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 Former rapper-turned-preacher, then rapper again, Mase recently discussed his return to rap in 2004, when he released an album with Bad Boy Records and then later aligned himself with 50 Cent's G-Unit.
If you remember, Mase (real name: Mason Betha) left rap behind at the peak of his popularity in 1999 to become a pastor at an Atlanta based church.
However, he made a comeback in 2004, releasing a profanity free album through his previous deal with Bad Boy, titled Welcome Back. He then left for a short tenure with G-Unit Records, rapping under his old moniker "Murda Mase," where he cursed and dissed other rappers.
Mase addressed the short period of time during an interview with the Phoenix Times recently, calling his time as a member of G-Unit a mistake. But, he says that he had underlying intentions to take his fans through his conversion to Christianity.
"In order for people to understand, you have to take them from where you were, to where you are," Mase told the paper. "So in taking people from where I was, it would require you to do music that exemplified where you were, then if I would have stayed in it, I was going to musically bring them to where I am. But then I started seeing that what I'm thinking and what they're thinking is totally two different things."
Despite the flip-flop, Mase claims the mistake has helped his message to his Christian followers become even more effective.
"I think people look at me like I've taken the step that people are most fearful of taking," Mase said. "It's not just the giving it up; it's the sticking with it. Like most people have seen a lot of entertainers entertain the thought, but we haven't seen many stick with it."
The paper reports that the rapper-pastor is currently expanding his Atlanta Church to Phoenix, Arizona.
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