The Irrepressible Album Art of No Limit Records

In the world of late-1990s rap music, few figures could boast the success and popularity of Percy Miller, a.k.a. Master P. The New Orleans native began small, running his fledgling No Limit Records label out of a San Francisco suburb. Soon afterwards he formed a group called Tru with his brothers Silkk the Shocker and C-Murder, and behold, a new force in urban music began to crystallize. After a move back to the Big Easy his empire began to enjoy amazing success that was no doubt helped by a sweet distribution deal with Priority Records (home of N.W.A. and the Geto Boys, among others). By the end of the millennium, Miller and his stable of No Limit soldiers were on top of the rap world, with multiple gold and platinum records and Billboard #1 hits to their credit. The label also moved into the film world, with theatrical releases such as 1998‘s “I Got the Hook Up” and 1999's “Foolish” starring Eddie Griffin. This success led Master P to focus his attentions on many non-label related pursuits, including an attempt to play in the NBA and appearances in professional wrestling shows. Perhaps due to these larks and a great many lawsuits brought against the label by former artists, No Limit began a precipitous decline that ended in bankruptcy in 2003.

Master P lugs the rock upcourt in a 1999 preseason game.

During Master P's heyday, I was employed at a small used cd store that had a pretty lackluster rap section. Unless you were a fan of No Limit Records, that is. The label was very well represented in the dusty old bins; everything from The West Coast Bad Boyz "High fo Xmas" to Snoop Dogg’s “No Limit Top Dogg” came and went through the shop. Now, anyone familiar with these records can attest that most were pretty much by-the-numbers gang-banger jamz that stuck to a rigid formula of chintzy beats, thug posturing, and hooks you‘d swear you've heard before. Not exactly ground-breaking, but pretty indicative of the state of rap music at the time. But the sounds on the disc were secondary to the mind-melting packaging (courtesy of Houston-based design company Pen & Pixel), which, along with the similarly packaged Cash Money Records, blurred the distinction between rap music-as-art-form to rap music-as-product.

You see, each No Limit release burst forth in a cardboard and plastic digipak that featured some of the most comically garish and over the top photoshopping you could possibly imagine, each using a combination of any number of gangsta cliches haphazardly layered all over the package. These themes involved, mainly: 1. bling (gold, diamonds, cash, often adorning giant hands reaching out to you); 2. tricked out rides with gold rims (from Lexuses to Hummers to tanks); 3. mansions/mausoleums; 4. rappers making their most menacing thug faces; 5. booty babes, and 6. long lists of guest stars. But the fun didn’t stop at the covers, no sir! The innards were bursting with advertisements for upcoming No Limit product, and these ads oftentimes one-upped the cover art in terms of diamond-crusted ghetto ridiculousness. For a while, these albums were being churned out at a fantastic pace, as the bargain basement productions (by the aptly named in-house team Beats By The Pound) guaranteed that Master P’s “quantity over quality” ethos would result in maximum profits for him, if not necessarily for his artists.

Now, back in my record store days, I was appalled by the rampant glamorization of thug life that I saw reflected in these album covers. But with the benefit of hindsight, I believe the folks at Pen & Pixel were actually completely aware of what they were doing, and were just having fun with the whole operation. I imagine there were in-house competitions between the designers, each trying to outdo the others in terms of sheer orgiastic excess. I can’t say the same for many of the rappers themselves, as they seemed to be completely incapable of self-parody and were probably stone cold serious about how “thug” they were (witness C-Murder’s not so shocking 2002 c-murder of a 16-year-old fan).

Following is a compendium of some of my favorite No Limit album covers, and some brief thoughts on each. Enjoy!

Note the No Limit Platinum card he's using, ostensibly to buy the classical ruins in the background. But this begs the question, what are his monthly payments gonna be like? Does the Bank of No Limit offer a debit card? As you can see, some of these covers reveal more questions than answers.

I don't know what the fuck is going on here, what with the the huge hands and the desecration of the graves in front of the American flag, but his face is telling me in no uncertain terms that he's pretty disgusted with the whole situation.

This one is an all-time favorite: camouflage-clad tykes busting out through a wall of toys and fire. It's notable as one of the very few (perhaps only) No Limit titles that did not feature a parental advisory sticker. Just a seven-and-nine year old telling tales of 'hood survival in their adorable widdle voices.

Here's the impresario himself, showing off his sweet cell phone and gold rims, and offering YOU a little taste of his fabulous... ice cream?

This one's got all the elements for success, including a continuation of the hubcap fixation, a big ass in a g-string, and a dude talking on a huge cell phone.

Another favorite, this one dispenses with all the bullshit and shows you that this guy not only has heaps of cash, a huge chateau, and a sweet ride, but ACTUALLY OWNS THE WORLD, which he keeps safe in a giant golden chalice in his driveway.

It may be difficult to make out, but this album is called "My Balls and My Word." I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but I'm sure that Young Bleed doesn't fucking care because he has a mansion in the clouds with a golden staircase protected by two bengal tigers.  To top it all off, his music is actually really great...go figure.

This one certainly lives up to its name, as it features none of the No Limit trademarks save the screwed-up gangsta pout, but there's something very refreshing about its simplicity. Also, it seems to imply that jigsaw puzzles are unpredictable, which is a bold statement. Maybe someone took one piece out of the box but didn't tell Mystikal. Yeah, that's probably it.

This one speaks for itself. What it's trying to say, though, I'm not quite sure. Are Steady Mobb'n benevolent angels, ushering this poor dead homey to Thug Heaven? Or are they at the scene of their own murder? If so, why is there only one body? Is the other guy behind the fire truck?

There's so much going on here (Tanks! Jets! Explosions!) that you'd think it would inspire more of an emotional response from Slim. Instead it looks like somebody just asked him how his dinner at Applebee's was.

Here's another one that bucks the No Limit formula, with no bling or rims, just Silkk crawling out of an old shitty television, "Videodrome" style. Shocking us with stark imagery!

I like the fact that their names are written over their ski masks, so you can tell who's who. Also notice the "Best Buy! More For Your Money!" disclaimer. I wonder how many filler tracks and guest rappers that pallet of money behind them could buy?

Even Snoop got in on the action, and it looks like he was amply rewarded with a castle called "Snoop World" and a diamond studded muzzle for one of his rottweilers.

The No Limit packaging also inspired many parodies, the most well-known being Kool Keith alter-ego Dr. Dooom's "First Come, First Served":

Thanks for joining me on my journey through the fantabulous world of No Limit album art!

P.S. - This one isn't a No Limit record, but it is quite possibly the single finest piece of work Pen & Pixel has ever produced:

Look at this one really closely and you will uncover a world of untold riches! Thanks to Rick & Sarah for calling this to my attention. Read a very perceptive review of this album here.

Also, check out this inside look at Pen & Pixel Studios by British comedian Louis Theroux:

--mk