Today, Aug. 27, is the birthday of rapper, producer and original Bad Boy, Ma$e. The Bad Boy Records rapper who now turns 41.

The Harlem MC started his career as Murda Ma$e and came up under Diddy's Bad Boy Records in the late '90s. In 1996, Ma$e was featured on 112's "Only You" which became a number one hit on the Billboard charts. Ma$e dropped his debut album, Harlem World, in 1997, which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and followed that up with a sophomore LP, Double Up in 1999 before taking a break from the rap game in the new millennium, announcing his retirement.

In 2004, Ma$e made a return to the hip-hop world with his Welcome Back album. He also made a number of public returns in the last few years, most notably at the Bad Boys reunion at the 2015 BET Awards and the following tour.

In between collabing with the likes of Lil Kim and Busta Rhymes and touring with G-Unit, Ma$e also found himself in religion. He became an ordained pastor in 1999.

Although the Harlem rapper hasn't been as prolific as people thought he would be at the outset of his career, he still pops up every now and then to remind folks he's the real deal. Check out his 2017 Cam'ron diss, "The Oracle," in case you need to jog your memory.

Happy Birthday, Ma$e!

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