Ma$e is trying to shimmy his way back into the rap-listening public's consciousness, and he's using decidedly unconventional tactics to do it. Last month, the Harlem World legend dropped a tradition-minded track that hearkens back to his late-'90s heyday and laments all the changes that have happened since. It was called "When NY Was NY" and was a freestyle over...the "California Love" beat. Now, Mr. Betha decides to flex his considerable influence, as he should--his intricate internal rhyme patterns and famously bass-less delivery have been aped over and over in the decades since be broke through. But curiously, he does it by adding a verse to "Be Real," the Kid Ink collaboration with 2015 XXL Freshman DeJ Loaf. In any event, you should listen to your elders.

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