Pastor Mason Betha Shocks Rap Fans on Kanye West's 'Cruel Summer'
Mason Betha, a mulch-platinum selling rapper from the late 1990s who retired from the industry 13 years ago to become a pastor, recently appeared on Kanye West's G.O.O.D Music Record label's compilation album, "Higher."
In the song featuring singer The Dream and rapper Pusha T, Betha raps about his luxury items and people questioning where his money comes from:
"So many ghosts in my garage they think my house (is) haunted/ long as my buckles say Hermes the rumors I'm not concerned with/ ...You know them people too convinced that my money's getting rinsed/ Her Loubi's seven inch they TMZ me through the tints."
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The rapper turned head pastor of El Elyon International Church in Atlanta, Ga., and Phoenix, Ariz., also spoke about a run-in with former Bad Boy Records labelmate rapper Loon who is now reportedly a Muslim.
"I bumped into Loon he's like As-Salamu Alaykum/ you know I ain't Muslim my (n----) I'm about my bacon/ The shot (n-----) taking you think I'm rolling around with Reagan/ A Mexican landscaper couldn't rake in what I'm making," the pastor rapped.
At the end of his verse on "Higher," Betha compared himself to a drug lord while speaking about people possibly having a hard time believing that he knows the Lord.
"...I'm like a drug overlord my jewelery (is) overboard/ It's hard to believe (Ma)$e even knows the Lord/ Already wrote it off so just ignore the costs/ So when I'm rolling off I'm showing off with no remorse," the pastor rhymed.
Some fans were pleasantly surprised to hear Betha drop a verse on the compilation album from West's record label.
"Favorite track on 'Cruel Summer' is 'Higher,'"one person tweeted. "Dope beat, dope verses from Pusha, Mase and Dream. I could listen to this song all day."
The head pastor also received support from fellow rapper Wale right before the "Cruel Summer" album was released.
"Mase killin (expletive)," Wale exclaimed on Twitter. "He bout to be a problem watch (sic)."
Singer Jill Scott agreed with those sentiments.
"@Wale agreed," she tweeted while joining in on the conversation with the rapper. "Mase is not to slept on."
However, some did not agree with the pastor being featured on a song that features excessive profanity and themes that may be questionable for Christians.
"Um, is Mase REALLY on this track? Imma (sic) need him to get it together," one person tweeted. "Is he a preacher or not?!"
Another said Betha may need to star in a movie to highlight his alter egos.
"I'd like 1 of those movies/shows about people w/ double lives where Mase the preacher doesn't know about his sleepwalking rap star alter ego (sic)," another person said.
Yet another rap fan seemed to agree that Betha was confused on the "Cruel Summer" track.
"Ma$e ain't know if he wanted to be Bad Boy Ma$e, Murder Ma$e from g-unit, or pastor Mason Betha on that verse (sic) ," the person tweeted.
