A personal tribute: ‘For Mama Mac’ by Damac

I have never been more proud to be a part of any project as I am to have been a part of Damac’s new album For Mama Mac.

The album starts with a wonderful tribute to his mom, Sheila Sharpe, which serves as the first single off the album.  It’s funny, witty, and just plain delightful.

But then the album immediately goes into the sheer horror of the final moment of her life.  There is no decision harder than having to remove a loved one from life support.

At this point, Damac becomes very transparent and brutally honest.  We all like to think how strong we’d be in the face of hard times, but the reality is that the pain of losing a loved one is real and it hurts a lot.  Damac does a truly wonderful job of expressing the various stages of grief, hurt, anger, rage, and confusion.  He expresses his anger at God for taking away his mom.  He even goes into how his mom’s death adversely impacted his marriage to his wife, Da Queen.  The good news is that later in the album, he credits Da Queen for being a rock for him, helping him get through it all.

But in the end, Damac asks himself how his mama would deal with it all. The answer shows that even in death, his mama manages to provide the strength Damac needs to get through it:

What would my mama do?  My mama would lean on You.  She would be in prayer.  And she’d have her Bible too
– “Proverbs 3”

What makes this album truly wonderful is that Damac included audio clips from his mama scattered throughout the album.  These audio clips show the listener what a powerful woman of God Sheila Sharpe really was.  

On a personal note, my wife and I lost my dad and her mom within a few months of each other right, before the pandemic.  Many of the feelings that Damac expresses are the same feelings we felt ourselves.  We had to deal with the aftermath of the deaths (we were the only local family) in the midst of our grief.  You can’t imagine how reassuring it is to hear my own thoughts and feelings coming out of someone else’s mouth.

But also, hearing how Damac worked through this journey (and continues to do so) is equally refreshing.  Yes, Christ is still Savior.  Christ is still Lord.  It’s gonna be OK.  Death is a part of life, and we will all be reunited in the final resurrection.

Admittedly, my part in this project was very small:  I pushed the button on the camera while Amanda wore the “For Mama Mac” garb in front of me.  But now that I have the final product in my hand, I am truly thankful that God brought Damac and me together and I truly treasure our relationship.

– “Concert Fotos” Chad Fenner