In 1998, Master P & No Limit Had One Of The Greatest Years In Hip-Hop History

Back in 1998, in an era before the digital download would change the trajectory of the music industry and lack of high speed internet rendered streaming music as a dream of a distant future, No Limit Records sold nearly 15 million albums in one year. No Limit’s endless roster of artists competed on a monthly basis with mainstream hip-hop superstars like JAY-Z, DMX, and Lauryn Hill. In addition to selling more than 4 million copies of his own double album MP Da Last Don, Master P oversaw the release of a staggering 22 additional albums. Of those albums, six went platinum, five went gold, and even the least recognizable names on the label sold hundreds of thousands of records.

While 1998 was No Limit’s most successful year, the story of the legendary label is the culmination of many years. From languishing in relative obscurity in its early years to reaching a level of ubiquitousness that bordered on overkill in less than a decade, the No Limit Records story is as unlikely as it is amazing.

To understand what lead up to No Limit’s unprecedented run, one must go even further back in time and head West. In the early ‘90s, Master P was a young, independent, rapper in search of a musical identity. Soon after taking a $10,000 malpractice settlement stemming from his grandfather’s death to open a store called No Limit Record Shop, the New Orleans native would turn that small store into an independent music label based in Richmond, CA. The first No Limit roster included the original nine-member version of the group TRU, P’s wife Sonya C, brothers C-Murder and Silkk the Shocker, future solo act Big Ed, and veteran Oakland rapper and producer E-A-Ski, all of whom would go on to release several EPs and albums throughout the early-to-mid ‘90s.

Early No Limit had a decidedly different sound than what would become its hallmark later in the decade. TRU’s first release, a four-song EP entitled Mind Of A Psychopath, was an uninspired spin on N.W.A’s gangsta rap innovation. One song, “Life Ain’t Nothing But Bitches And Money,” cribbed its title from Ice Cube’s verse on “Gangsta Gangsta,” and another, “Crooked Ass Law,” was the group’s “Fuck The Police” style take on police brutality. The four songs’ production style was indicative of the time, with 808 drum sounds, familiar James Brown samples, and heavy scratching throughout. The lyrics were provocative but forgettable. All four songs would later become a part of Master P’s debut album Get Away Clean.

However, as P and the original No Limit roster became more polished, overused samples and gangsta hyperbole transitioned into rugged G-Funk punctuated by street-level storytelling. P, in particular, slowed down his delivery and emphasized his southern drawl which helped him to stand out not only among his labelmates, but among other burgeoning stars in his region. By the mid-90s, No Limit was becoming a force in the indie hip-hop scene, and well-known in the West Coast and South.

Albums like The Ghetto’s Trying To Kill Me, typified by its Silkk The Shocker featured title track, illustrated the paranoia and constant peril of street life with gravitas. On the song, P rapped:

Because when I die they probably won’t remember me
But while I’m here those marks know they can’t fade the P

Meanwhile, compilations like West Coast Bad Boyz, featuring acts like San Francisco’s JT the Bigga Figga, Rappin' 4-Tay, RBL Posse, and C-Bo from Sacramento, established the label’s bonafides among it’s Northern California contemporaries. With the label’s underground success, Master P was able to broker one of the most famous and lucrative deals in hip-hop history with Priority Records, the Universal-backed indie distributor famous for propelling N.W.A. to national success. In addition to No Limit maintaining ownership of its master recordings in the deal, P bet on himself with a distribution only partnership that allowed No Limit to keep the lion’s share of the profits. By 1995, No Limit’s sales and reach began to hint at the label’s future success, with albums by TRU, Mia X, and Master P landing on Billboard’s Hip-Hop/R&B charts, and the compilation album Down South Hustlers: Bouncin’ and Swangin’ even cracking the bottom half of the Billboard 200.

Besides the Priority deal, two changes altered the course of the label and lead to its huge success in 1998. First was the development of the No Limit’s in-house production quartet, Beats By The Pound, who started producing for the label in 1995. The team was comprised of KLC, Mo B. Dick, Craig B., and Odell and they became the architects of the new No Limit Records sound. While the production improved each year prior to Beats By The Pound’s arrival, much of the label’s earlier sound was derivative and mimicked West coast G-funk with less flair than experts like Dr. Dre, Warren G, and Above the Law’s Cold 187um. In 1998. the New York Times would note that No Limit’s music “often unapologetically borrows from current hits by acts like Tupac Shakur, Puff Daddy, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Levert and whatever else is selling in rap and rhythm-and-blues.” But Master P called the style “New Orleans gumbo.”

To their credit, No Limit always bridged the gap between the West and the South. Beats By The Pound were able to to combine elements of West Coast production, like high-pitched synths (see “I’m Bout It”) and live basslines, with southern style drum programming to create a recognizable style that became the label’s trademark. You can find their staccato drum cadence on standouts like TRU’s (this time only featuring the three Miller brothers, P, Silkk, and C-Murder) “No Limit Soldiers,” Mystikal’s “Born 2 Be A Soldier,” and Soulja Slim’s “From What I Was Told” among many other songs in the label’s vast catalog. Beats By The Pound handled almost all of the production duties for the label’s artistic and commercial peak from 1995-1999.

The second big change was when the label moved from Richmond, Ca. back to Master P’s hometown of New Orleans. Leaving most of the old label roster behind, P returned to a different musical climate than when he left as 20-year-old. When he arrived back in the 504, there were several other labels vying for control of the city’s hip-hop scene, including Cash Money Records, which would later become a formidable rival, and Big Boy Records, the original home of eventual No Limit signee Mystikal.

P quickly snapped up acts like the energetic Fiend, street legend Magnolia Slim (who would later be known as Soulja Slim), and Mac, who would become the label’s best lyricist (though he never reached his full potential after being convicted of manslaughter in 2001). He combined them with holdovers like Silkk, C-Murder, Mia X, Big Ed, Mr. Serv-On, Skull Duggery, and Kane and Abel, to form the core of his revamped roster. In 1997, the newly configured label released eight albums, including Mia X’s gold-selling Unlady Like, the double platinum Tru 2 Da Game from TRU, Mystikal’s No Limit debut, Unpredictable, and Master P’s Ghetto D, which spawned one of the label’s biggest hits in “Make ‘Em Say Uhh.” P even released his first feature film in 1997, I’m Bout It, which went straight to VHS and expanded his empire beyond just music.

Many of these albums in 1997 sold well, even though they were not critically acclaimed. This is a result of, perhaps, Master P’s most lasting legacy—his mastery of branding. L.A. rapper Nipsey Hussle referred to his crew as “the No Limit of the West” on his 2018 single “Rap Niggas.” When asked about the reference in a recent Billboard interview he replied, “They were dropping every week. You didn’t have to see the back and see the logo—you could see the artwork and know it’s a No Limit release. They branded an image. Master P was an innovator in so many different ways.” Houston graphic design firm Pen & Pixel became the in-house designer for No Limit, and their iconic, gaudy, hyper-literal, album covers, created a brand association, and helped bring consumers back again and again, even to acts that weren’t as talented or well-known.

Most of the artists on the label weren’t known for their lyrical prowess. Silkk The Shocker, in particular, took a lot of flak for his offbeat flow, and he is a mainstay on lists of the worst rappers of all time. Travis Scott even took a shot at the youngest Miller brother on “I Can Tell” from his album Rodeo:

Five-o-four hot boys
Minus the bad rap like Silkk the Shocker
But I’mma pull up the silk
To shock her with the silk

Still, by the time 1998 rolled around, Master P and No Limit had perfected their sound, created a unique brand identity, and maintained a level of consistency, if not always quality. Other labels Bad Boy and Death Row were selling even more records, but unlike them, No Limit became successful without having to make tons of mainstream, crossover records that dominated radio or MTV. However, P did have his ultimate crossover moment with the undeniable “Make ‘Em Say Uhh!” Although the song was released in 1997, it peaked in '98 and got lots of play on MTV and BET with a video where P basically drove his golden tank right into the mainstream consciousness.

The importance of “Make ‘Em Say Uhh!” can’t be overstated. Although P appeared on bigger hits—like Montell Jordan’s “Let’s Ride” which also featured Silk and peaked at No. 2—and had his songs like “I Got the Hook Up!” similarly peak at No. 16, “Make 'Em Say Uhh!” was a platinum smash and No Limit’s signature song. More importantly, it was perhaps one of the first times in rap history that Southern gangsta rap was blessed with the sheen of mainstream hip-hop cool. It was at that moment that No Limit, alongside Cash Money, helped start the wave of hip-hop’s Southern dominance that continues to this day. And New York rappers were already starting to take notice, as artists like JAY-Z and Sheek Louch of The LOX would shout out and quote P on songs like “Imaginary Player” and “Money, Power, Respect.”

Master P’s MP da Last Don

The biggest seller for No Limit in 1998 came from Master P himself, with his double album MP Da Last Don. The album was more of a flex than an artistic enterprise, encapsulating everything that defined No Limit at the time: marketing, excess, and capitalism. A double disc billed as P’s retirement album (P would go on to release Only God Can Judge Me the very next year), MP Da Last Don was all about scale. It was clear that the No Limit colonel’s best years as an artist were behind him. His 2Pac inspired flow hadn’t evolved and his subject matter remained limited. So instead of trying to be better, P went bigger. The album featured fifteen other No Limit acts, as well as Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, E-40, and UGK. He also produced an accompanying, hour-long, movie of the same name. The album spawned the hit single “Hot Boys and Girls,” and cemented P’s place as one of the biggest acts in music.

Besides, Da Last Don, the label would release a new album or compilation at least once a month that year, beginning in January, with the underrated My Balls and My Word by Young Bleed, which was the only album released by No Limit in 1998 to not feature extensive production by Beats By The Pound. Bleed was followed by two back-to-back platinum releases from Silkk The Shocker and C-Murder, the soundtrack to P’s feature film I Got Da Hook Up (in the midst of putting out all of this music, Master P also produced three movies), and three more gold albums from Fiend, Soulja Slim, and Kane & Abel. This assembly line of hits continued through the year culminating in December with Mystikal’s Ghetto Fabulous.

While there was a great deal of diversity amongst No Limit’s artists, Beats By The Pound were the engine that kept the tank moving forward. The producers helmed almost every album on the label themselves, which cut through the red tape of outside producers, and allowed for consistent, monthly, releases.

Of the nearly two dozen albums released by No Limit in 1998, the biggest name among them was Snoop Dogg, who joined the label after a tumultuous exit from Death Row. It’s hard to overstate how big a deal this was at the time. It was the hip-hop version of LeBron James leaving the Cleveland Cavs in 2010 to join the Miami Heat. In a 2016 interview with Elliott Wilson, Snoop detailed how Master P negotiated his release from Death Row. “After Tupac passed away,” he said “that’s when I ran into some problems with Death Row, because they was mad, and it was really, really serious for me […] so Master P stepped up, and Master P said ‘I’ma go deal with Suge. What do you want?‘”

Snoop’s first album on the label, Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told, was a critical flop due to Snoop’s lack of comfort on, and his die hard fans’ unfamiliarity with, Beats By The Pound’s southern bounce. However, the new energy provided by the unstoppable No Limit tank propelled it to commercial success anyway. The album quickly went double platinum, and included two Top 20 singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

Besides selling millions of albums, releasing three films, signing the biggest rapper in the world, trying out for NBA teams, and adding his name to the Forbes list at the age of 28, Master P created a brand that hasn’t been replicated since. The tank was not just a diamond encrusted bauble that dangled from the New Orleans rapper’s neck, it was a symbol of the label’s constant forward motion from its humble beginnings in a small, Richmond, Ca. record shop. Just a few of the achievements would make for a great career. Master P did all of them in one year.

Unfortunately, No Limit was unable to repeat the success they had in 1998. Beats By The Pound left the label in a financial dispute in 1999, and by 2000 much of the post-Priority deal label roster were also gone. No Limit would change names and distribution relationships twice in the subsequent years, but the New No Limit never made as much of an impact as the original.

P has managed to maintain cultural relevance since No Limit’s demise, including a brief comeback attempt with Fat Trel and Alley Boy in 2013, appearing as a one man Greek chorus on Solange’s A Seat At The Table in 2016, and most recently as one of the many points of reference in Beyonce’s expansive Coachella performance earlier this year. While 1998 was the last truly dominant year for No Limit, the label and Master P’s influence lives on.