
“It became a hustle for Ma$e after a while dog… where he was gauging who he would talk to based around how much they were giving, that’s a problem for me.”
“Ma$e, he owe the church an apology…He can’t do music and the church because he start messing up when he does both.”
Just as Murda Ma$e is gearing up to make his return, one of his church members is calling him out and exposing the “false prophet.” Going at Betha harder than Killa Cam, Jay-Z, Beans or Jim Jones ever did, Legacy The Jesus has released “the real” (not a diss) track, letting the world know of Mase’s charlatan ways.
In an exclusive interview with HipHopWired, Legacy discusses everything from Ma$e turning his back on his congregation and trying to be like 50 Cent, at one point, to asking his members for their bank account numbers.
Peep how he feels about Hip-Hop’s Reverend Ike.
HipHopWired: As far as the track that you sent out this morning, what’s the actual name of it?
Legacy: Mixtapes…there ain’t really no titles dog. It ain’t really no name for it. If I could name it, I don’t even know to tell you the truth what I would title it because it’s really an emotional record. It’s a personal record, it’s directed to Ma$e. It’s directed to the situations I’ve been through being in his church and then it’s also just telling you about me. So, I don’t know man, I don’t know what to call it, you name it. [Ed. Note: After the interview, Legacy sent out a press release that the song was entitled “Eviction.”]
HipHopWired: What church did you attend?
Legacy: Ma$e’s S.A.N.E. (Saving A Nation Endangered International). I was sitting in there for about 3 years. I know Ma$e very well.
HipHopWired: Obviously the track is a new but what was it that made you decide this is the reason and why put it out now?
Legacy: Well, it’s almost like I inherited a lot of the people who left the church. What I mean is, a lot of people know what I do through my non-profit, it’s faith based and a lot of times the motivational talks that I do don’t allow me to express the faith side so I’m in the middle of both worlds. I know how to talk to a spiritual congregation and I know how to talk to an audience that don’t have a clue about their spirituality. So they always knew I was somebody that was always thinking outside the church, and I was always doing what I was going to do regardless of whether the church was going to back me or not if that makes sense. So when I left I was seeing a slew of people that was just leaving behind me, not following me, but leaving after me. I left for my own reasons. I didn’t go in there like Judas and try to bring people out; I just left for my own reasons.
But then I seen literally 50, 60, 70-100 people leaving for some of the same reasons if not worse. They all started calling me and everybody was kind of hush about it and nobody wanted to put it on blast and nobody really had the outlet. Like I said, music is the outlet to channel your frustration and to speak your peace so I just felt man, “Why is everybody acting like they can’t ask this man what he doing?” He dodging all kind of interviews if you really do the homework on him. He don’t take interviews with CoCo Brother and different people because he don’t’ have an explanation for what he’s doing. He just want people to respect it without having to explain it. So I just got fed up and did a song about it.

HipHopWired: You being a member of the church, what were you all thinking a few years back when he was going to be signing with 50 Cent and then he turned into Murda Ma$e again?
Legacy: That’s the biggest problem man. Because I believed in his vision because I was an artist myself and I always thought it’d be great if we had somebody to get co-signed by these major artists out there and come out, and even though you amongst them, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to represent what they represent. And you can do it respectfully. He didn’t have to bash. I saw and believed in what he was doing. Oh, he got 50 co-signing. That’s what’s up… and he telling the church we gonna do this. We’re gonna do that but then you go back to Murda Ma$e.
For me, I’m an investor dog. Because I’m sewn into your ministry, you pulling us in the back room asking us to help fund your music projects because he didn’t have his label situation yet. So he literally asking people from the church to support that so I’m an investor at this point…you understand. And if you taking my money to do something contrary to what you told me then we got a problem. We got to sit back at the roundtable and talk about what your motives are.
HipHopWired: Some of the lyrics that you say in the song… “You betray your whole church for your fan base” and he was a “false prophet and we already got enough of them.” Can you explain those two lines?
Legacy: What I mean by that is instead of doing what he told the church he was going to do, he went back to being loyal to what his fan base originally supported Ma$e for. As an artist, when you come out a certain way, your fan base expects you to make them kind of records because they bought into the old Ma$e. When he tried to transform into the new Ma$e, he didn’t have enough faith or whatever it was to carry out the assignment, so he thought he had to go back to the old Ma$e to regain his fan base.
So really, he chose his fan base over the church and you telling us you’re going to do something and that’s why most people leave churches bro because they start making their pastor to be God. No pastor is God, no man is perfect but you’re held to a standard. So if you say you’re going to do something as a pastor, as a lawyer, as a doctor…whatever your profession, you got to do it and he didn’t do that so that’s what I meant by that.
HipHopWired: Is that where the false prophet accusation comes in?
Legacy: Yeah, that’s why most people leave churches behind. You can’t tell me dog, “Hey man, be faithful to your wife and I’m your pastor but I see you in the strip club with 5 hoes on your lap and your high. That’s a false prophet. You’re not living by what you’re saying and people can take that out of context and that is what it is. I don’t expect Ma$e to be perfect but I definitely expect him to live by what he’s saying. You can’t go out there doing that bro because people get deceived.

HipHopWired: On the track, you also say that you wanted to set up a meeting and then you, meaning the church, ya’ll members bought him a Lamborghini. As a minister, why did he need a Lamborghini and what type of meeting were you all trying to hold with Ma$e.
Legacy: Here’s the thing. I’m a firm believer in… The perception people have on pastors is a little warped too. They expect every pastor to be broke and they ain’t supposed to have nothing good. I don’t believe in that either. In my opinion, God owns everything and I’m gonna tell you straight up, I’m not doing what I’m doing for money. But don’t expect me…I would never say that money is not necessary to do what I’m doing because for me to do what I’m doing it’s going to take money.
So the perception of people thinking what do the pastor need with that Lamborghini…If the people of the church want to do something for their pastor, that’s their opinion. There’s a lot of millionaires that support all kinds of charities, people can do what they want to do with their money. I don’t have a problem with a pastor with a Lamborghini. What I have problem is, when we are investing in you and believing that you standing for what you say you’re standing for and then you do something totally opposite. That’s the problem I have and that’s why most people get mad with the church because these pastors take your money and do stupid stuff with it.
HipHopWired: In the song you also state that Ma$e didn’t want to hear people out unless they gave him all their bank account numbers, what’s that about?
Legacy: It became a hustle for Ma$e after a while dog. I can’t and I won’t say too much in the interview because I want to make sure people understand they got to follow the music. I don’t want to take away any interest from my projects and stuff but a lot of stuff will be said. But what I will say is that it became almost like a hustle after a while where he was gauging who he would talk to based around how much they were giving, that’s a problem for me.
Because all throughout the Bible, there were people who had the least but gave the most. It’s easy for a dude with a million dollars to give a thousand. It’s hard for a dude with a hundred dollars to give 30. It don’t matter how much you give. The point is that person was giving out of what he had and for you to gauge your conversations based around the amount of people giving, that’s a problem so that’s what I meant.

HipHopWired: Just to elaborate a little more, I’ve been to weddings at these mega churches where Pastors Creflo Dollar and Eddie Long preside and they do similar things. If Evander Holyfield or some star or a person with a whole bunch of money was getting married, they themselves would marry them. Now if you’re a regular member, you get passed off to an associate pastor. So it seems throughout a lot of these churches that you can’t talk to or be in the presence of “the head man” unless you’re blessing him with gifts in some form.
Legacy: That’s whack to me. You see why I say Legacy to Jesus, because Jesus went everywhere bro. People was talking about him based on the company he kept. He went everywhere, he wasn’t no respecter of persons. Now I understand these guys got schedules that are tight but don’t take a meeting with Holyfield and leave Lil Nook Nook on the sideline because he need just as much of that as Holyfield does.
HipHopWired: Last things I want to hit you with…You said you occasionally smoke a little purp (weed) but somebody in the pulpit was poking in the church. So was he sleeping with the members of the congregation?
Legacy: Nah, I’m not gonna say that. I’m speaking in general about that and I was saying I admitted when I smoked a little perp because I’ve been doing this a long time and I have a past. I have some things where I said I came from a different background. And I remember where there was a time when I disclosed some of those things from my past. I used to sell drugs, I used to smoke a lot of weed and I’d be transparent at different places and I admitted that. And I remember there were a few instances where I speak in white, Black, Latino atmospheres.
I used to get certain times where I had a speaking engagement, people would pull me aside and kind of ridicule the fact that I disclosed my struggles. And I said, well how can I expect these people to be real with me if I can’t be real with them. I admitted that. But you got pastors in the church whose poking around and nobody’s saying nothing but they mad at me because I admitted that I smoked a little perp.
I’m not saying that about Ma$e.
HipHopWired: So earlier when you spoke of pastors being in the strip club, were you speaking on Ma$e or were you speaking in general?
Legacy: I’m speaking in general. And Ma$e, this is an emotional record, not a diss record. At the end of the song, I said a prayer for him. I told you in the first verse that I still got love for him, but if you want to take a quote to me right now, I feel like I’m big homie to Ma$e and he’s my little brother. And he trying to come out and play and I’m telling him no go back in the house dog. I’m out here, this grown folks. What I’m saying is, Ma$e, he owe the church an apology. He got to stick to that. He can’t do music and the church because he start messing up when he does both.
So I’m telling him go back in the house, stay at the church, don’t do that. Let me do what you was trying to do because you messing up and that’s in love. But I got to do it harsh because he ain’t gonna respond to that “let’s set up a meeting,” I tried that. I tried to ask him what his motives were because I’m an artist. I understand rap better than all his congregation. And he’s dodging me, he didn’t want to talk to me. I’m like OK, bro. It took two years for that track to come out so I ain’t just come out trying to do a publicity stunt. Ma$e ain’t even hot right now. How am I doing a publicity stunt, this is just something I’m getting off my chest.

Legacy The Jesus
HipHopWired: You say it’s not a publicity stunt and you seem real sincere about the issue. But we actually did a news piece about Ma$e about to release five mix tapes since he got out of that contract with Diddy…almost like a launching of him coming back out.
Legacy: Good, it’s a coincidence. I didn’t know that until the other day I just found that out. This track been recorded about two months ago and I was getting all my stuff together. I didn’t know he was putting out a mix tape until I saw it two days ago. So to be honest, it’s a coincidence.
HipHopWired: From talking to you, it’s no bitter or hatred towards Ma$e. With that said, can ya’ll sit down and talk and is it possible that ya’ll can do music together?
Legacy: I don’t know bro. I think right now I’m gonna do me. Like I said, I’m every descriptive. I said in the song I bet you’ll take a meeting now that my name is out. Soon as I start interviews, they respect the person. When I was trying to get the meeting when I didn’t have my name out, why didn’t he take it then. I think right now it’s going to take a little bit of breathing space and distance before we can even talk about that because I don’t know what kind of music he’s putting out. I would never say I will work with Ma$e until I see what he’s doing, understand what he’s doing, until he lets the people know because he don’t ever let the people know what he’s doing. He just smile his way out of stuff so for me it’s like I got to watch homie right now. I’m not gonna say I will and I’m definitely not going to say I won’t, but right now it’s not the time.
HipHopWired: So pretty much, this has nothing to do with you. You just feel he has to be accountable for the people he supposedly represented in the church. You got to basically respond and let your people who you represent know exactly what you’re doing especially if you’re in a position of authority.
Legacy: That’s exactly right. I can’t say it better than that. Ma$e got too many yes men around him and that’s the problem he probably had with me behind the scenes. We ain’t never sat and ate lunch together but he’s seen me every Wednesday and every Sunday at 6 a.m. and he knows exactly who I am, and I was never a yes man. He just wanted people to co-sign him all day without an explanation and I’m not that guy, dog. You got to tell me what you’re doing because this is people’s lives here. People’s lives are depending on what you say and do and you can’t play with that.
For more information on Legacy The Jesus, log on to http://www.myspace.com/legacythejesus or http://www.andrewguerrier.com/.