Search - Master P :: Ghetto Bill Gates

Master P is the Best Hustler In The Game, and on "Ghetto Bil

D. Conte | Mount Sinai, NY United States | 06/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Artist: Master P

Album: Ghetto Bill: The Best Hustler in the Game, Vol. 1

Label: New No Limit/Koch

Year: 2005



After 15 years in the game, more than 12 million records sold as a solo artist and more than 75 million records sold worldwide under the No Limit empire, Master P proves the tank still has a little gas left with his latest solo offering "Ghetto Bill: The Best Hustler In The Game, Vol. 1." With his second record under the New No Limit's partnership with independent kingpins Koch Records, P proves his naysayers wrong once again. This time the colonel of the tank sets the record straight, once and for all.



P's not trying to be the best rapper, he's trying to be the best hustler, a point he makes emphatically clear over the album's opener. "Best Hustler," sports a dark, gritty, east-coast influenced instrumental fully equipped with Kanye West like voice sampling, all courtesy of Mike Diesel. It's far from the typical gangster rap and crunk anthems that Master P has been bringing his fans for years, but even P sounds comfortable kicking laid back rhymes and he sounds more lyrically focused than he has in years.



"I Ain't Playin'" is a return to the street music that No Limit fans are more accustomed to as P spits about how rap has become too political. With a heavy bass line and piano loops creating an old No Limit sound with a new twist, Drumma Boy delivers the goods for Master P's laid back and raspy raps.



"Let Me See It," is dripping in the sound of the dirty south's club scene, but this time P and the Black Sopranos, P's newest group featuring Pop, Tank, Dino, C-Los, Black, & Rugar, are taken to new heights by Drumma Boy, No Limit's best kept secret. Drumma Boy dresses the most mundane of subject matter up and gives it a little flare, something the rap game's been sorely missing.



Slim Thug steals the show on the Drumma Boy produced "Shut It Down." With high speed raps and a rugged flow, P gives Slim a run for his money creating an edgy street track full of hunger and rage.



"Feel Me" features Pop (of the Black Sopranos and Silkk the Shocker's "Based on a True Story). P proclaims his status in the rap game as a trend setter on this one; "I'ma rep the New No Limit till the casket bends... we did it once we'll do it again... I don't follow, I lead... my n*gga, we set trends." Great heavy hitting production as well, and P continues to roll seamlessly through the "Ghetto Bill."



The lead single "I Need Dubz" featuring Lil' Romeo samples LL Cool J's "I Need Love," and although being saturated in the same commercialism as the more mainstream rappers, in the very least bit, the sampling work here provided by Mike Diesel really works. I never mind seeing a hip-hop classic relieved, as long as it's done right, and Diesel handles his business here. While a lot of fans don't want to see P's son rapping alongside of him, I can't help but feel that Romeo really steals the show here. Combining the soft, laid back sounds of LL's "I Need Love" and Romeo's whisper like raps works wonderfully.



"I'm Alright" can be heard (and seen) at the end of Master P's "I Need Dubs" video. On this one Master P compares his persecution in the rap game to the trials and tribulations of Jesus Christ and expresses his ability to bounce back from anything thrown at him, again over strong, crisp and clean production from Drumma Boy.



"Shake What Ya Got" is another typical club joint that for some reason just cannot stop growing on you. Produced by Mike Diesel, the flavor is a little different, a little more experimental than No Limit has been in the past with their club records, and despite the tired subject matter, the production fits in nicely here creating one of the better club joints on the entire record.



"Love, Hate" features Halleluyah. On this track, P trades in the hard core raps and is more contemplative of the issues facing the youth growing up in the ghetto; whether it be sickness such as aids, poverty, crime, or backstabbing, P and Halleluyah spit the truth.



"My Dogs" is a track that was seemingly tailor-made for DMX. With a hard, edgy sound, a bit of an east coast vibe and dogs barking in the background, P brings it to the table hard with this one.



"Whole Hood" is an interesting track for a couple of reasons. For one, it follows in the footsteps of Nas' "I Can," as an inspirational message to children and secondly, the instrumental on the track is unlike anything I've ever heard. It's sort of a combination of old western music meets children's choir music meets hip-pop. I just do not know how to describe this one. Call me crazy, but the whistles you can hear throughout the track are reminiscent of Yoshi's Island on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System; sure P's used "Donkey Kong" in his raps before, but borrowing riffs from an old Nintendo favorite may be going to far.



"I'm A Gangsta" is a hybrid of dirty south and east coast rap with very simplistic and hard hitting bass for P and company to spit their tales on. Nothing special, but a nice little cut with a little bit of a different sound. Credit again to Drumma Boy for rejuvinating the entire No Limit sound, first on TRU's "The Truth," and now on Master P's "The Ghetto Bill." Carrying the bulk load of back to back records just four months apart in release, P may finally have a winner.



"Yappin'" is the now well heard southern anthem featuring G-Unit rapper Young Buck. Again, enough can't be said about Drumma Boy who brings his best to the table continually. Even though it's Master P featuring Young Buck, this is Buck's track as he gives credit where it's due (to P and No Limit) in his verse. "Buck: Is No Limit up in here? P: You god d*mn right Buck: We gon' act like C-Murder just got outta jail tonight, boy we came to start a fight, Break 'Em Off somethin' bruh, take it back the streets P: N*gga Make 'Em Say Ugghhh! Buck: Silkk the Shocker in a black Impala, burnin' rubba through the 3rd ward, ridin' with a choppa, no matter what I been through my bank account got it P: So f*** them other n*ggas, cause we still Bout it Bout it!"



"It's All Good" is another trip down memory lane with Mike Diesel once again making use of sampling, from Skull Duggrey's "If It Don't Make $" to Warren G's "I Want it All" back up to Master P's "It's All Good," I've never really hard a bad track using this sample; it's one of my favorite samples in all of hip hop.



"Get the Party Crackin'" features Silkk the Shocker, Halleluyah, and Rugar who is straight out of the bay area, California. This one's your typical club track, but with a nice, almost elegant blend of south and west coast rap. A good club track.



On "Respect My Game" Master P lets everyone know why he's a legend in rap. "It took a n*gga from the West to put you up on Game... It took a n*gga from Compton to scream my name... When I been layin' $hit down since the Ice Cream Man." With nice piano loops and a classic No Limit sound, this one is one of the stronger tracks on the record.



"Hood Starr" is another track that Master P uses to spit street raps and put fans that might not know, up on game. Perhaps the most interesting here though is Little D. Little D can be heard rapping alongside Lil' Romeo on Romeo's own, very G-Rated solo records. D trades in the pop raps for hard core street slang on this one. I think my favorite line from D has to be "my bullets is manaje-toi, you catch two at one time."



"Thug Chick" with Halleluyah is another track that is really unlike anything else you have heard on the record. It's a club track, but it's just different. In the very least bit, you have to give credit to Drumma Boy for bringing much needed originality to the music.



"Dope Man" is a clear stand out in the classic vein of cuts that filled up Master P's "Ice Cream Man" and the self titled track from "Ghetto D." This is P's "Ghetto D" for 2005 over top notch production that sounds like it's coming out of the No Limit 2000/Ghetto Postage era. This is one track that successfully blends everything from No Limit together; the New No Limit sound, the old No Limit raps; No Limit comes full circle on this one.



"There They Go" features Drumma Boy, not only on production, but on the mic as well. With a laid back flow and amateur raps, he's nothing special, but then again, he's really not all that bad either. An incredibly creative instrumental and best line goes to Master P for "Where them ballers at, shot callers at, I'm like Warren G, shorty gimme all of that."



There you have it. It might not be "Ghetto D" or "The Ice Cream Man," but everything else is left up for debate. I personally find this collection of tracks to be stronger than "MP Da Last Don," and "Only God Can Judge Me." Where it stands among "Good Side Bad Side" and "Ghetto Postage," is uncertain, but one can't argue with the end result. With twelve solo records now in the bag, Master P has somehow been able to repackage the same old raps that he was using 15 years ago and create a lucrative career out of it. Master P never claimed to be the best rapper after all, but P has more than proven to be the "best hustler." With back to back strong outtings in "Good Side Bad Side" and "Ghetto Bill" I think P has proven that he's not going anywhere. He's learned from the past; he's adapted, and as long as he keeps putting out hot records, I'll be looking forward to P's next installment "Vol. 2," which is as everything on No Limit is; "Coming Soon."





















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P is Back

OoAk | BAMA | 06/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I gotta give it up to P for this one. Anybody who knows me knows that i was one of the biggest NoLimit fans back in the day but from late '99 to today they've really lost my interest and i really thought it was over..but then Ghetto Bill drops and im like oh here they go again tryin to get back in this and i listened to my cousins copy and every single track i was bouncin to, this is something that could definitely put that spark back in the camp. If you're a fan of the earlier NoLimit when they were on top of the rap world then this is something that will take you back to those days, I think this could be labeled the new generations Ghetto D. Pick this up you wont be dissapointed."

Really good no limit record (4 1/2 stars)

Espy | melbourne, australia | 09/16/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Im gonna be short on this one, this album is a very catchy album with reasonabley gud lyrics and great down south beats. I highly reccomend this to any down south rap fan."