Hailing from the Third Ward of New Orleans is the latest No Limit Soldier, Mac. Though he has been in the trenches of the music industry since he was twelve years old, he moves to the front lines with his gritty, funckdafied No Limit debut, Shell Shocked. "I've been into war movies and stuff since I was a little Kid", says Mac, "My pops was in Vietnam, so he used to tell me stories. Growing up where I grew up I saw a lot of things--Some which made me strong, but also a little paranoid. I call my style soldier rap. That's what Shell Shocked is all about."
Mac wrote his first rap in grade school, after being encouraged bay a friend. From then he went on to perform in talent shows. "I was like eight or nine years old," he explains, " just doing my thing. Everybody was doing other people's songs, and I was winning first place doing my own!" He had a a record deal by twelve, but the early success was fleeting. "I had a tennis shoe endorsement, and the cover of magazines, but I didn't have any money. I was so young, I didn't know anything."
But Mac didn't give up, even though at times he wanted to. As luck would have it, he met No Limit Commander-in-Chief Master P during one of his low moments. "It was funny," he says, "I hooked up with P right when I was about to say forget this rap stuff. And I get into the elevator, and there was Master P and the No Limit crew getting off." P, who had heard of Mac through a mutual friend and fellow rapper, Fiend, told Mac to be at the studio that week.
What followed was the hypnotic, and at times emotional, Shell Shocked. From "Soldier Party", the celebratory war chant, to the thoughtful "Money Gets", both featuring Master P, to the sexy "Camouflage Love," Mac rhymes like a true veteran, sharing his stories with honesty and edge. He will undoubtedly get head nodding with "Murda, Murda, Kill, Kill" featuring Mystikal and his trademark call to arms, "Wooo". "P has Uggh, I have Wooo," says Mac, "it's some Third Ward slang. When you see someone in the neighborhood, you go, Wooo, What's up". "Wooo" features some of the brightest No Limit stars like Mia X, Kane & Abel, and the newest No Limit superstar, Snoop Dogg.
"Everything on my album is a true story", Mac says, "I come from the hood, and most hoods are pretty much the same. You've got addicts, dealers, criminals. Being broke causes frustration and frustration causes crime. But my goal was always to get out." And, a true soldier, Mac had the talent, discipline and strength to achieve his goals.
