"Welcome Back" is a song by American rapper

Mase Mason Durell Betha (born August 27, 1975), better known by his mononym Mase (formerly Murda Mase and stylized as Ma$e), is an American rapper and minister. In the late 1990s, he recorded on the Bad Boy Records label alongside its founder Sean ...

. It was released through

Sean "Puffy" Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent direct ...

Bad Boy Entertainment Bad Boy Records (or Bad Boy Entertainment) is an American record label founded in 1993 by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs. It operates as an imprint of Epic Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. It has been home to many artists, including ...

as the first single off his third studio album ''Welcome Back''. It marked the first single that Mase had released since 1999's " Get Ready", after he had taken a 5-year hiatus from the music industry. "Welcome Back" garnered positive reception from critics who praised its catchability. The song peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

chart and number 32 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart. It also reached number 17 on both the

and

Rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...

charts respectively. The song has been

certified gold Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA), denoting sales of over 500,000 units in America. "Welcome Back" also reached the top 40 in countries like New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The accompanying music video for the song, directed by Chris Robinson, parodies the opening to the children's show ''

Mister Rogers' Neighborhood ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood'' (sometimes shortened to ''Mister Rogers'') is an American half-hour educational children's television series that ran from 1968 to 2001, and was created and hosted by Fred Rogers. The series ''Misterogers'' debut ...

''.

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's David Jeffries praised the track for being reminiscent of early Mase, saying that it's "lyric-filled, driven but effortless, and has a crafty interpolation of a pop tune, this time the ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' theme song." Jessica Koslow of ''

HipHopDX ''HipHopDX'' is an online magazine of hip hop music criticism and news. The website's current president and publisher is Sharath Cherian and the Head Of Content is Jerry L. Barrow. ''HipHopDX'' is the flagship publication of Cheri Media Group. ...

'' put it alongside "

Breathe, Stretch, Shake "Breathe, Stretch, Shake" is the second single released from Mase's third album, '' Welcome Back''. It was released on September 14, 2004, produced by Rick Rock and featured P. Diddy on the chorus. "Breathe, Stretch, Shake" was slightly more succes ...

" as being "sure-fire radio/club joints." Rashaun Hall of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' said the production work by The Movement on the sample produced "infectious results." Chadwicked of

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, a ...

praised Mase for maintaining his rap flow while under a different image, saying that "It proves that a man such as Mase can rhyme over a sample from ''

Welcome Back, Kotter ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' is an American sitcom starring Gabe Kaplan as a high-school teacher in charge of a racially and ethnically diverse remedial education class called the "Sweathogs." Recorded in front of a live studio audience, the series ...

''; dress up like

Mister Rogers Fred McFeely Rogers (March 20, 1928 – February 27, 2003), commonly known as Mister Rogers, was an American television host, author, producer, and Presbyterian minister. He was the creator, showrunner, and host of the preschool television se ...

in the video and have an 80-year old female back-up dancer, and still be taken seriously and appreciated."

Chart performance

"Welcome Back" debuted at number 52 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for the week of June 5, 2004. It reached number 40 the week after and peaked at number 32 the week of June 19, staying on the chart for eleven weeks. On the

chart, it debuted at number 13 for the week of June 5, 2004. Three weeks later, it peaked at number 8 the week of June 26. It debuted at number 46 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart and then moved to number 23 for the week of June 5, 2004. Four weeks later, it reached its peak at number 17 for the week of July 3, 2004. It reached that same position on the

chart for the week of July 10, 2004. The song also charted in New Zealand, debuting at number 4 and staying there for four weeks, remaining on the chart for seventeen weeks. In Switzerland, it debuted at number 25 and stayed there for eight weeks and reached number 51 in Germany, with chart progression lasting for seven weeks.

Music video

Directed by Chris Robinson, the video begins as a parody of the opening to the 1968–2001 television series ''

'', being known in the video as ''Mister Betha's Neighborhood''. The video also features

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

pulling up in his

Pagani Zonda The Pagani Zonda is a mid-engine sports car produced by the Italian sports car manufacturer Pagani. It debuted at the 1999 Geneva Motor Show. By 2019, a total of 140 cars had been built, including development mules. Both 2-door coupé and r ...

and also features cameos from

Sean Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

Styles P David R. Styles (born November 28, 1974), better known by his stage name Styles P (also known mononymously as Styles), is an American rapper, best known as a member of hip hop group the Lox, alongside childhood friends Sheek Louch and Jadakiss. ...

Loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order Gavi ...

Amerie Amerie Mi Marie Nicholson ( Rogers; born January 12, 1980) is an American singer. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother Mi Suk Rogers and of music from her father Charles Rogers, and ...

Pee Wee Kirkland Richard "Pee Wee" Kirkland (born May 6, 1945) is a former American streetball player and drug kingpin. Career Basketball Born in Manhattan, New York, Kirkland played varsity basketball at Charles Evans Hughes High School in Manhattan, New York, a ...

Fatman Scoop Isaac Freeman III (born August 6, 1971), better known by his stage name Fatman Scoop, is an American rapper, promoter and radio personality famed for his on-stage rough, raw loud voice. He is known for the song "Be Faithful", which topped the ch ...

, E. Ness and Babs Bunny.

Live performance

On August 20, 2004, Mase performed the song live on ''

The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn ''The Late Late Show'' is an American late-night television talk and variety comedy show on CBS. It first aired in January 1995, with host Tom Snyder, who was followed by Craig Kilborn, Craig Ferguson, and current host James Corden. The show ...

''.

Remix

The official remix to "Welcome Back" is titled "It's Alright", and it is by hip-hop artist

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, with Mase being a featured artist along with singer

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

. It was featured on the bonus CD of West's 2005 video album ''

The College Dropout Video Anthology ''The College Dropout Video Anthology'' is a DVD release featuring the music videos to the singles from American rapper Kanye West's debut studio album ''The College Dropout'' (2004), released on March 22, 2005. It featured the videos to the pre ...

''.

Formats and track listing

;Europe CD *1. "Welcome Back" (Radio Edit) – 3:45 *2. "Welcome Back" (Main) – 4:23 ;Europe CD (Promo) *1. "Welcome Back" (Radio Edit) – 3:45 ;US 12" *A1. "Welcome Back" – 4:22 *A2. "Welcome Back" (Instrumental) – 4:22 *B1. "

" (featuring

P. Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

) – 3:17 *B2. "Breathe, Stretch, Shake" (Instrumental) – 3:17

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Use in other media

*The song appears in the 2020 MLB Opening Day video.

Release history

References

{{John Legend 2004 singles 2004 songs Mase songs Kanye West songs John Legend songs Bad Boy Records singles Music videos directed by Chris Robinson (director) Song recordings produced by the Movement (production team) Song recordings produced by Kanye West Songs written by John Sebastian Songs written by Mase Songs written by Kanye West Songs written by John Legend