The Apollo Presents Ma$e, Cam’ron and Jadakiss Live at the Apollo

WHAT:  New York legends and multi-platinum selling artists Ma$e, Cam’ron and Jadakiss head to the Apollo’s iconic stage for a one-night-only concert featuring classic hits such as “What You Want”, “Time’s Up”, “Oh Boy”, and their new single, “G.L.H. (Gorilla, Lion, Hyena)”.

‍

Ma$e, Cam’ron and Jadakiss Live at the Apollo is a continuation of the Apollo’s 2022-2023 season, The Next Movement, an exploration of what’s new, now, and next in music, dance, art, and ideas.

‍

WHERE:   Apollo’s Historic Theater (253 W 125th St, New York, NY 10027)  

‍

WHEN:   Saturday, January 28, 2023, at 8:00PM EDT  

‍

TICKETS:  Tickets start at $55. For more information about this event visit: www.apollotheater.org/event/mase-camron-and-jadakiss-live-at-the-apollo/

‍

ABOUT MA$E

Ma$e was born Mason Durrell Betha in Jacksonville, Florida but moved to Harlem when he was very young. Ma$e debuted on Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs' remix of the 112 single "Only You," and quickly became a near-ubiquitous guest rapper on Bad Boy releases and other Combs-related projects. He was a credited featured guest on smashes "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" and "It's All About the Benjamins," handled the first verse of the Notorious B.I.G.'s number one hit "Mo' Money, Mo' Problems," and made prominent appearances on Mariah Carey's "Honey," Brian McKnight's "You Should Be Mine (Don't Waste My Time)," Junior M.A.F.I.A.'s "Young Casanova," and Busta Rhymes' "The Body Rock," among others. By showcasing Ma$e in such high-profile settings, not to mention spotlighting him in several videos as well, Combs ensured that by the time Ma$e released his own album, every hip-hop fan in America would already know who he was.  

‍

Thus, when Ma$e's debut album, Harlem World, appeared in late 1997, it was an instant smash, spending its first two weeks of release on top of the Billboard album charts. It was a star-studded affair, naturally featuring Combs (both rapping and producing) and a galaxy of guests: Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, DMX, Lil' Kim, Monifah, 112, the L.O.X., Eightball & MJG, Black Rob, and Lil' Cease, not to mention additional production by the Hitmen, Jermaine Dupri, and the Neptunes, among others.  Harlem World was a smash hit, eventually going platinum four times over; its first single, "Feels So Good" (which also appeared on the soundtrack of Money Talks), was a Top Five pop hit, and the follow-up "What You Want" was a fast-selling success as well. In the meantime, Ma$e's string of guest spots continued unabated, with appearances on Brandy's "Top of the World," Puff Daddy's "Lookin' at Me," Cam'ron's "Horse and Carriage," 112's "Love Me," and the Rugrats soundtrack collaboration with Blackstreet and Mya, "Take Me There.  

‍

Ma$e worked extensively with inner-city youth, became an in-demand inspirational speaker on the religious circuit, and published a memoir titled Revelations: There's a Light After the Lime. He returned with a new album, Welcome Back, in 2004.

‍

ABOUT CAM’RON  

Born Cameron Giles, Cam'ron was raised in Harlem, and attended Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics, where one of his basketball teammates was future collaborator Ma$e. Though he received athletic scholarship offers from top colleges, including North Carolina and Duke, Cam'ron instead attended junior college for a brief time in Texas, returned home, dealt drugs, and got involved with music. Known then as Killa Cam, he joined Big L, Ma$e (aka Murda Mase), cousin Bloodshed, and Herb McGruff in Children of the Corn, a group that issued scattered material on 12" and mixtape releases.  

‍

Cam'ron made his major-label debut in 1998 with the Top Ten, gold-certified Confessions of Fire. The album was highlighted by "Horse & Carriage," a Trackmasters-produced Ma$e collaboration that reached number nine on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and narrowly missed the pop Top 40.  

‍

The making of Cam'ron's follow-up, 2000's S.D.E. (an acronym for sports, drugs, and entertainment), was slowed by an arduous recording process that resulted in a delayed release. Less successful than the debut, it's most notable for priming the emergence of the Diplomats, a group formed a few years earlier by Cam'ron and Jim Jones (with Freekey Zekey and Juelz Santana among the other members throughout the years).  

‍

He soon reached his commercial peak with the label, operated by friend Damon Dash and Jay-Z. Come Home with Me, issued in 2002, entered the Billboard 200 at number two on its way to platinum status. Two singles featuring Juelz Santana, "Oh Boy" and "Hey Ma," became Top Five pop hits. The former was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.  

‍

He returned in 2009 with Crime Pays. Like all five of his solo albums, it debuted within the Top 20 of the Billboard 200, entering the chart at number three. A slew of mixtapes with Harlem protégé Vado led to proper albums as a duo (aka the U.N.), Heat in Here, Vol. 1 and Gunz n' Butta, released respectively in 2010 and 2011. Numerous solo mixtapes and EPs preceded Purple Haze 2, Cam'ron's seventh proper album, in 2019. He landed a recurring role in the dramatic series Queens, and in 2022 previewed U Wasn't There, an LP he and DJ A-Trak put together, with the single "All I Really Wanted."  

‍

‍

ABOUT JADAKISS  

Born Jason Phillips in Yonkers, New York, Jadakiss got his start as a teenage freestyle rapper before joining Sheek Louch and Styles P to form the Warlocks crew, eventually known as The LOX. The trio hit the Top Ten with their first two albums, Money, Power & Respect (1998) and We Are the Streets (2000), released respectively on Bad Boy and Ruff Ryders. Jadakiss then went solo with Kiss tha Game Goodbye. Issued through Ruff Ryders in 2001, it entered the Billboard 200 at number five, highlighted by "We Gonna Make It" (featuring Styles P), Jadakiss' first headlining Top Ten hit on the Billboard rap chart.  

‍

Three years later, the MC topped the Billboard 200 with Kiss of Death, an album that featured two more Top Ten rap hits with "Why?" (with Anthony Hamilton) and "U Make Me Wanna" (featuring Mariah Carey). In 2007, Jadakiss made another move, this time to Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella Records -- through Def Jam -- where he closed out his "kiss" trilogy with Last Kiss.  

‍

After releasing the 2011 commercial mixtape I Love You (A Dedication to My Fans), Jadakiss dropped "Big Boy Dialogue," which was slated as the lead single from his first true album of the 2010s. A third proper LOX LP, Filthy America...It's Beautiful, arrived in 2016. The following year, Jadakiss teamed up with Fabolous for the collaborative album Friday on Elm Street. Inspired by horror icons Freddy and Jason, the set peaked in the Top Ten and featured guests like Future, Swizz Beatz, and French Montana. Still with Def Jam, Jadakiss released his fifth proper solo full-length, Ignatius, in 2020. The album was titled in tribute to his longtime friend and manager, Ignatius Jackson (aka Icepick Jackson), who died from cancer.  

‍

‍

ABOUT THE APOLLO

The legendary Apollo—the soul of American culture—plays a vital role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since its founding, The Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world. In 2024, The Apollo opened The Apollo Stages at the Victoria Theater, marking the first ever expansion and renovation of The Apollo in its nearly 90-year history. The Apollo also has plans to renovate its Historic Theater. For more information about The Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.

‍

With music at its core, The Apollo’s programming extends to dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival. The non-profit Apollo is a performing arts presenter, commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals, large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core initiatives that celebrate and extend The Apollo’s legacy through a contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW) Festival as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with partner organizations.

‍

Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in 1934, The Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop, R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless legendary performers who launched their careers at The Apollo are Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther Vandross, H.E.R. D’Angelo, Lauryn Hill, Jazmine Sullivan, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben Ari; and The Apollo’s forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy. For more information about The Apollo, visit www.ApolloTheater.org.

‍

‍