Craig Jamieson Mack was an American rapper and producer from Brentwood, New York. He helped build the foundation for Bad Boy Records, one of hip-hop’s most influential labels. He began rapping as a teenager under the name MC EZ and released one single in 1988, “Just Rhymin’ ” backed with “Get Retarded,” as part of MC EZ & Troup. Mack then became friends with the hip hop duo EPMD and eventually went on tour with them, doing jobs as a roadie. He helped their D.J., DJ Scratch, assemble and disassemble his turntables at shows. After a few years without forward movement in his recording career, Mack took advantage of an opportunity to rap for Sean Combs, then known as Puff Daddy, outside the New York nightclub Mecca, and secured a record deal with Combs’s label, Bad Boy. Mack is best known for his 1994 hit, Flava in Ya Ear.
