Milestones: Project: Funk Da World by Craig Mack
Milestones: Project: Funk Da World by Craig Mack
Craig Mack avoided following the Bad Boy formula to achieve widespread success. Despite his reluctance, his debut album is celebrated as one of the underappreciated gems in 1994.
Long Island native Craig Mack began his career in the late 1980s under the moniker MC EZ. As part of the duo MC EZ and Troup, he released the underground track “Get Retarded” in 1988 through Sleeping Bag Records. Although the song gained minor success, his progress with Sleeping Bag stalled. Despite this setback, Mack maintained strong ties with label-mates EPMD and their crew, even working as roadies on their tours.
In the early 1990s, Mack decided to revisit his musical ambitions. He recorded a demo that his manager, Alvin Toney, started pitching to various record labels. This pursuit led Toney to Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs, who was in the formative stages of establishing Bad Boy Records under Uptown Records. Puff met Mack outside a club, where Mack delivered an impromptu freestyle performance. Impressed by his talent, Puff offered him a record deal on the spot, making Mack the first artist signed to Bad Boy. Mack debuted under his real name on the remix of Mary J. Blige’s “You Don’t Have to Worry,” showcasing his distinctive voice and rhyming style.
Bad Boy Records became synonymous with mainstream hip-hop in the mid-to-late 1990s, extending its influence into the 2000s. Some credit the label with bringing hip-hop to wider acceptance, while others criticize it for compromising its foundational values. In this context, it is striking that Craig Mack was once a key figure in the label’s public image and a driving force behind its initial success.
Comparisons between Mack and The Notorious B.I.G., also known as Biggie Smalls, were inevitable, as they were Bad Boy’s leading artists. In a savvy marketing move, Puff promoted the “Big M.A.C.K.” mixtape, featuring six tracks from each artist, sometimes packaged in a custom container resembling McDonald’s signature burger box. The two artists toured together and made radio appearances, with their albums released one week apart—Biggie’s first, followed by Mack’s.
Mack’s debut album, Project: Funk Da World, was the product of an artist committed to authentic hip-hop and resisting any compromise. The album was largely non-commercial and deliberately went against the prevailing trends of the time, making it often inaccessible to mainstream audiences. From the outset, the partnership between Mack and Puff Daddy was fraught with tension. Mack was a purist b-boy who viewed Puff’s polished, suit-and-tie image skeptically. On the other hand, Puff consistently urged Mack to create more accessible tracks that could serve as singles. Believing that broad appeal was essential for singles, Puff felt that the “real hip-hop” tracks should be reserved for the album. Throughout the creative process, Mack consistently resisted efforts to make his music more commercially appealing.
The creative tension between Craig Mack and Puff Daddy makes Project: Funk Da World an intriguing and successful album. Both artists had valid instincts: Mack’s commitment to authentic hip-hop and Puff Daddy’s desire for commercially appealing hits. Despite initial resistance, Mack eventually agreed to record some of the songs that Puff Daddy wanted. However, none of the album’s three singles matched the widespread appeal of tracks like “Juicy” or “Big Poppa.” Nevertheless, Mack’s entries on the charts stand as some of the era’s finest releases and rank among the strongest tracks ever produced by Bad Boy.
Puff Daddy’s influence on the album led to unexpected successes. He brought Easy Mo Bee to produce nearly half of Funk Da World, a decision that worked out better than anyone anticipated. Easy Mo Bee had submitted a beat CD to the label, containing tracks that would become signature songs of Bad Boy’s early days. One of the last beats on the CD became “Flava In Ya Ear,” which Puff Daddy and Mack’s crew immediately recognized as perfect for Mack. However, Mack initially hesitated to rap over the track, insisting he wasn’t feeling it. He eventually relented, possibly after receiving an ultimatum from Puff Daddy. The beat is quirky yet funky, composed of slightly offbeat horn notes complemented by occasional squeals. The “horn” sample is a series of expertly chopped and reworked guitar licks from O’Donel Levy’s version of “We’ve Only Just Begun.”
Fans experienced Mack’s uniqueness as an emcee from the outset. He references obscure robots from The Jetsons within the first four bars and threatens to transform weak emcees into antimatter. He shifts his flow from a slow drawl to rapid-fire delivery. Later, Puff Daddy enlisted Biggie, Rampage, LL Cool J, and Busta Rhymes for the song’s remix, which became a ubiquitous hit and solidified Bad Boy’s dominance. “Get Down,” the album’s second single, is another highlight. Easy Mo Bee assembles a relatively complex track—though simpler than Mack’s productions—anchored by a funky, muffled guitar groove. Mack’s vocal performance emphasizes stylistic flourishes in his delivery rather than lyrical content.
“Making Moves With Puff” is the most conventional track on Funk Da World and one of its strongest. It may be the best song directly associated with Puff Daddy’s name. Rashad Smith handles the production, crafting a light, airy track based on a guitar and harp sample complemented by hard-hitting drums. DJ Four Five, also known as K La Boss, who deejayed for EPMD on their first album, provides adept scratches. Puffy’s ad-libs and hook might have inspired Suge Knight’s criticism of CEOs “being all up in the videos” during the 1995 Source Awards, but they never distract from Mack’s raps.
Other tracks such as “That Y’all,” “Funk Wit Da Style,” and the title song are deliberately non-commercial compared to the three singles mentioned earlier. The beats are thick and muddy yet busy with a cacophony of samples, resembling EPMD blended with Fear of a Black Planet-era Public Enemy. Mack can sometimes be nearly indecipherable as he delivers his syrupy flow over a continuous jumble of Slick Rick or EPMD vocals, grungy horns, and keyboards.
Some tracks fall into the category of pure boom-bap hip-hop while remaining more conventionally structured. On the self-produced “Real Raw,” Mack transforms the “Theme from Days of Our Lives” into a gritty hip-hop anthem by slowing down the sample and pairing it with the drum break from Skull Snaps’ “It’s a New Day.” Mack and Mo Bee also demonstrate their chemistry beyond the album’s singles on “Mainline,” a fast-paced jam driven by a neck-snapping drum track. Mack unleashes abstract imagery through his syrupy flow, creating a surreal, b-boy-centric track.
Given these creative tensions, it’s unsurprising that Project: Funk Da World was a one-time collaboration between Mack and Bad Boy. Those close to Mack say Puff Daddy grew tired of dealing with his reluctance to tailor his music for broader appeal. Mack’s relationship with Biggie was reportedly strained due to perceived attitude issues and antics during interviews and live performances. This friction cost Mack an appearance on Ready to Die. The plan was for Mack to be the voice on “Warning,” who pages Biggie at 5:46 a.m. to inform him about the intricate plot against him. Instead, Biggie created “Pop From the Barber Shop” and performed those parts himself.
After leaving Bad Boy, Mack aligned himself with Eric B., a friend and associate of Suge Knight, and released Operation: Get Down in 1997. The album is widely regarded as a failure. There are many reasons it didn’t succeed, not least of which is the absence of Easy Mo Bee. Furthermore, considering Mack’s previous steadfast refusal to “sell out,” hearing him rap over soft R&B tracks and pander to popular trends was disheartening. Although Mack and Puff Daddy couldn’t sustain a long-term working relationship, they effectively utilized each other’s strengths to establish the legacy of a project that remains a defining release of its time.
In 2002, Mack briefly returned with Puff Daddy, appearing in the video for “I Need a Girl” and contributing a verse to G-Dep’s “Special Delivery” remix. After several unsuccessful attempts to revive his career, he largely withdrew from the music scene, moving to South Carolina to become an active member of a religious community. Tragically, in March 2018, he passed away at the age of 47.
Great (★★★★☆)