Former rapper Craig Mack dies

Former rapper Craig Mack has died in South Carolina. He is best known for the platinum 1994 hit Flava in Ya Ear.

According to Colleton County Corner Richard Harvey said that Mack appeared to have died of natural causes. He died at his home in Walterboro around 21:00 on Monday.

Mack was once a part of Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment, which released his first album, Project: Funk da World, anchored by Flava in Ya Ear. His follow up single Get Down, went gold.

He released a second album in 1997, but left the music industry and devoted his life to religion.

Tributes

Following Mack’s death, the rapper Erick Sermon tweeted: “I’m devastated … we just finishing up his new album.”

His friend and former producer Alvin Toney told the New York Daily News that Mack “was prepared for whatever comes, to go home to the Lord. He was prepared to do that. Wasn’t scared. He was ready.”

Other peers have paid tribute to him online. Hip-hop DJ Funkmaster Flex saying “rest in peace”, and DJ Peter Rosenberg saying, “You cannot over emphasise the importance that Flava in Ya Ear had on hip-hop.”