Sean “Diddy” Combs Mourns Craig Mack’s Passing: “Bad Boy For Life”

Marjua Estevez
Updated
"Craig Mack, you were the first artist to release music on Bad Boy and gave us our first hit…"

By Marjua Estevez

After news surfaced that former Bad Boy rapper Craig Mack, 46, had passed away on Monday, Bad Boy Entertainment founder Sean “Diddy” Combs took to Instagram to mourn the untimely death of one of hip-hop’s foremost members.

“Craig Mack, you were the first artist to release music on Bad Boy and gave us our first hit,” he wrote in the caption below. “You always followed your heart and you had an energy that was out of this world. You believed in me and you believed in Bad Boy. I will never forget what you did for hip-hop. You inspired me and will continue to inspire us. We will always love you. #badboy4life #ripcraigmack”

Mack is best known for his groundbreaking debut “Flava in Ya Ear (Remix)”, which features a then-rising Notorious B.I.G., LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes and Rampage, with video cameos of Puff Daddy, Mary J. Blige and Irv Gotti, among others. The record marked a major milestone for Puff and Bad Boy Entertainment, receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 37th Grammy Awards in 1995. Appearing on Bad Boy’s 10th Anniversary… The Hits, “Flava in Ya Ear” peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the RIAA, selling 1,000,000 copies in the United States.

Craig Mack, you were the first artist to release music on Bad Boy and gave us our first hit. You always followed your heart and you had an energy that was out of this world. You believed in me and you believed in Bad Boy. I will never forget what you did for hip-hop. You inspired me and will continue to inspire us. We will always love you. #badboy4life #ripcraigmack

A post shared by Diddy (@diddy) on Mar 13, 2018 at 11:40am PDT

This post Sean “Diddy” Combs Mourns Craig Mack’s Passing: “Bad Boy For Life” first appeared on Vibe.