Master P Albums (14)
'America's Most Luved Bad Guy'
Release Date 3/21/2006
Tracks 11
Label UrbanDigital/GoDigital
See Album Tracklist and Review
'Living Legend: Certified D-Boy'
Release Date 11/29/2005
Tracks 12
Label Gutter Music
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
With all his reinventions and rebirths, it can be one step forward, two steps back with Master P, but the gutter Living Legend: Certified D-Boy is a confusing sidestep. Ignoring the five or so monikers he's grabbed in between, the very minimal liner notes read "I went from Ice Cream Man to Cookie Monster," but they might as well say, "Young Jeezy was pulling in some serious paper rapping about cocaine dealing, so I'm doing it again and as vicious as ever despite my kid working for Nickelodeon." A stripped-down ode to dealing with a David Banner-style loop, "Cookie Money" is the best of the lot and would be equaled by "Score Money" if it weren't for P's ridiculous declaration "I refuse to go out like f*ckin' Ray Charles" as if he's found a cure for liver cancer. Even worse is the despicable intro to "Ridin Dirty" where P lies to the police about an uncle killed by Hurricane Katrina just to get away with the drugs undiscovered. Writing the man off after that misstep would be easy if half the album didn't convincingly recall the irresponsible thrill of his grimy early days. Then there's the production skills of Myke Diesel and Drumma Boy, who still work hard for P despite the man's indifference to coming up with anything fresh himself. Lyrically, Jeezy's influence is everywhere where the G-Unit-flavored beefing and gunshot sound effects aren't, but with hard, stripped-down street beats and a shorter than usual track list, the blueprint for the next great Master P release is in here somewhere. It's so hidden by P's carbon-copy posturing that only hardcore fans need be excited while everyone else can keep on ignoring. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Despite releasing his last solo album just over a year ago, the first words out of Master P's mouth on Ghetto Bill are, "It's the return of the living legend, man." Does P consider a year a long time away, or is he making a comment on the streets' general indifference toward his sprawling Good Side, Bad Side release? Could be the latter since Ghetto Bill takes none of the chances Good Side, Bad Side did, but to a fault. With plenty of classic Dirty South bangers, returning No Limit soldiers will appreciate P's return to the gutter on Ghetto Bill, but no new fans will be won by this overall single-minded release. Thugging, getting paper, rims, scoring with hood chicks, and all the usual topics are here in excess, something that weighs down the truly grand moments of the album. "I Need Dubs"' interpolation of LL Cool J's "I Need Love" is inspired and the most brilliant single P's unleashed in quite some time. The reflective and talky "Best Hustler" displays that old Master P charm while a loopy Myke Diesel beat makes "Shake What Ya Got" very necessary for Dirty South partying. The whimsical "Whole Hood" offers some relief from all this swagger and bragging, but it's not enough to call this a well-rounded album. Having diluted his importance with an endless parade of mediocre product, "better than usual" is the highest compliment P's gotten from critics and message boards for quite some time. Thicker production and great singles make Ghetto Bill better than usual, but the wicked highlights shouldn't have to fight so hard to be found among all this painfully redundant filler. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Master P returned after three years with Good Side, Bad Side, a double disc that's rowdy, fun, and annoyingly uneven with a concept that's unnecessary. The cover art and the individual disc titles ("Good Side" for disc one, "Bad Side" for disc two) point to the flimsy concept. What's confusing is why P's "Good Side" is the usual cheap funk with bragging while his "Bad Side" is flashy R&B with hooks and slick production (is this "Bad" in the '70s sense?). Good Side, Bad Side's run time is only a couple minutes over a CD's capacity, so with filler to choose from it could have been easily trimmed to fit. A good choice would be the opening "Act a Fool," another "No Limit's Back!" swagger of a track that gives a dull first impression of an album that gets much better. It's also the first taste of P's new partnership with the King of Crunk and fellow Southerner Lil Jon. The alliance comes off much better on "Who Them Boyz," a great call-and-response anthem that features a C-Murder rap straight from his jailhouse phone. The dark "Why They Wanna Wish Death," the party anthem "Them Jeans," and "You Don't Know Me" with producer DJ Darryl's sticky funk are other highlights from the "Good Side," but the album's standout moment is "It's a Drought," a spirited narrative about a dope shortage in the hood. While more fun at first, a bunch of thin ideas makes the "Bad Side" the weaker disc on repeat listens, but a couple grand moments do turn up. "Com. 4" is another great weed-shortage song, this time due to a bogarting houseguest and set to a country hoedown beat. "Thug and Get Paper" is P at his minimal and lowdown best, and both "Tell 'Em" and "That Ain't Nothing" are mixtape worthy. The rest of the tracks on the "Bad Side" feel unfinished, like they're demos awaiting R. Kelly's final touchups to ensure radio exposure (there's never been so much Spanish guitar on a No Limit release). Hungry over inspired and anxious over ambitious, this is a placeholder of an album, giving P some face time while he awaits the crunk of the South and the gloss on urban radio to pass. Whittle away some of his half-hearted attempts to be of-the-moment, take away the concept and double-disc grandeur, and you've got a solid No Limit release. ~ David Jeffries, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Master P wore his "game face" in 2001 because he'd become somewhat of a joke in some circles. No one joked when he was selling millions of albums every week during the late '90s, but the game changed in the early 2000s. Master P's No Limit empire had indeed finally reached its limit. After increasingly sluggish sales, all that remained was family -- Silkk the Shocker, C-Murder, Lil' Romeo, and Master P himself. Yet just when it looked as if Master P was ready to become another has-been rapper, he put on his game face and went to work. This album represents Master P's new direction. He's not so much the hardcore gangsta rapper of old -- the "Ice Cream Man" you once knew him as -- but rather a serious, business-minded man on a mission. Perhaps having learned a lesson from the spectacular success of his son, Lil' Romeo, Master P isn't afraid to take the pop-rap approach, interpolating hits from the past -- big hits, like Funkadelic's "One Nation Under a Groove," Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks," and the Bee Gees' "More Than a Woman," just to name a few. In fact, nearly every song here recycles a proven hit. And the ones that don't, like the album's big single, "Ooohhhwee," hark back to the sort of songs that had always proven successful for No Limit -- in this case, the "Wobble Wobble"-style club track that's as much for the ladies as for the thugs. But just because Master P is more determined to get "back on top," as he raps about here with his brothers, that doesn't necessarily mean he has improved his music. Game Face isn't any more impressive than any of his past few albums since Ghetto D. However, it is a much more accessible album because of the pop approach. Plus, it's nice to see Master P get away from the excessive number of guests and the thuggish posturing that had so characterized his previous work. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Ghetto Postage is a step up from Master P's previous album, Only God Can Judge Me (1999), though certainly it's still less than great. As is the case with most No Limit albums, there's a long list of tracks, one short of two dozen in this case, and while many of them fall flat, there is a handful of standouts, in this case "Bout Dat" and "Souljas" above all. Master P is not without his critics, and rightfully so, but Ghetto Postage is a lighter album than some of his past ones, especially the exploitation of his early work, and consequently it presents him as a more likable person. This doesn't necessarily make for good music, but it's one of the album's nicer qualities. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Only God Can Judge Me'
Release Date 10/26/1999
Tracks 23
Label No Limit
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Another of Master P's early albums released in association with In-a-Minute Records, Mama's Bad Boy documents the Richmond, CA, era, before No Limit moved its operations to New Orleans. The album is billed to Master P and the Real Untouchables, a collective that evidently featured Calli G, Markest Bank, Daniel Fry, Silk (i.e., Silkk the Shocker), Sonya C, King George, C-Murder, Fonzo, and Big Ed. Many of these rappers would fall off the No Limit bandwagon in time, as eventually did all non-sibling members of the collective. Hardcore fans of No Limit will find this short-lived -- and little-documented -- lineup to be curiously different from the down-South roster. These are West Coast rappers, Master P included, and Mama's Bad Boy is clearly inspired by the California gangsta rap of the time, chiefly N.W.A. "I'm Going Big Time" and "Trust No Body" were released as singles. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
'Get Away Clean'
Release Date 3/10/1998
Tracks 13
Label In-A-Minute/No Limit
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Master P's earliest full-length release -- originally issued in 1991 on No Limit Records (catalog number NLR 1001) in association with In-a-Minute Records and later reissued in 1998 -- Get Away Clean documents the era when No Limit was based in Richmond, CA, rather than down South. About half the songs feature Tru (a loosely assembled group at the time) and the other half feature Master P solo. Though Get Away Clean doesn't boast impressive production values, or especially inventive rapping, for that matter, it does boast a lawless attitude very much influenced by N.W.A and the other early West Coast gangsta rap acts of the time. Fellow Bay Area rap collective E-40 and the Click are a good comparison, as they emerged around the same time. Considered a rare novelty item nowadays, Get Away Clean is where it all began -- Master P and his eventual No Limit empire, that is. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The double-CD set that No Limit godfather Master P envisioned as his final solo album, MP da Last Don was greeted with reams of press clippings by the media and open arms by the public, who sent it to 112 on the charts, the week before it was scheduled to be released. Spanning two CDs and 29 songs, the album is more of an advertisement for upcoming No Limit releases than a last will and testament. All of the No Limit roster appears somewhere on the disc, and info about upcoming releases (some of which have been in development for a year and a half) litters the liner notes. Master P himself makes his presence felt only because the formula MP da Last Don follows is one he invented. If you've ever heard a No Limit record, you'll know what to expect. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
