Craig Mack is a former rapper best known for the 1994 single, “Flava in Ya Ear.”  According to multiple sources, he was born in Trenton, New Jersey  in 1971, although the exact dates vary. He grew up in Brentwood Long Island, and began recording with Bad Boy Records in 1988.  But it was Flava in Ya Ear – a collaboration with fellow Bad Boy artists Sean ” Puff Daddy” Coombs, Busta Rhymes,  LL Cool J and Notorious BIG that became iconic. Writing in Rolling Stone, Amir “Questlove” Thompson pegs the remix of this song as 20 on his list of the 50 greatest hip-hop songs of all time.

Mack never duplicated his chart success after 1994, and there is some mystery about his current life. Reportedly, he has  renounced his former life and become a Christian, joining a church in South Carolina that some consider a cult. Earlier this year, his gospel video “Praise the Lord” was posted to YouTube.