Blogocentric Formulations

Return of the Mack

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Song: "Return of the Mack"
Artist: Mark Morrison
Album: Return of the Mack


The Soundtrackers are back! Yay! As long as we're on the topic of grand returns, I can't think of any one-hit wonder more appropriate than Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack," which was a huge hit my freshman year in high school. It is a little odd, though, that Mark Morrison chose to name his debut album (and first single) "Return of the Mack," considering that - as a debut - he's not really "returning" from anything, is he? I suppose it ended up being a bit of a self-fulfilling prophesy in the end, since he pretty much returned to the obscurity from whence he came after this near chart-topping hit.

Interestingly enough, this hit single never made it to #1 on the United States Billboard Hot 100. Despite going multi-platinum, the song was held out of the #1 spot by Hanson's "MMMBop." Talk about adding insult to injury; the only thing worse than being held off from a #1 track is being held off from a #1 track by a terrible song from a terrible band.

Part of the reason why Mark Morrison never really took off could have a lot to do with his extracurricular activities, which have landed him in more than his share of legal trouble. He actually spent three months in prison while his song topped the charts in the U.S. for trying to bring a firearm aboard an airplane. He followed that up with charges for possessing an offensive weapon, armed robbery, being caught driving without a license (twice), suspicion of kidnapping and car theft, inciting a fight over a missing medallion, assault, suspicion of bribing a police officer, and... wait for it... being sentenced to community service for starting a fight that resulted in a fatality... and then paying a lookalike to perform that community service while he went on tour.

It's not every day that you get the opportunity to blog about an artist whose rap sheet is longer than his discography, so I had to jump at the chance. Oh, and the song's pretty catchy too.