Details are still coming in, however, multiple sources close to Craig Mack have confirmed the legendary MC has passed away from heart failure. Mack was just 46 years old.

Mack holds a special place in the hearts of REVOLT TV as he was pivotal in building the foundation of Bad Boy Records, the music label created by REVOLT TV Chairman Sean “Diddy” Combs.

Mack exploded into hip-hop with fury. He was charismatic and a flow and voice unlike any other MC’s. He was a childhood friend of Erick Sermon and had originally planned to sign to EPMD’s Hit Squad, but the group broke up before he could do so. Mack instead signed with Combs’ Bad Boy imprint, and in 1993, he made his debut on Mary J. Blige’s classic, trailblazing What’s The 411 remix LP. Mack made the most of his chance, stealing the show on the remix to MJB’s “You Don’t Have To Worry.”

By that next summer, Mack and Bad Boy had the streets on lock. Mack’s debut, the Easy Moe Bee-produced single “Flava In Your Ear,” knocked down the door for Bad Boy. It sold platinum, was nominated for a Grammy Award, and most importantly, certified Bad Boy in the clubs and the streets. The “Flava In Your Ear (Remix),” which featured Puff Daddy, LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Rampage and the other cornerstone Bad Boy artist Notorious B.I.G., was an even bigger record. It revitalized the posse cut and changed the focus of remixes as hip-hop knew it, while the Hype Williams-directed visuals were imitated by a plethora of artists from different genres.

Later in 1994, Bad Boy put together a genius marketing plan called “Big Mack,” where they simultaneously promoted Mack’s debut project Funk Da World and Biggie’s Ready To Die. Mack’s LP went gold and spawned two more bangers: “Get Down,” which went gold, and “Makin Moves With Puff.”

Unfortunately, Mack’s tenure on Bad Boy was shortlived, and he was off the label almost right after they celebrated his initial success.

After a long hiatus, Mack came back with a second LP called Operation: Get Down in 1997, and was never heard much from again. Mack’s career was shrouded in mystery. Almost as soon as he came in, he was gone. In 2016, footage of him rapping in front of a church congregation surfaced, with him kicking lyrics to a revised version of his song “When God Comes.” Music fans most recently heard a few words from Mack in Diddy’s 2017 documentary Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A Bad Boy Story. He declined to participate in the Bad Boy Reunion Tour, which featured 112, Total, Lil Kim, Black Rob, Ma$e, and Faith Evans, along with Diddy.

Although Mack had been relatively quiet in music since 1995, REVOLT learned from a source close to the rapper that he was working on a brand new album at the time of his death.

The hip-hop community has begun to show its respects, as artists such as Biz Markie, Funkmaster Flex, Kid Capri and others.