A lot of people who don’t know what the hell they’re talking about like to think of Master P as a punchline. But the truth of the matter is No Limit was an absolute force during its heyday and Master P was No Limit.
How big was No Limit? According to P, he was in talks to bring on Eminem, T.I. and Tupac. In an ultra-in-depth interview with HipHopDX, the man born Percy Miller explains the allure of his label at its peak.
“At first, I’m out there hustling doing my thing. Everybody know who I am… People seen what I did business wise so a lot of guys called me. Anybody you can think of called me for advice or thinking “What can I do to get with No Limit.” From Eminem, to T.I. to anybody you could think of, we done had that conversation where they wanted to be with No Limit. It was sad, but [2Pac] was thinking ‘What could I do?’ Same thing with Snoop Dogg. People started checking for us because they knew we was making money. They know we was printing money… Everybody want to be with the people that are winning. I don’t care if you’re an R&B singer or whoever, we had some kind of influence on you. Whether you was Beyonce, En Vogue, whoever. Everybody wanted to be a soldier.”
When Master P was asked if he thought Tupac would have made his way to No Limit, the label head said he was unsure and added that he considered Soulja Slim to be the Tupac of No Limit.
“Soulja Slim was our 2Pac. Getting in a lot of trouble but probably one of the most talented guys I’ve met, really living that street life…somebody that was really out there thugging, doing his thing. Me being a street dude, I met Soulja Slim when he was trying to rob one of my producers.”
Master P touches on a lot of other things, including No Limit signee Mac being one of “the best rappers I ever met in my life.” (Note: This is unquestionably true and anyone who doesn’t believe it needs to listen to Shell Shocked and report back.) The whole interview is worth a read.
For more Master P, check out his upcoming biopic Ice Cream Man.
