The four songs’ production style was indicative of the time, with 808 drum sounds, familiar James Brown samples, and heavy scratching throughout. 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. 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. 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.Įarly No Limit had a decidedly different sound than what would become its hallmark later in the decade. 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. In the early ‘90s, Master P was a young, independent, rapper in search of a musical identity. To understand what lead up to No Limit’s unprecedented run, one must go even further back in time and head West. 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. While 1998 was No Limit’s most successful year, the story of the legendary label is the culmination of many years.

Of those albums, six went platinum, five went gold, and even the least recognizable names on the label sold hundreds of thousands of records. 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. No Limit’s endless roster of artists competed on a monthly basis with mainstream hip-hop superstars like JAY-Z, DMX, and Lauryn Hill. 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.

The lox discography zip