"Return of the Mack…"

...once again!

I’ve been djing out more recently with Alpha and the conversation always, at some point in the evening turns to me wanting to drop Mark Morrison’s best loved hit “Return of the Mack”. On the one occasion I actually won this debate and dropped the infamous record. By the end of his intro adlib of, “wooah come on. Ooh yeah!” the room had been pretty much cleared. I argue that everyone just happened to want a cigarette, miraculously at the same time. Alpha’s still not so convinced. I’m not allowed to play it anymore so from trying to justify playing it after our set last night something dawned on me. The biggest bite of not just style but damn near entire persona of an artist I can think of! (Ok I admit that maybe a little over the top)

Lets start with a brief history of Mark “The Mack” Morrison. "Crazy" came out in 1995 shortly after his stint on remand for I think something to do with a club stabbing. Then, after another not so well remembered release ("Let’s Get Down"), he smashed it with “Return of the Mack”. If you remember these hits then one of the things you probably remember about The Mack was his hand cuffs he wore like jewellery, making reference to his former “convict” life. He fast become known for his distinct vocal tone and run-ins with the law. By around 1997 he was serving time in prison again. Three months for something to do with a stun gun. Then in 1998 he was sentenced to a year after sending a look a like to do his community service. That’s no joke! In 1999 he signed to Death Row Records but due to Suge Knight going to prison nothing really came of it. Through out his career, The Mack made constant reference to his time at Her Majesties pleasure and sang about his criminal affiliations, always protesting his innocence at the same time. Biggest example was the track “Innocent Man” which featured DMX and was more recently sampled by Cassidy on his latest album B.A.R.S. In the original video for “Innocent man” the majority of the video is set in an American prison wearing the unmistakable issue orange jump suits.

So, is any of this sounding familiar yet? Remind you of any current R&B singers? Ok, I’ll spell it out for u……..Akon! Yeah, that’s right. From the constant reference to past prison sentences served, be it vocally or visually, to the style and tone of the vocals, Akon has bitten Mark Morrison to ridiculous proportions. Don’t get me wrong, I’m in no way hating on Akon. Not at all! I just think there needs to be more acknowledgment for Mark. I’m genuinely feeling that shit!

I heard somewhere that there’s an album planned for release some time this year entitled “Innocent Man”.

↓ Return of the Mack (Da Beatminers Remix) ↓

Mark Morrison: myspace