Six years ago, premiere Bad Boy Records artist Craig Mack died from an unknown, acute illness that was first believed to be heart-related. A recent article from Rolling Stone has unveiled that Mack’s death certificate now reads that the “Flava In Ya Ear” rapper died from HIV/AIDS-related illness.
The Rolling Stone article, published on Friday(August 18), interviewed his first wife, Roxanne Alexis Hill-Johnson, his daughter, Amanda Mack, and his younger brother, Andrew Mack. They opened up about the “Flava In Ya Ear” rapper’s life from his peak at Bad Boy Records to his final days on his deathbed.
“I’ve truly, honestly never seen a human being in that condition before,” Andrew Mack said. “He was catatonic.”
“I believe he was very much in denial, but that’s him living his truth to the end,” he continued. “I know that sounds really crazy, but you have to know him to understand that. As much as that bothers me, I understand why he did what he did. He lived his truth.”
His widow and brother contend that the New York native learned of his diagnosis before he left his hometown in 2007. Mack moved to South Carolina, where he joined the Overcomer Ministry. By 2014, Mack had already shown signs of failing health after he lost an unmistakable amount of weight and was frequently sick. Mack originally told people he had congestive heart failure and was hospitalized, but he didn’t seek out any further medical treatment.
By 2018, Mack walked with a cane until he could not walk on his own. In his final hours, his family drove from Vermont to spend a few days with Mack.
Mack’s family still has many questions about his life, and Hill-Johnson hopes to answer some of them in a documentary she’s developing with Alvin Toney, who recorded Mack’s final interview before his death.