Mac celebrated the 25th anniversary of his major label debut album, Shell Shocked, this weekend, putting on a star-studded concert in his hometown.
On Friday (July 21), the former No Limit soldier took to the stage in New Orleans, LA, at the House of Blues. In addition to himself, the Third Ward native brought along former labelmates Mia X and Fiend for the ride.
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Shell Shocked was Mac’s second solo album — and first on No Limit Records — which dropped in 1998. Judging from footage captured at the album’s anniversary show, the “Boss Chick” rapper’s music is just as beloved as it was when it was released over two decades ago.
Check out clips from the show below:
Mac gets "Shell Shocked" with Mia X & Fiend at album’s 25th anniversary showhttps://t.co/52WCdDrY0Tpic.twitter.com/j3pOWFiTq6
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) July 22, 2023
Mac released a pair of solo albums on No Limit Records — Shell Shocked and WWIII — in 1998 and 1999 respectively, and he also contributed to the 504 Boyz album Goodfellas in 2000. His Shell Shocked LP peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200.
Recently released from prison, Mac (real name McKinley Phipps Jr.) was arrested for the February 21, 2000 murder of 19-year-old Barron Victor Jr., who was shot and killed at Club Mercedes in Slidell, Lousiana where Mac was preparing to perform later that evening.
The New Orleans native was arrested and convicted on manslaughter charges despite lacking evidence on a 30-year sentence.
Before he was ultimately released from prison in 2021, Mac insisted that he had nothing to do with the shooting of Victor — and told DX in 2016 that he was being railroaded by an unjust system.
“Nobody wanted to believe that the DA’s office is making mistakes,” he said. “The citizens want to be believe that they are prosecuting the people who need to be prosecuted and I just think it was more of that than just me being a rapper.”
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He continued: “I am not against police officers but I just think sometimes citizens paint police in this saintly or perfect picture that doesn’t make mistakes and we don’t realize that these people are human. And because we expect perfection from them, they feel the need to keep that image that they know what we think of them. It’s almost like they rather make something up than admit wrongdoing.”
In October, Mac released his first album in over 20 years, Son of the City.
