When the MC known as MaceyOMaze was growing up in Fields Corner, his father would play classic hip-hop in the family van. The lyrics typically detailed life in hip-hop capitals like New York and Los Angeles. But one day, a song called “I Got To Have It” came on and MaceyOMaze, then a 12-year-old aspiring rapper, heard something in the lyrics that astonished him.
“At first, I was like ‘Oh, this is dope.’ And then I heard them say ‘Roxbury.’ And I was like, ‘Wait a minute — this rapper’s from Boston? We can do this out here?’ It was the first time it occurred to me that there’s artists out here who’ve been doing it at a high level.”
The 1991 track was by Ed O.G. & Da Bulldogs, and it marked the first time a Boston artist had reached the top of the Billboard rap charts. Now, a decade after that car ride, MaceyOMaze has gone from admirer to collaborator. He’s just released an LP with the artist now known as Edo.G called “See You In Boston.”
The two first met when Edo.G appeared at a community event with his longtime collaborator KRS-One. It was the kind of gathering that would normally be full of hip-hop heads of a certain age, so Edo.G, 54, was surprised to see two teenagers approach him: MaceyOMaze and his manager Ty Boogie.
“For me to see just two young kids there absorbing the real hip-hop and trying to get some knowledge, I took right to them and gave them my number instantly,” Edo.G recalls. “I just told them to holler at me, because I support all the artists. And that’s for all over the city, but especially for the ‘Bury, for my inner city.”
MaceyOMaze released his debut in 2022 and has been prolific ever since thanks to his association with the talent-laden Ethereal Visions label and collective. His music displays a knowledge of all eras of hip-hop that extends beyond his lyrical approach. In a world full of cookie-cutter trap beats, MaceyOMaze goes for the kind of sampled grooves that defined old-school hip-hop. “That’s the most important part of the production for me — having that really strong element of funk,” he says. “That groove is what gives the music its soul.”
Edo.G and MaceyOMaze first planned to make just a single track. But that quickly turned into a second one, and soon there was enough for an entire LP. Throughout the record, MaceyOMaze’s sincere but proud and assertive approach proves to be the perfect foil for the wise, crafty Edo.G.
Their meeting came at a fortuitous time. After many years of successful recording and touring projects centered around the European market, Edo.G had just started to resume his production work. Having once been beholden to a major label, he’s now enjoying an era in which artists can release music whenever they want.
“I started producing again in 2022. I hadn’t produced since the ‘90s/early 2000s,” the rapper says. He remembers the days when beats had to be found by digging through vinyl albums. “Now with the technology, my boy who is a producer showed me this app and I started making beats again, so I told MaceyO, ‘Just hit me up if you need some beats.’ It’s good to hear traditional hip-hop. He’s an MC, which is why I wanted to help him out in any way I could. And he’s no slouch as a producer himself — he’s got fire beats.”
Edo.G also recently started teaching a class at Berklee, which inducted him into its Hip-Hop Hall of Fame in 2023. “It’s been an easy transition, because I’ve always done stuff with kids and with high schools, coming in to talk to classes,” he says. “But I’ve always aspired to have my own class and teach kids what I know about hip-hop and my experiences.”
One of the most special cuts on the LP is “Father’d A Child,” which samples Edo.G’s classic “Be A Father To Your Child.” Although the track starts with a comical bit about a child born on 4/20, it echoes the original song’s celebration of fatherhood as MaceyOMaze thanks his father for instilling his sense of responsibility and Black pride.
“My pops didn’t have his father in his life, but he was in my life,” says MaceyOMaze. “And he grew up listening to ‘Be A Father,’ and that’s what he was to me. So it was a full circle moment.”
Edo.G adds, “It’s so important that we highlight the positives in our community, the people who are leading by example.”
