Mase “Thinkin’ About You”
“Why?”
That’s the question that probably crossed plenty of folks’ minds when news got out that former Bad Boy prince Mase was staging yet another comeback to the rap game.
Yeah, his last attempt turned out fairly well, given how awesomely hokey 2004’s “Welcome Back” ended up being (leading to Gold sales for it’s parent album). But even then, Mase felt oddly out of time; and that strange alignment with G-Unit he took on soon after…? No words could ever explain away that head scratcher.
Nevertheless, here we are five years later, and the mumble-mouthed emcee/ sometimes-preacher has got that itch again, and alongside the desperate bid to grab hold of today’s kids’ attention by attaching himself to Drake’s “Best I Ever Had”, he’s simultaneously dropped a new solo track with “Thinkin’ About You”. The surprising kicker? That the latter cut is actually not all that bad.
Don’t get us wrong, “Thinkin’ About You” isn’t this extraordinary game-changer, and if you hated Mase before, the song will do little to change your opinion. But for those who couldn’t get enough of the materialistic hip-pop candy he reigned the charts with in his late ’90’s heyday, “Thinkin’” lands as a sturdy enough bridge to that long-gone era with a few tweakings to give it a somewhat modern (at least by mid-00’s urban standards) appeal.
From it’s featherweight, “snap & B” backing track (swiped from T-Rex’s “Kiss Her and Hold Her”), to it’s introductory “Teenage Love” reference (“Don’t-Don’t-Don’t hurt me again”), to it’s pleasant-to-the-ear, anonymous female-sung hook, “Thinkin’ About You” emerges as a decent lil’ charmer with the potential to bring Mase back into at least some mild radio rotation.
It doesn’t completely sell us of the idea of his return being a necessary move, but it accomplishes enough to stir up a slight intrigue to what else the rapper has in store for us in the coming months, and, more importantly, if a reunion with one-time comrade Puff will somehow be tied into things.
DL: “Thinkin’ About You” (alt)
used to be my favourite rapper