Mason Betha, aka rapper Ma$e, has experienced a renaissance recently, and it’s not only because he’s from Harlem. Since reconnecting with childhood friend Cameron Giles, aka rapper Cam’ron, the two have planted a flag in sports commentary that, for him, is a divine pivot from the music industry that made him a household name.
“Everything now that we see playing out is all the things I escaped,” Ma$e said in a recent episode of their show It Is What It Is. “The car, the Shyne, the Loon, Puff Daddy, the Craig Mack, the Biggie Smalls. Even though I made those decisions and they cost me money that’s why I got with Killa and they gave me the money back; I didn’t lose no money. Destiny. We at the right place, this is how its meant to go. Thank you, Killa.”
Cam’ron and Ma$e have revitalized their respective entertainment brands through the success of their online show, “It Is What It Is,” a sports-focused program that launched last year on YouTube. The inaugural episode premiered on Feb. 27, 2023, and received rave reviews for its honest, street-centric takes and cultural deference.
The two entered the crowded online sports commentary space of former athletes and entertainers but carved out a niche that is now lucrative as well. They began self-funded but quickly gained a sponsorship deal that broadened their abilities and cemented their stake in the “new media” market.
“A lot of n***as hollering at me to try and buy my show, make my show a part of what they’re doing,” Cam posted back in August 2023 when their reported eight-figure deal with Underdog Fantasy was first announced. “And listen, I appreciate the love, I appreciate the interest and everything else. This is fully funded by me. I ain’t go get no help, I ain’t got no partners, I ain’t got no bank that came and did all this sh-t.”
Since then, the fans have watched the friendship of Cam’ron and Ma$e flourish on screen after the two hadn’t talked for years. They have also incubated the growth of Treasure Wilson, a recent University of Miami graduate who is now the steady hand that keeps the renegade commentary style of Cam’ron and the signature monotone of Ma$e balanced.
With older hip-hop artists like Noreaga, Willie D, and even hip-hop impresarios like Dame Dash also in the visual podcast landscape, Cam’ron and Ma$e stand out not as a podcast but as a sports desk show that humanizes the “expert pool.” Now he is looking for ways to financially leverage the platform, but the number has to be bigger than his current personal income generation.
“And y’all have to offer something that I ain’t got,” Ma$e said about entertaining offers for his show. “Now, you don’t know what I got. You could assume what I got. I’m not gonna be unreasonable, but you gotta be fair. And right now, for the time being, we gonna have fun.”
With Come And Talk 2 Me as the parent company for the show, the artists have big visions for their budding network that has cemented Ma$e’s pivot from what he describes as a relatively toxic music industry into sports media. With the current very public trials and tribulations of Sean “P. Diddy” Combs and the horror stories of former Bad Boy artists, Ma$e’s newfound sports media life is a welcome departure from the calamities of former Bad Boy artists.
