McKinley Phipps, Jr. (born July 30, 1977), better known simply as Mac, is an American
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
and
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
3rd Ward. Mac began rapping as a child, releasing his debut album ''The Lyrical Midget'' at the age of 13 in 1990, under the stage name ''Lil Mac''. Mac would eventually sign with
Master P
Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...
's
No Limit Records
No Limit Records is an American record company founded by Master P. The label's albums were distributed by Priority Records, Universal and Koch Records. The label included artists such as Snoop Dogg, Mercedes, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal, Mi ...
and would grow to be one of the most critically acclaimed artists on the label, both as a solo rapper and as a member of the super group
504 Boyz
504 Boyz were an American hip hop group from New Orleans, Louisiana named for the New Orleans area code.
The original 504 Boyz, Master P (as "Nino Brown"), Mystikal (as "G. Money"), Silkk The Shocker (as "Vito"), C-Murder, and Krazy, release ...
. Mac released 2 solo albums and 1 album as part of the 504 Boyz on No Limit, including 1998's
Shell Shocked
Shell shock is a term coined in World War I by the British psychologist Charles Samuel Myers to describe the type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) many soldiers were afflicted with during the war (before PTSD was termed). It is a react ...
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...
, and was released on parole on June 22, 2021 after serving 20 years of his sentence. Phipps maintained his innocence throughout, and his parents have campaigned to re-open the investigation into his case.
Career
Mac was born McKinley Phipps, Jr. to Sheila Phipps and McKinley Phipps, Sr. in
Mannie Fresh
Byron Otto Thomas (born March 20, 1969), better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American music producer and rapper. He's best known for his productions on Cash Money Records releases, as well being half of the hip hop duo (alongside ...
.
Late 1990s: No Limit Records, Shell Shocked, and World War III
Lil Mac joined the Psychoward, a New Orleans-based group consisting of 28 rappers, and the group released their debut album, ''www.psychoward.com'', in 1997. After rejecting an offer to move to New York and sign with
Def Jam Records
Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop.
The ...
, Lil Mac changed his name to simply Mac and signed with
Master P
Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...
's
No Limit Records
No Limit Records is an American record company founded by Master P. The label's albums were distributed by Priority Records, Universal and Koch Records. The label included artists such as Snoop Dogg, Mercedes, Silkk the Shocker, Mystikal, Mi ...
. He toured with No Limit throughout the U.S. and Europe, and made guest appearances on many other artists' albums before releasing his own. He was featured on
Master P
Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...
Shell Shocked
Shell shock is a term coined in World War I by the British psychologist Charles Samuel Myers to describe the type of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) many soldiers were afflicted with during the war (before PTSD was termed). It is a react ...
''. The album is Mac's most commercially successful to date, reaching #11 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Mac again was featured on many other No Limit artist's releases that year. In 1999, he released his second album on the label, ''
World War III
World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use since at ...
''. While it was still on the label, this release differed from usual No Limit releases in that it was not exclusively produced by the production team
Beats by the Pound
The Medicine Men (or Beats by the Pound) are a New Orleans, Louisiana-based American music production team made up of KLC, Mo B. Dick, Craig B, Carlos Stephens, DJ Daryl, and O'Dell.
The collective helped sell 30 million records for Master P' ...
, and featured only three guest appearances from major No Limit names
Master P
Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...
,
C-Murder
Corey Miller (born March 9, 1971), better known by his stage name C-Murder, is an American rapper and songwriter. He initially gained fame in the mid-1990s as a part of his brother Master P's label No Limit Records, primarily as a member of th ...
, and
Silkk the Shocker
Vyshonn King Miller (born June 18, 1975), better known by his stage name Silkk the Shocker, is an American rapper and actor. He originally went under the stage name Silkk, but later adopted Silkk the Shocker after the release of his first album ...
. The album did not fare as well commercially as his first No Limit release, peaking at #44 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Mac's musical style differed from many other
Southern hip hop
Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memp ...
artists in this period, and he often displayed a level of lyrical complexity that has come to be associated with
East Coast hip hop
East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx, New York City.
In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip ...
.
504 Boyz and later releases
''
World War III
World War III or the Third World War, often abbreviated as WWIII or WW3, are names given to a hypothetical worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use since at ...
'' would be Mac's last album released on No Limit and his last solo album to date, as he would be sentenced to a 30-year prison term for manslaughter after 19 year old Barron C. Victor, Jr. died from a gunshot wound in a
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...
nightclub in 2001. In 2000, he joined the group
504 Boyz
504 Boyz were an American hip hop group from New Orleans, Louisiana named for the New Orleans area code.
The original 504 Boyz, Master P (as "Nino Brown"), Mystikal (as "G. Money"), Silkk The Shocker (as "Vito"), C-Murder, and Krazy, release ...
, whose name was a reference to the
area code 504
Area code 504 is a telephone area code that covers greater New Orleans, Louisiana. Besides New Orleans itself (Orleans Parish), it includes all of St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes and most of Jefferson Parish.
504 was one of the original ...
. The group was a collective of other No Limit rappers such as
Master P
Percy Robert Miller Sr. (born April 29, 1967), known by his stage name Master P, is an American rapper, record executive, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of the record label No Limit Records, which was relaunched as ...
,
Silkk the Shocker
Vyshonn King Miller (born June 18, 1975), better known by his stage name Silkk the Shocker, is an American rapper and actor. He originally went under the stage name Silkk, but later adopted Silkk the Shocker after the release of his first album ...
, and
C-Murder
Corey Miller (born March 9, 1971), better known by his stage name C-Murder, is an American rapper and songwriter. He initially gained fame in the mid-1990s as a part of his brother Master P's label No Limit Records, primarily as a member of th ...
. Mac was with the group for one album, 2000's ''
Goodfellas
''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book ' ...
'', which went gold and reached #2 on the ''Billboard'' 200. He was featured prominently on the group's hit single "Wobble Wobble", rapping the first verse and the chorus. The song reached #17 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
In 2007, while Mac was still serving his prison term, No Limit released the album '' The Lost Tapes'', which consisted of unreleased material Mac recorded with the label.
On May 31, 2012, DJ 5150 released the mixtape ''Uptown Veterans which is a compilation of Mac's greatest hits.
Mac Phipps has announced his first album in 23 years, Son of the City, which comes just over a year after he was released from prison following two decades behind bars. Son of the city was released October 31, 2022 with features from Fiend, D1, Curren$y,3d Na'tee, Cognac, Rayvon Neal and many more
Legal issues
On February 21, 2000, Phipps was scheduled to perform at
Slidell, Louisiana
Slidell is a city on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 28,781 at the 2020 census. It is part of the New Orleans− Metairie− Kenner metropolitan statistical area.
Hi ...
nightclub Club Mercedes, but a fight broke out before the show that resulted in a gunshot that struck and killed 19-year-old Barron C Victor, Jr. after Victor attempted to break up the fight. Phipps was arrested and charged with second-degree murder of Victor. He was convicted of
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ...
and sentenced to thirty years in prison on September 21, 2001. He would serve his sentence at the Elayn Hunt Correctional Center in Louisiana. Days into the police investigation, Thomas Williams, a man who was working security that night at the club, confessed to shooting Victor after another patron charged him with a beer bottle. Despite this, police pursued charges against Phipps.
In December 2014, Northwestern University's Medill Justice Project (MJP), in partnership with The Lens, published the results of a three-month investigation of Phipps' conviction, revealing that a key eyewitness at his trial gave his private investigator an
affidavit
An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a statemen ...
in 2013 that stated she was coerced into identifying Phipps as the shooter because of investigators' threats to charge her. Following Medill's investigation, David Lohr of ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' published the results of a four-month review of Phipps' conviction, further revealing that four other witnesses to the shooting told the publication that they also were threatened, intimidated or outright ignored by investigators. Phipps' family has since obtained affidavits from many of the individuals in an effort to get him a new trial.
On March 25, 2015, rapper
Killer Mike
Michael Santiago Render (born April 20, 1975), better known by his stage name Killer Mike, is an American rapper, actor, and activist. Mike made his debut on Outkast's 2000 LP '' Stankonia'', and later appeared on their Grammy-winning single ...
told students at
Dillard University
Dillard University is a private, historically black university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1930 and incorporating earlier institutions founded as early as 1869 after the American Civil War, it is affiliated with the United Church of ...
in New Orleans that it was unacceptable for authorities to use rap lyrics in the prosecution of Phipps: "If we let this stand, what you're going to see is that tool is going to be used to wipe out an entire potential generation of rtistsout of our community."
Phipps has applied for the Louisiana governor’s clemency in 2016, asking to be released from prison for time served. In the petition sent to the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole he seeks a commutation due to a "wrongful conviction and excessive sentence", as "evidence developed over the last two years" which includes, among other things, findings from MJP's investigation.
On February 22, 2021, the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole voted for Phipps' immediate eligibility for parole. On April 8, 2021, the Louisiana governor granted Phipps clemency. According to Louisiana law, Phipps has one more hearing before he is released.
On June 22, 2021, Phipps was released from prison after serving twenty years.
Discography
Studio albums
Collaboration albums
* ''
Goodfellas
''Goodfellas'' (stylized ''GoodFellas'') is a 1990 American biographical crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Nicholas Pileggi and Scorsese, and produced by Irwin Winkler. It is a film adaptation of the 1985 nonfiction book ' ...