Retuuuurrrrn of the Mack

Recently while socializing I (for no particular reason) remarked on how I was in the mood to hear Mark Morrison's 1996 smash hit "Return of the Mack", to which Cliff Planter replied; "what is he returning from?"
Me: "I dunno."
Cliff: "I was just wondering if he was in a band before he did that song, was he making a comeback or something? Is there a song called The Mack?"
Me: "I think it's like Sexyback, or something. They're just stating their intention of returning something--that may or may not have existed, or ever been missing--to its supposed former value."

Of course I had no idea what I was talking about, but later found out that Return of the Mack was his first album and so he was not, in fact, returning from anything. Also, there are no references to the 1973 blaxploitation film "The Mack", starring Max Julien, which had been my other suspicion. However, if you look closely at the lyrics you can see that during the chorus he sings
"(Return of the Mack) once again
(Return of the Mack) pump up the world
(Return of the Mack) watch my flow
(You know that I'll be back) here I go"

"You know that I'LL BE BACK". So as you can see Mark Morrison wasn't merely making a mack comeback, he was prophesizing that the mack would be brought back...at a later time. But you're probably asking "why didn't he just bring back the mack before he wrote the song?" Well, because technically he couldn't. If you know your Mark Morrison history you'd know that by "mack" he meant "guy who stabs people at night clubs", and due to his subsequent incarceration he was unable to do any more "macking". His first album Return of the Mack was actually recorded in prison where he decided that being an R&B singer was the best way to get his message out, like Nelson Mandela. It was the first in his "Wrongful Imprisonment" trilogy. Recording took place during sessions disguised as conjugal visits and additional vocals were recorded via "telephone behind glass wall". Seen within its historical context it's obvious that Mark Morrison's music career was the means to reach people with his cry for justice...he wanted to mack some more haters and wasn't going to let the law stand in his way...that is until 1997 when he was falsely accused of hiring a stunt double to do his community service for him while he vacationed in Barbados. To protest his innocence Morrison once again attempted to "return the mack" for his 1997 album Only God Can Judge Me for Deathrow records...however Suge Knight had his own problems with the law and the mack was unsuccessfully brought back. The final chapter of the mack trilogy occurred in 2004 after Morrison signed on to former English soccer player Kevin Campbell's doomed 2Wikid label. Apparently it wasn't wikid enough and Mark ended up in court with the label trying to recover the rights to stolen demos. At long last his mack was finally brought back when the judge awarded him possession of the material he recorded on said label.
Now that his mack has been returned via court order, what's next for R&B superstar Mark Morrison? Who knows. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of Mark Morrison. One day, sometime in the future, when the world (or court system) needs him he'll come back to reclaim the mack...he is not a tame fawn.