s actions again.

‘My Harlem lullaby’ is Ma$e’s ‘thank you’ track to all his people and is clearly the hottest track on this CD. The chorus has a perfect flow with the vocals done by the man himself, giving him all the credit for this track which nicely lifts the album.

The last track on ‘Welcome Back’ is another fine Bad Boy production. ‘Do You Remember’ sums up the album well, showing that Ma$e hasn’t changed his style or ways when it comes to music, even though his lifestyle has dramatically.

Overall, Ma$e’s comeback album is a commendable effort by the Harlem rapper, although he could have done more to make it a bigger success.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Top 3 tracks
4) My Harlem Lullaby
10) I Wanna Go
7) Gotta Survive

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