Rapper Mase aired out his former boss, Sean “Puffy” Combs, calling the 50-year-old music mogul a hypocrite over his allegedly unfair business practices.
Mase, whose real name is Mason Betha, called out Combs after the mogul rejected his offer of $2 million for his music publishing.
Mase was one of the biggest artists on Comb’s Bad Boy Records label. Among their hit songs was “Been Around the World.”
Mase, 44, responded to Combs receiving the Recording Academy’s Salute to Industry Icons award at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. He was annoyed when Combs vowed to give control back to artists.
The “Harlem World” rapper posted a photo of Meek Mill along with a tweet referencing “young Black kids in slave contracts in the music business.”
“I heard your #Grammy speech about how u are now for the artist and about how the artist must take back control. So I will be the first to take that initiative,” Mase wrote in a lengthy open letter to Puffy on Friday.
“Your past business practices knowingly has continued purposely starved your artist and been extremely unfair to the very same artist that helped u obtain that Icon Award on the iconic Badboy label. For example, u still got my publishing from 24 years ago in which u gave me $20k. Which makes me never want to work w/ u as any artist wouldn’t after u know someone is robbing you & tarnishing your name when u don’t want to comply w/ his horrendous business model.”
Mase went on to describe offering Combs $2 million for his publishing, but Combs rejected his offer.
“To add insult, u keep screaming black excellence and love but I know love isn’t free. So I offered u 2m in cash just a few days ago to sell me back my publishing(as his biggest artist alive) that always show u respect for u giving me an opportunity at 19 yrs old. Your response was if I can match what the EUROPEAN GUY OFFER him that would be the only way I can get it back. Or else I can wait until I’m 50 years old and it will revert back to me from when I was 19 years old. You bought it for about 20k & I offered you 2m in cash. This is not black excellence at all. When our own race is enslaving us. If it’s about us owning, it can’t be about us owning each other. No More Hiding Behind “Love”. U CHANGED? GIVE THE ARTIST BACK THEIR $$$. So they can take care of their families.”
