Papoose Biography

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 looked like 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 stepping stone for his career and creating a fan base for him. Subsequently, he signed a contract with a recording company; but when they failed to offer any recording opportunities, 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.

Impressed by his rendition, Kay Slay signed Papoose to Streetsweepers Entertainments. Concurrently, Papoose continued to create mixtapes, releasing ‘A Moment of Silence’, ‘The Underground King’, ‘Sharades’, ‘Mixtape Murder’, ‘The Bootlegger’s Nightmare’, ‘Bedstuy Do or Die,’ and ‘Unfinished Business’ in 2005.

Continuing to produce, he released many more mixtapes including ‘The Best of Papoose – The Official Mixtape’ in 2006. In the same year, he made a guest appearance in the remix of ‘Touch It’ by Trevor George Smith Jr, popularly known as Busta Rhymes, becoming famous for this work.

On August 24, 2006, he signed a contract with Jive Recording for $1.5 million, planning to publish an album called ‘The Nacirema Dream’. But the project got stuck and although the album was almost complete it was not released.

By September 2007, Papoose left Jive. He signed with Flipmode Squad and remained with them for the next couple of years. This was also the time when his career started taking off; he went on a tour of Great Britain and Russia and got international acclaim and a large base of loyal fans.

In 2008, Papoose appeared in a cameo role of a rapper in a crime thriller movie called ‘Righteous Kill’. Concurrently, he continued to create mixtapes, releasing ‘Build or Destroy’ in the same year.

'Build or Destroy' was followed by ’21 Gun Salute’ (2009), ‘Military Grind’ (2009), ‘Papoose Season’ (2010), ‘The Second Coming’ (2011), and ‘King of New York’ (2011). In 2011, he also released his second compilation of mixtapes, ‘The Last Lyricist’.

On December 4, 2012, he released his most popular mixtape, ‘Most Hated Alive’. By then, he had made arrangements to release ‘The Nacirema Dream’ through Fontana Records. To promote the album, he released ‘On Top of My Game’, a single from the album, on December 11, garnering considerable interest.

On February 1, 2013, Papoose had the music video for ‘On Top of My Game’ premiered at 106 & Park, a hip-hop and R&B music video show. Although it was decided that the album, ‘The Nacirema Dream’, would be released on March 5, 2013, for certain reasons the date was pushed back for three weeks.

On its release on March 26, 2013, ‘The Nacirema Dream’ received generally positive reviews. His fans also lapped it up; it sold 5,442 copies in the first week and 3,000 more in the second. By June 2015, it had sold 18,000 copies in the USA alone.

On November 4, 2013, Papoose released his 27th mixtape, ‘Hoodie Season’. It was followed by ‘Hoodie Season 2’, released on January 30, 2014, and ‘Cigar Society’, released on March 5, 2014.

Papoose had his second studio album, ‘You Can’t Stop Destiny’ released on July 17, 2015. In the same year, he appeared in a supporting role in the television show, 'Love & Hip Hop: New York', a venture, which seeks to explore the role of women in the hip-hop industry dominated by men. That same year, he, along with his wife Remy Ma, joined the reality television series, ‘Love & Hip Hop: New York.’ The couple remained a part of the show until it went off-air in 2020.

In 2018, he and his wife starred in the 3-episode reality series, ‘Remy & Papoose: Meet the Mackies.’ Around the same time, Papoose released his mixtape, ‘Back 2 the Streets, Vol. 1.’ He came out with his third studio album ‘Underrated’ in February 2019. In July of that year, he put out his latest mixtape titled ‘School Of Bars.’

In 2020, he launched his fourth studio album under the name ‘Endangered Species.’ The following year, he released 12 extended plays, one each month. Interestingly, the EPs were named after the month they were released in.

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

On May 12, 2008, Papoose married Reminisce Mackie, professionally known as Remy Ma, in a courtroom, 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 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. They welcomed a daughter named Reminisce Mackenzie in December 2018.

Papoose has a son named Shamele Mackie Jr. and a daughter named Dejanae Mackie, born out of his liaison with his former girlfriend Yvetta Lashley. He also has another daughter named Destiney Mackie. Shamele Jr., Dejanae, and Destiney have all made a guest appearance on ‘Remy & Papoose: A Merry Mackie Holiday.’