Ayo.... How Did No Limit Sell So Many Records?

[mbewane]

The South wasn't No Limit's only supporters. They actually started out West in regard to selling music. P and most of the roster is from The South, but their music was West Coast heavy until 1995. The had a huge cult following out West, but blew up mainstream once P went back home and adopted a Southern sound and style.

Also, hits didn't sell No Limit albums. No Limiy had GOAT marketing. While they had platinum successes with TRU and I'm Bout It Soundtrack, Ghetto D really set up No Limit for the monster 1998 that it had. That album featured the entire roster and all of those artists had album advertisements complete with album cover in the booklet of Ghetto D. Ghetto D went 2X platinum and eventually moved 3, so it exposed the entire roster to millions. These artists had spreads in mags and features and ads on every No Limit release. Nobody was doing that then and nobody does it now. Every album promoted the whole roster. Imagine being an artist no one has ever heard of and you're on platinum albums doing songs with Snoop.

This was it. You couldn't buy a hip hop magazine without 4 or 5 No Limit ads. And if you weren't alive back then you can't understand the impact those magazines had. Source & XXL were like monthly bibles.

Out here in Europe you never heard them on the radio or whatever, but the ads were indeed in all the magazines, so at some point if only out of curiosity you were like "What is this huge label I've never heard of here yet they're all over The Source every single issue...what am I missing" . Europe was mostly listening to East Coast stuff but I know they had a following over here, and Snoop albums there opened it up even more.

 

[The God Poster]

Southern support. Many Southern acts were moving alot of records with songs you never heard on mainstream radio

This . It’s amazing how a lot of posts in here are tearing down No Limit .

“nah impossible they cheated “

Fact is they played by the same rules as everybody else. I’m in Chicago & my older family stayed with the no limit . They brought a diff twist to gangsta rap & was different sound than what was dominating mainstream . They had the hustle & game-plan on point .

If they was from NY people wouldn’t be questioning this.

 

[kingdizzy01]

This . It’s amazing how a lot of posts in here are tearing down No Limit .

“nah impossible they cheated “

Fact is they played by the same rules as everybody else. I’m in Chicago & my older family stayed with the no limit . They brought a diff twist to gangsta rap & was different sound than what was dominating mainstream . They had the hustle & game-plan on point .

If they was from NY people wouldn’t be questioning this.

bar code.

 

[Ku$h Parker]

so if P, Silkk, Cmurder, Fiend etc...are on 3-4 songs that you like...then you open the booklet and see all the "coming soon" covers, you were gonna cop regardless...you just needed to know when it dropped. damn what the single was

That part,even as a RR/Roc soon CMR Stan in 98,I hear say Fiend,Mia X or Prime Suspects onna Feature wit P,Mystikal etc and ya like Id like to peep an Album from them
*Open Liner Notes*
Coming Soonand when you hit The local Music Store ya copped...still waiting on that 504 Boyz(Silkk,P and Mystikal) tho

 

[puppetmaster]

Lightning in a bottle. Give people a “movement” they can feel a part of at the right time and magic can happen. P is a very smart dude and likely knew that so he was able to make it feel like a grassroots movement


Being Known as a Soldier was hard to not find attractive as a youngster in the 90’s

 

[Zero]

@shopthatwrecks gon tell em about the UPC codes

 

[kingdizzy01]

Lightning in a bottle. Give people a “movement” they can feel a part of at the right time and magic can happen. P is a very smart dude and likely knew that so he was able to make it feel like a grassroots movement


Being Known as a Soldier was hard to not find attractive as a youngster in the 90’s

nah i was a big pac stan back then, i knew he was gankin 2pacs recent death and capitalizing off it. i was fukkin with no limit until i saw how p tried to turn into a bootleg 2pac.

however respect and credit is due when it comes to capitalism and hustlin. P turned hip hop culture into a commodity.

 

[puppetmaster]

nah i was a big pac stan back then, i knew he was gankin 2pacs recent death and capitalizing off it. i was fukkin with no limit until i saw how p tried to turn into a bootleg 2pac.

however respect and credit is due when it comes to capitalism and hustlin. P turned hip hop culture into a commodity.

You’re not wrong at all breh

he found a white space, regardless of how right or wrong it was.

A lot of people whether they knew it or not were looking for a youth energy “movement” to attach to since there was a gigantic need once Pac passed

His hustler brain lead him to find a way to Tetris his “Solider” movement into that Pac shaped void

 

[theflyest]

Southern support. Many Southern acts were moving alot of records with songs you never heard on mainstream radio

they are too young to understand word of mouth

 

[Erratic415]

What's the barcode scam?

 

[85 East]

No Limit Records discography - Wikipedia


They never had any hit singles until 98 (and Make Em Say only reached 16)

P had every artist selling 500k minimum. But they had no cash cows

Juvenile was with Birdman right?

So they had Silk, Mystikal and a bunch of no names.
Im trying to understand this phenomenon. The bad album covers, the mediocre MCs... how did P flip that into platinum records?

They had Beats by the Pound production and assistance from Pimp C. Also just non stop output.

 

[Playaz Eyez]

Pretty sure those non-major NL albums numbers are wrong. I believe the P, Fiend, Silkk, etc ones though

if im not mistaken, @shopthatwrecks has broken down the barcode scam they were running

but for sake of argument and as a stan of the label, i'll say this...."hits"/singles didnt matter with them..

i found out about No Limit because my neighbor was knocking Mia X Unladylike everyday in his front yard, speakers blasting....and damn near every car that passed was bumping some song from some album from them...and i would always hear Mystikal, not even knowing who he was at the time

then i heard Man Right Chea on the radio and got my mom to buy the album

those albums were like a gateway drug because the whole label is featuring...they were basically weekly compilations

so if P, Silkk, Cmurder, Fiend etc...are on 3-4 songs that you like...then you open the booklet and see all the "coming soon" covers, you were gonna cop regardless...you just needed to know when it dropped. damn what the single was

i didnt even know the singles for most of those albums til I got older and stumbled onto the videos.

P made those albums collectables by the way he was marketing..some stores had a whole ass No Limit section.

Good point here. I was buying any and every no limit album possible up until probably the middle of 1999. Skull Duggery, Mr. Serv-on, Gambino Family, etc, it didn’t matter

 

[ISO]

They used to hustle the barcodes from what I heard where a CD with the same barcode would could for duplicate sales

And probably used to buy their albums too

If Master P was out now he’d have a crazy streaming farm

 

[OHSNAP!]

I actually think they get too much credit.

That's why you da WOAT

 

[OHSNAP!]

if im not mistaken, @shopthatwrecks has broken down the barcode scam they were running

but for sake of argument and as a stan of the label, i'll say this...."hits"/singles didnt matter with them..

i found out about No Limit because my neighbor was knocking Mia X Unladylike everyday in his front yard, speakers blasting....and damn near every car that passed was bumping some song from some album from them...and i would always hear Mystikal, not even knowing who he was at the time

then i heard Man Right Chea on the radio and got my mom to buy the album

those albums were like a gateway drug because the whole label is featuring...they were basically weekly compilations

so if P, Silkk, Cmurder, Fiend etc...are on 3-4 songs that you like...then you open the booklet and see all the "coming soon" covers, you were gonna cop regardless...you just needed to know when it dropped. damn what the single was

i didnt even know the singles for most of those albums til I got older and stumbled onto the videos.

P made those albums collectables by the way he was marketing..some stores had a whole ass No Limit section.