, the Long Island rapper, who was hailed as the starting foundation of Diddy’s Bad Boy Entertainment, died at age 46.
Mack, who became popular in hip-hop with his platinum summer hit “Flava in Ya Ear” in 1994, died of heart failure at a hospital near his Walterboro, S.C., home Monday.
Toney, who produced Graig’s debut album, “Project: Funk Da World”, said, “God bless my friend. He was a good friend of mine.”
Toney saw his friend one final time last week.
He visited the former emcee at the Overcomer Ministry church he attends in Walterboro to film a documentary about the retired rhymer, and his decision to pass on fame for a life of deep religious conviction.
He added, “Nobody got to understand his story. I wanted the world to know the talent he had. It was something I wanted people to enjoy, but it was cut short because he was very religious and wanted to go to church.
He said Mack then told him that he had been ill for some time.
“He was prepared for whatever comes, to go home to the Lord,” Toney said. “He was prepared to do that. He wasn’t scared. He was ready.”
Mack is survived by a wife and two children, both adults, Toney said.
