Lil Cease reveals Biggie Smalls couldn’t deal with Craig Mack’s unprofessional behavior on tour, despite respecting him as a lyricist.
Biggie Smalls respected Craig Mack as a lyricist, but the Bad Boy Records label mate’s constant drama on tour drove him crazy.
According to Lil Cease, who was there during the early ’90s rise of both artists, Biggie’s frustration with Mack had nothing to do with jealousy or competition: it was pure exhaustion from Mack’s unprofessional behavior.
“He rocked with Mack at times, but you know, God bless the dead. On the tour he used to do some weird stuff and B.I.G. used to just be fed up with him. We used to be on promo tour Mack would act like he sick just cuz he ain’t feel like doing all these in-stores. We’d go all the way to the hospital just for him to go get a needle shot. He was just real dramatic and B.I.G. used to just like, ‘Yo, come on, dog. Stop this corny stuff.,’” Cease explained.
Biggie eventually hit his breaking point with the theatrics.
Cease made it clear that Biggie’s issue wasn’t about disrespecting Mack’s talent.
“B.I.G. was a fan of music and if he liked your flow, he liked your rhythm, he liked your style,” Cease said.
The real issue was simpler: Mack’s behavior was draining.
When “Flava in Ya Ear” dropped, it was massive; bigger than Biggie’s “Juicy” in terms of commercial impact.
But as Biggie’s star continued to rise with “Big Poppa,” Mack started acting out even more. The label mate dynamic shifted from mutual respect to Biggie just wanting distance from the drama.
Cease emphasized that Biggie and Mack weren’t enemies. They were label mates who had to work together, and there was love there.
But Biggie didn’t need to be Mack’s best friend to do business with him. When Mack did weird stuff, Biggie called him out. That was it.