"Masta I.C." is the second single released from

Mic Geronimo Michael Craig McDermon (born September 14, 1973, in Queens, New York), better known by his stage name Mic Geronimo, is an American rapper who was acquainted with Irv Gotti of Murder Inc. Gotti and his brother met Mic Geronimo at a Queens high ...

's debut album, ''

The Natural ''The Natural'' is a 1952 novel about baseball by Bernard Malamud, and is his debut novel. The story follows Roy Hobbs, a baseball prodigy whose career is sidetracked after being shot by a woman whose motivation remains mysterious. The story mos ...

''. The song was produced and co-written by Diggin' in the Crates member

Buckwild Buckwild may refer to: * Buckwild (music producer), American hip hop producer * Buckwild (TV series), an American reality television series * Buck Wild, a 2013 comedy horror film * Buck Wild (song) "Buck Wild" is a 1989 single released by the Wa ...

, with Royal Flush contributing guest vocals and

X-Ecutioners The X-Ecutioners are a group of American hip hop DJs/ turntablists from New York City, New York. The group formed in 1989 and currently consists of three DJs, including Total Eclipse, DJ Boogie Blind, DJ Precision. Original members of the gro ...

member

Roc Raida Anthony Williams (May 17, 1972 – September 19, 2009), better known as Roc Raida or Grandmaster Roc Raida, was an American DJ, turntablist and producer. He was also a member of the DJ group the X-Ecutioners. He joined the X-Men in the late 19 ...

providing scratches for the song. Like his previous single, "Masta I.C." was not a commercial success, instead becoming more of an underground classic. It peaked at 30 on the Billboard's

Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by ''Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

Ja Rule Jeffrey Bruce Atkins (born February 29, 1976), better known by his stage name Ja Rule (), is an American rapper and actor. Born and raised in New York City, he debuted in 1999 with '' Venni Vetti Vecci'' and its lead single " Holla Holla". Dur ...

and

Irv Gotti Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (born June 26, 1970), professionally known as Irv Gotti, is an American DJ, music producer, record executive, and the CEO and co-founder of Murder Inc. Records. He is best known for producing multiple number-one re ...

made cameo appearances in the song's music video. The official remix was produced by Irv Gotti and featured verses from Royal Flush and the

Lost Boyz Lost Boyz are an American hip hop group from Queens, New York, consisting of MC Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, and K Chrys. Originally in the early 90's LB consisted of Mr. Cheeks, Freaky Tah, Spigg Nice, and Pretty Lou. Member K Chrys or “K ...

, it was the last track on ''The Natural''. The B-Side of the single was "Time to Build", which featured guest appearances by then unknown

DMX Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...

, Jay-Z and

, each of whom would become multi-platinum superstars shortly after. The music video was directed by

Hype Williams Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Early life Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Ade ...

Single track listing

A-Side

#"Masta I.C." (Radio)- 4:20 #"Masta I.C." (Radio Street)- 4:20 #"Masta I.C." (Street)- 4:20 #"Masta I.C." (Instrumental)- 4:20

B-Side

#"Time to Build" (Radio)- 4:35 #"Time to Build" (Street)- 4:35 #"Time to Build" (Instrumental)- 4:35 #"Masta I.C." (Acapella)- 4:20

Charts

1995 singles Mic Geronimo songs TVT Records singles Music videos directed by Hype Williams {{1990s-hiphop-song-stub