Michael McCary

Michael "Bass" McCary (born December 16, 1971) is an American musician known for being the former bass singer of the R&B group Boyz II Men, in which he was sometimes known as Mike Bass. He started having back spasms and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis during his time with the group. He continued singing with the group despite his illness until his departure in 2003. The group has stated they fired McCary because he missed shows. Since 2024, McCary has occasionally joined the group onstage. McCary is also a producer and songwriter, having worked on songs for artists such as Johnny Gill and Keith Martin.

Early life Michael Sean McCary was born on December 16, 1971. Raised by a single mother, McCary hailed from Logan, Philadelphia, and attended the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts with Boyz II Men members Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, and Shawn Stockman.

Boyz II Men

At one point, McCary encountered Morris (Nathan), Morris (Wanya), Stockman, and former member Marc Nelson singing in the school bathroom, and harmonized with them, after which McCary became the group's bass singer. In May 1989, the group snuck backstage while Bell Biv DeVoe was performing at the Philadelphia Civic Center and sang to Michael Bivins, who then agreed to represent them. McCary was given the nickname Bass. McCary had back spasms, which later went "full scale" when he was 22 years old. Reviews of the group's shows in 1998 describe McCary as having a "back injury" (Daily Bruin), and state that he "sat most of the time with a sore back" (Deseret News). In 2004, Morris (Nathan) stated that during the album campaign for Full Circle, the group did shows without McCary because his back would not let him perform. At age 28, The diagnosis also stated that he has a locked nerve "around the sciatica" that could sever and cause paralysis. Beforehand, McCary's official reason for his departure in 2003 had been scoliosis, with Morris (Wanya) stating in 2005 that five years prior they discovered McCary had a severe case: "At some point a bone grew into one of his nerves. We'd be on a tour bus or at sound check and all of a sudden he would start to have an attack."

While news reports in 2004 attributed McCary's exit to a back problem, with Stockman having said that McCary left the group voluntarily and the group thought it was best for him to prioritize his health and that McCary was happy, the group has since stated that they fired McCary. In 2014, Morris (Nathan) stated McCary "didn’t show up for shows or recordings" and that "he took it for granted" which led to his exit. He also stated that McCary "didn't like rehearsals or any of the nitty gritty stuff that comes along with being a top music act." In April 2026, in a conversation with Bell Biv DeVoe in his podcast On That Note, Stockman added that the rest of the group was tired of McCary, and that he pleaded with McCary to come to work. Stockman stated that McCary missing their show in Romania was the "straw that broke the camel's back", viewing it as "disrespectful": "We got to fly into fucking Eastern Europe with a promoter we never did work with before that may have us trapped in the fucking country. [...] 'I didn't pay for three, I paid for four.'" In 2011, McCary was set to appear on the group's retrospective anniversary album Twenty, but was not featured in the record. Morris (Nathan) stated that they approached McCary for the record, but said that McCary "just completely got lazy" and did not want to put effort to reunite with them. He recorded McCary's bass parts. A year later, at the group's August 9, 2025 show in Vegas, McCary performed with Boyz II Men for the first time since leaving the group in 2003, performing "In the Still of the Nite" and "I'll Make Love to You". In 2026, McCary joined Boyz II Men at the New Edition Way Tour stops in Las Vegas, Philadelphia, and Houston, during which he performed "End of the Road" for the first time since his departure from the group.

Other pursuits McCary produced and co-wrote four songs on Voices of Theory's self-titled album. He has also produced and written for Keith Martin, Janita, and Johnny Gill.

McCary has acted in films such as Def Jam's How to Be a Player and Hoodlum. In Hoodlum, McCary's film debut, he portrayed an "explosives expert".

He was shown in the pilot for a talk show with Paula Poundstone called A Pound of Paula, which was not picked up.

Personal life McCary and his then wife lived in Marlton, New Jersey. The two had three children. After fourteen years of marriage, the two divorced. In 2016, McCary stated on Iyanla: Fix My Life that his children helped him through his depression.

R&B and jazz singer Will Downing is McCary's stepbrother.

McCary uses a cane.

Artistry Voice

"Mike was kind of always the odd guy in a sense. Obviously he was a freak of nature vocally. There's nobody that we've encountered outside of Melvin [Franklin] from The Temptations that actually spoke the way that he sang. Like, he was a true bass. You got guys that act like basses and sing like basses but aren't basses.” — Shawn Stockman to Marc Lamont Hill, 2014 Richard Harrington of the Washington Post described McCary's voice as "following the tradition" of Barry White and Isaac Hayes, Mya Abraham of Audacy also compared Mike's bass to Franklin's, saying that it rivals his. Rock critic Rob Harvilla in his book 60 Songs That Explain the '90s described McCary's voice as "sonar-depth", an "invaluable listener-orienting device", and "trascendently earthbound", and called McCary's bridge on "End of the Road" his masterpiece.

Discography Production/songwriting discography 1993: Johnny Gill – Provocative – "I Got You" (co-producer) 1995: Keith Martin – It's Long Overdue – "One Mile from Paradise" (producer, co-writer, vocals) 1997: Voices of Theory – Voices of Theory – "Wherever You Go"; "If I Knew" (producer, writer), "It's Been Awhile"; "I'll Give My Love to You" (producer) 1998: Janita – JANITA – "Baby, I Can't Stop" (producer, writer)

McCary is also credited as a composer, lyricist, and producer in several Boyz II Men albums.

Boyz II Men discography

AlbumsTitleAlbum detailsCooleyhighharmony Released: April 30, 1991 Label: Motown Format: LP, CD, cassetteChristmas Interpretations Released: October 5, 1993 Label: Motown Format: LP, CD, cassetteII Released: August 30, 1994 Label: Motown Format: LP, CD, cassetteEvolution Released: September 23, 1997 Label: Motown Format: LP, CD, cassetteNathan Michael Shawn Wanya Released: September 12, 2000 Label: Universal Format: CD, cassetteFull Circle Released: June 11, 2002 Label: Arista Format: CD, cassetteSinglesYearSingle1991"Motownphilly""It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday""Uhh Ahh"1992"Please Don't Go""End of the Road"1993"In the Still of the Nite (I'll Remember)""Let It Snow" (featuring Brian McKnight)1994"I'll Make Love to You""On Bended Knee"1995"Thank You""Water Runs Dry""Vibin'""I Remember"1997"4 Seasons of Loneliness""A Song for Mama"1998"Can't Let Her Go""Doin' Just Fine""I Will Get There"2000"Pass You By""Thank You in Advance"2002"The Color of Love""Relax Your Mind" (featuring Faith Evans)

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1997 Hoodlum Osgood 1997 Def Jam's How to Be a Player Self 2007 Beyond the Pretty Door Mr. Henry Callman 2007 The Mannsfield 12 Herold