North Florida Music Hall of Fame

Born Mason Durrell Betha in Jacksonville in 1977; Mase moved to Harlem at age 5, He later returned to Jacksonville to attended Lee High. After moving back to NYC, he won a basketball scholarship to SUNY. More interested in music, however, he traveled to Atlanta to attend a music convention, where he hooked up with producer Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs. Mase signed to Combs’ Bad Boy label in the late 1990s. After appearing as a guest rapper on several other artists’ albums (including appearances with Brian McKnight and Mariah Carey), his 1997 debut, Harlem World, rocketed to double platinum. Greatly disturbed by the shooting of colleague Biggie Smalls (a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G.) in 1999, Mase decided it was an opportune time to retire from music and become a preacher. He is, however, discussing a comeback, according to a report in the New York Post. He lives in Atlanta.