... Y'all don't believe me, take a look at this?


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January 20 - Young Bleed: My Balls & My Word / #1 R&B/#10 Pop PLATINUM
February 17 - Silkk the Shocker: Charge It 2 Da Game / #1 R&B/#3 Pop PLATINUM
March 17 - C-Murder: Life or Death / #1 R&B/#3 Pop PLATINUM
April 7 - I Got the Hook-Up / #1 R&B/#3 Pop PLATINUM
April 21 - Sons of Funk: The Game of Funk / #14R&B/#44 Pop
May 5 - Fiend: There's One In Every Family / #1R&B/#8 Pop GOLD
May 19 - Soulja Slim: Give It To 'Em Raw / #4R&B/#13 Pop GOLD
June 2 - Master P: MP Da Last Don / #1 R&B/#1 Pop 4x PLATINUM
July 7 - Kane & Abel: I Am My Brothers Keeper / #5R&B/#5 Pop GOLD
July 21 - Mac: Shell Shocked / #4R&B/#11 Pop GOLD
August 4 - Snoop Dogg: Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told / #1 R&B/#1 Pop 2x PLATINUM
September 1 - Big Edd: The Assassin / #3R&B/#16 Pop
September 8 - Skull Duggrey: These Wicked Streets / #4R&B/#21 Pop GOLD
September 15 - Magic: Sky's the Limit / #3R&B/#15 Pop
September 29 - Mean Green: Major Players Compilation / #6R&B/#9 Pop GOLD
October 6 - Prime Suspects: Guilty ‘Til Proven Innocent / #14R&B/#36 Pop
October 20 - Gambino Family: Ghetto Organized / #3R&B/#17 Pop GOLD
October 27 - Mia X: Mama Drama / #3R&B/#7 Pop GOLD
November 10 - Mystikal: Ghetto Fabulous / #1R&B/#2 Pop PLATINUM
November 17 - Ghetto Commission: Wise Guys / #13/R&B/#59 Pop
November 24 - Steady Mobb'n: Black Mafia / #19R&B/#82 Pop
December 1 - Full Blooded: Memorial Day / #20R&B/#112 Pop
December 8 - No Limit Soldiers: We Can't Be Stopped / #2R&B/#19 Pop

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That's 23 Albums released in the calender year of 1998. Of those 23 released, all but four reached the Pop top 40 Album charts (all 23 di hit the R&B top 20 charts). 14 hit either gold or platinum status, that's pretty amazing. Many might not like Master P, but he did something right that year.

"I was there!"

(c)

I'm guilty as charge for buying one of those album.

For those that were disappointed with the murder of 2pac, No Limit Records was there to help them get over it. Damn true.
[Edited 4/1/08 5:41am]

LittleBLUECorvette said:

It's pretty sad IMO. I still can't believe that stuff was ever successful. It was very hard being in New Orleans around that time. Things are bad now, but the No Limit years were the absolute nadir of rap music.

AlexdeParis said:

They were definitely awful, but I think today's rap is just as bad!

I really hated that gaudy packaging, with the shiny foil and glitter serving as "bling" and the day-glo plastic casings.


you know, like Rave, but even worse.

AlexdeParis said:

Before you (or anyone else) continue the "I hate No Limit' fest, keep in mind that all of the past artists of Cash Money Records made the situation far worse for New Orleans hip-hop (hell, The Dirty South in general) than anything No Limit could have done, IMO.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

This was about the time I started to lose interest in the current hip hop scene. Revisiting that list...it's no wonder. Ah well. I've always got my Slick Rick records to listen to.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

I enjoyed this one; it had more than just the No Limit roster.





Youtube has this labeled as an "unreleased" Jay-Z track but actually it's on that soundtrack. Features Memphis Bleek and Sauce Money.

Cinnie said:

I Got The Hook-Up was one of THE worst hip-hop movies of all-time!

TonyVanDam said:

I never saw it. The soundtrack ain't bad though.

TonyVanDam said:

i ain't seen that movie in a minute! that shit was so terrible, it was good.

we should start up a thread for no limit's album covers alone, because that shit was magnificently bad....












needs more lens flare, cut & paste n'sparkly shit edit
[Edited 4/1/08 6:32am]

maann I liked bout it bout it a lot. but yeah they were cranking out a lot of music in that area. how music around that way now anyway?

I miss the great digital effects on the cd's.

to BSK3478: I miss the old food stamp booklets too.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

-----
None of these acts are around today. No Limit is a great example of what is wrong with Rap and RnB today. Flash in the pan, no-talent artist on ghetto ass labels.

BSK3478 said:

As you kidding?!? Most of those album covers were shit!!!










[Edited 4/1/08 7:57am]

Who are these people?

i miss mystical 2 uhhhhh

TonyVanDam said:

that's what i said. and oh man, i forgot about that snoop dogg cover...damn. it's like they tried to squeeze in as much graphics as possible!

Juvenile's "Follow Me Now" was my jam when it came out.

Look me in my eyes
DON'T TELL ME NO LIES.

That was my cut for a second.

TonyVanDam said:

ya'll can talk about these covers all ya'll want (and to a point i agree), but truth is ...P probably made these on his personal computer, and saved millions

SirPsycho said:

Master P didn't make that artwork. It was some graphic designer based in Louisiana or Texas, I believe. I do remember reading an article in Source Magazine circa 1998 where they actually interviewed the guy who was responsible for all of these over-the-top covers. He was some middle income, middle-aged white guy [they showed his picture] from some small graphic arts firm in the area who built a rapport with Master P -- and the end result was all of these overly stylized, excessively Baroque album and single covers.

...
[Edited 4/1/08 9:10am]

Mara said:

The covers matched the music.

Graycap23 said:

I agree. They're very Baroque and overly excessive. Just like the nature of the music itself. It's a style in its own right.

Mara said:

BTW, Juvenile used to be with Cash Money, NOT No Limit. But both labels used to have their album covers design by Pen & Pixies.

purplebutterfly2 said:

I miss that James Brown-inspired Shake It Fast (uncut version: Shake Your Azz).

Mara said:

Pen & Pixies.

TonyVanDam said:

Yeah, I'm aware of that. I should've prefaced that I was referring to the whole New Orleans late '90s/early '00s rap scene in general when I mentioned Juvie.

Production-wise, I thought Cash Money's Mannie Fresh was making cooler stuff than Master P and the whole NL camp. I remember No Limit did get usurped by CMB after a while on the charts.

Mara said:

But that was only because Beat By The Pound weren't giving enough time or money to reinvent the No Limit sound. That alone was the reason why they quit working for No Limit Records (or gotten fired by Master P, depending on which side was telling the truth through the media).

But No Limit didn't leave the Billboard charts quietly. They did have 2 more hits albums before their fall from grace.

TonyVanDam said:

i wonder what the dude's up to nowadays...

My God it's been 10 years?! I was in my first whole year in the Marines in 98 and I had a roommate from the south that year who LOVED No Limit. I had just heard of Master P a few months earlier with "Make Em Say Ugh" but my roommate had EVERY SINGLE No Limit CD. I was like . The music was boring but I dug Mystikal. Is he still in jail? Wow, it just doesn't feel like it's been 10 years. I'm getting old.