This is the start of a weekly running column where I ramble on about things that actually happened. The purpose of the article is to highlight things that actually happened, that I still remember happening, that most likely not many other people remember happening, that I fear I will one day forget that they happened and thus the piece of information will be lost in history unless I write about it.

The first “thing that happened” which I will write about is the time Mase endorsrf Nantucket Nectar Drinks; but,  not really because it was actually Jadakiss who endorsed Nantucket Nectar. Confused yet? Back in 1998 Nantucket Nectars drinks were just becoming popular. (I was personally a fan because they were a local start up, and they tasted good, and they used glass bottles which my childhood juice company Very Fine foolishly abandoned; glass just makes those type of juice drinks taste better than plastic) During the same time that Nantucket Nectar’s were becoming popular, Mase had just released his widely successful Harlem World album. A few months prior to that album coming out, I remember reading an article in The Source (Footnote 1) about how Puffy (Sean Combs) had become obsessed with Nantucket Nectars and had them personally delivered to Bad Boy’s office and recording studio. That article must have not been bullshit because sure enough in the song “24 Hours To Live” one will hear this lyric “yo, if I had 24 hours to kick the bucket, fuck it-I'd probably eat some fried chicken, and drink a Nantucket.” Someone in the marketing department at  Nantucket Nectar must have heard that line as well because there was a commercial that they would play on Jamn 94.5 all the time where they would play that line and then some announcer guy would say something like “Nantucket Nectar’s are Mase’s preferred drink or something like that. Here is the thing though; while it is Mase’s song it is actually Jadakiss who says that line not Mase. At the time few people knew who Jadakiss was due to that first Lox album not even being out yet. (few people still know who Jadakiss is, despite the Lox have released a few albums <Jada has released a few solos as well>, one on Bad Boy and the others off od Ruff Ryders which the Lox/Jadakiss famously jumped ship for. As Part of getting out of their contract with Bad Boy, the Lox let Puffy keep their publishing rights which screwed them over financially; eventually they went on Hot 97  and threatened to drop a double door fridge on Puffy’s head and they ended up having a meeting with Puffy where he gave them their publishing but this was like 10 years later and their publishing by then was essentially worthless and now there are rumors of them signing back to Bad Boy to release an album to generate some publicity not that anyone actually buys albums anymore; especially rap albums) Thus, either who ever made the commercial screwed up and accidently attributed the line to Mase or they purposely attributed it to Mase because he was more popular at the time. Interestingly enough the song “24 Hours To Live” was also the mainstream introduction of one DMX who went on to dominate the Rap Game for the next few years releasing 5 number 1 albums; however, he is not doing so well financially and may be completely insane which he may have always been which is understandable since he grew up homeless in Yonkers, New York. The 2 Nantucket Nectar guys eventually sold to Cadbury Schweppes in 2002 for a huge profit. Puffy changed his name to Diddy has not had too many huge rap releases on Bad Boy records, but still makes money via Sean John Clothes, Cirac Vodka, Unforgivable Cologne, producing reality T.V. shows, and other shit. Mase became a Pastor and released a come back album like a decade after Harlem World where he sampled Welcome Back Carter which was mildly successful at most. He seems to be trying another rather half assed come back right now and for some god damn reason did a song with Creed’s Scott Stapp a few months ago. Personally, I still drink Nantucket Nectars on a nearly daily basis, remember all the words to the puffy, mase, and Jada song, actively root for them to still release music, and own to Sean John collared t shirts, 1 Sean John tie, and 1 Sean John dress shirt. All the proceeding things actually happened. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Take That, Take That.

Footnote: The Source was the seminal Hip Hop magazine started in 1988 by Harvard Student Dave Mayes. Getting a 5 microphone rating in The Source was considered a prerequisite to be considered a legit hip hop classic album. Unfortunately, The Source magazine is a shell of its former self due to several reasons. One being the general decline of the Magazine industry, but the Source magazine was rocked by scandals over the past decade such as a sexual harassment law suit, accusations of corruption, and other issue involving one time co-owner Raymond Scott who went by the rap moniker Benzino (he had a couple of minor hits back in the day and famously beefed with Eminem over Eminem’s portrayal of Michael Jackson in the “Just Lose It” video and tapes Benzino dug up of a young Eminem calling black women dumb and bitches in a song(Eminem responded back with a couple of diss tracks The Sauce and Nail In The Coffin which attacked Benzino for allegedly trading good reviews for rappers in the Source for getting those rappers to be guests on Benzinos album) and Benzino was also the founding member of the Boston rap group the Almighty RSO and Made Men.