Papoose

On May 12, 2008, Papoose married Reminisce Mackie, professionally known as Remy Ma, in a court room, just before she went to jail for shooting a former friend over a financial dispute. They were scheduled to marry on April 27, but had to change their plans after the unfortunate incident.

Once Remy got out of the jail in August 2014, they resumed their married life. They had a ceremonial wedding in March 2016, eight years after their actual wedding in the courtroom.

Papoose has a daughter named Dejanie Mackie, born out of his liaison with another woman. He gained the custody of her daughter when she was a child. A budding artist and a musician, she is now studying in a university in New York.

Papoose was born on March 5, 1978 in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City. Very little is known about his family background except that he is of Liberian descent and that his mother’s name is Irene Mackie. According to some sources his father’s name is Gregory Hudgens.

Born as Shamele Mackie, he was called Papoose, meaning a Native American baby, by his grandmother, Vivian, because as a child he look liked one. Later, as he embarked on his musical career he continued with that name.

Nothing is known about his educational background or other childhood activities. However, brought up in Bedford-Stuyvesant, he is known to have shown interest in music early in his life, writing his first rap at the age of eleven. It is also known that he was very fond of his grandmother.

In 1998, Papoose got his first break, when he was introduced to Mafioso rap artist, Nathaniel Thomas Wilson, better known as Kool G Rap, by a music producer. Kool G Rap was then planning to cut a solo album, ‘Roots of Evils’ and was looking for fresh voices.

Believing that Papoose had the potential, Kool G Rap agreed to give him a chance. Subsequently, Papoose made a guest appearance in ‘Home Sweet Funeral Home’, the seventh song of the album, making an immediate impact. He was then just 20 years old.

In 1999, Papoose released his debut single, ‘Alphabetical Slaughter’. Very quickly, it went viral, forming the first steppingstone for his career and created a fan base for him. Subsequently, he signed a contract with a recording company; but when they failed to offer any recording opportunity, he cut ties with them.

To keep in touch with his fans, he now began producing mixtapes, releasing ‘Art & War’ in 2004. Later in the same year, he released three other mixtapes; ‘Street Knowledge’, ‘The Beast from the East’ and ‘Election Day’.

In 2004, Papoose presented one of his mixtapes to popular hip hop disc jockey, Keith Grayson, professionally known as DJ Kay Slay. By then, Kay Slay had formed Streetsweepers Entertainments in order to promote unsigned artists.

Papoose is best known for his debut album, ‘The Nacirema Dream’, released by Fontana Records on March 26, 2013. According him, the album is not just for entertainment. Contrarily, it reflects the story of his life, the trials and tribulations he had to go through to reach his position.