In an interview with The Art of Dialogue, Craig Mack’s ex-wife, Roxanne Alexis Hill-Johnson, opened up about the rapper’s involvement with an alleged cult in his later years.
When asked about the rumors that he was involved with a cult, the Overcomer Ministry, before he died in 2018 at the age of 47, she said that Mack had “been listening to his reverend,” assumedly Overcomer Ministry founder Ralph Gordon Stair.
“He heard him, and he left New York and went down [to South Carolina],” Hill-Johnson explained. “And when he got down to South Carolina, the [reverend] did not let him into the church immediately. Eventually, he let him into the church.”
She said that she believes he left New York City shortly after he learned that he was sick with AIDS. “I think he wanted a fresh start,” she continued. “Strange as it is, you know, that’s where he ended up.” Asked about the “rumors” of what was going on at the church, which has faced accusations of being a cult, she said her two children she shared with Mack described the leader of the Overcomer Ministry as “a crazy white man” who would frequently say racist slurs and had his followers “working in fields.”
Other things her children told her of the church included Stair preaching “fire and brimstone” for hours at a time, and allegedly told his congregation that he was going to be executed by the Pope. “I think Craig went down there as a means to an end to get away from New York,” she said. “I don’t think Craig was brainwashed, because Craig wasn’t, from what I understand, wasn’t living like the other people. He didn’t live within the compound, he lived someplace else. Craig got privileges that other people didn’t get… And people didn’t always agree with that. And Craig never signed all his worldly [possessions]."
She said that Mack was there “until he died,” but she felt that he wanted to stay there. Their children were able to leave, however. She said their daughter left the church by getting married, which Stair did not want his congregants to do, while their son left because he “asked too many questions.” She insisted that her children would be the people to talk to about what Stair and the Overcomer Ministry got up to in detail, but she did say that it felt "cathartic" when he died in 2021 at the age of 87.
The Overcomer Ministry faced multiple serious controversies over the years, including claims that it’s a cult and Stair asserting that he was a prophet. Stair was also convicted for sexual abuse and accused of causing the deaths of infants.
During another interview segment, which can be seen below, Hill-Johnson claimed that Diddy hurt and embarrassed Mack the latter asked to borrow money. She said the incident went down at an album release party or similar type of event, and when they asked Diddy for money he pulled out a huge stack of cash but only gave him one $100 bill. “I was shocked,” she said. “You know, you can’t say Bad Boy family and you don’t treat a person like family. Especially when they put their blood, sweat, and tears into their music.”
When she and Mack got into their car to leave, she rolled the window down and threw the $100 out of the window. “I don’t want this,” she recalled thinking. “When he gave him the money, he was deadass serious. He didn’t laugh, you know. … Extremely insulting. Craig was hurt, he was embarrassed. He did that in front of his two security guards and his wife.”