No Limit Records Stories

[JustCKing]

Its KL (real name Craig Lawson). Was known as "Craig from the Parkway" back then. Craig B (Bazile) only joined NL in 96 and began producing songs for the Ice Cream Man album. KL knew him from the NO and wanted him to join the BBTP crew (him and Mo B at that point). O'Dell joined in early 97, he's a great musician, great on the piano, his first NL song was on the Bout It OST (Gambino Family song iirc). C-Los had Spiral Records and his TSO Click, made beats for the Down South Hustlers album and the 96 NL albums. I think he became an "official" BBTP member in late 97/early 98

Also, with "I'm Bout It". KLC's daughter actually did the drums to that beat by accident. That was one of the coolest stories I recall from No Limit. KLC actually talks about it in the interview below:



I didn't know that "I'm Bout It" was originally a commercial for Wild Wayne. I also didn't know that the beat was made for Serv.

 

[No Hook]

@M.DOT @OHSNAP!

opinions on West Coast Bad Boyz/Down South Hustlers compilation?

So much pain actually might be my new favorite Carlos Stephens production lol. I rather have the other members of BBTP produce an entire album, but with C-Los I know I will get one dope amazing cut out of him that will ring out.

Did you ever listen to Sonya C's EP?

Liked DSH more than WCBB. Only song I like on Sonya Cs EP was Aint to be fukked with

 

[Frump]

yup....i remember having it in VHS format when it first was released...it was at all the mixtape spots and bootleger havens.....


that shyt spread like wildfire thru the streets..no commercials....no radio drops ...no posters ..no flyers no nothing....just straight "word of mouth"

then i'd say about a year later it came out in DVD form in 1998 based off those phenomenal first month sales!!

the DVD was amazing...because it had extra features dropping gems about his life and the music business

it got me intrested in the business side of the music game as a young cat

the first feature told how he first got to be an Entrepreneur in the Indy Music game.....going to college and having a bond with his grandfather who passed out in California whom left him with like a 10k cash inheritence which he used to open up his own Record Store and flipped into his own label with advice from E-40

but the Second Feature was some real HISTORIC and CONTREVERSIAL SHYT

it spoke of how Master P became the first SOUTHERN ARTIST to make the Top ten of ANGIE MARTINEZ countdown on HOT 97 and also secure regular rotation airplay for the BOUT IT BOUT it single on that station which was considered a historic moment for a Southern rapper to make the playlist of this NYC market station.

Considering Outkast the year prior (1996) had released the classic ELEVATORS single which NEVER cracked the top ten of Hot 97 let alone even got play on hot 97 nor the mixshows of Flex and the staff.

then it became apparant that a "hustle" was in play.......

New York attorney General Eliot Spitzer had announced in 2001 in a scathing press confrence that Hot 97 was the most flagrant amongst a host of stations in the NYC area that were accepting PAYOLA (bribes from record companies and moguls) according to an investigation that it was conducting at that time ...

No Limit Records was named as one of the parties involved in that investigation..

it was revealed that Funkmaster Flex owned a company (Big Dawg Record Pool , Franchise Marketing) that would serve as third party record promoters within the Tri state and as well as "servicing" (dictating to deejays) across the nation which records to spin for airplay ....

Greg Street a prominent Atlanta Deejay was a member of the Big Dawg Record pool and his name came up as being the "go to guy" ($$$) for Master P. to be plugged in with Funk Flex and the NYC radio landscape....

noted Hip Hop journalist Davey D. acknowledged these activities taken place as well as legendary New York rapper KRS ONE whom shared his story of being a A&R for a record label that forked over 40g's to Flex to play a record..........

Is Funkmaster Flex Guilty of Payola

as for myself I AIN'T MAD AT P

the game is to be SOLD not TOLD

And what he did for the game BROKE BARRIERS for not only himself and NO LIMIT but Southern Music and hip hop itself

so i can't knock the hustle

I was in nyc at the time elevators got decent spin on hot97. I remember because it stood out that a southern artist got play

 

[KENNY DA COOKER]

I was in nyc at the time elevators got decent spin on hot97. I remember because it stood out that a southern artist got play

YUP after ARISTA/LAFACE gave it an official cosign

because it's another BIG DAWG RECORD POOL leaked record courtesy of GREG STREET

Andre 3000 even drysnitched and told how the record blew up on radio in ATL

he said ....LA Reid and arista didn't feel it was worthy of being the lead single for that album

felt it was rather "dark"....

so instead Andre 3000 disagreed and decided since it was FREAKNIK weekend ...with thousands of visitors to the city from DC...MIA..CHI ..LA and even NY

leaked the track to Greg Street who immediatly played it over the airwaves on his infamous 6 oclock radio show that weekend and continusely had to play it that weekend ..cause the phones for it's request blew the fukk up!

and being that Greg was a BIG DAWG PITBULL member it's not suprising it made it to the playlist of HOT 97 inspite of the fact how resistant HOT 97 was to southern artists....

BUT THOSE MARKETING DOLLARS from ARISTA/LAFACE definitly helped

but that was the business model at the time ....and the South "played the game"

i can attest to that...because i recall my former CEO spent thousands on plane tickets and parties just to have DJ Absolute play a single on his mixshow back in the early 2000s on HOT 97

that "CEO" is still pissed to this day...cause he spent all dat bread and the song STILL DIDN'T BLOW up

but real talk...

this also added unto the tension of the EAST VS WEST

alot of WEST COAST cats didnt' wanna "play the game" (payola) of paying the east coast deejays particuarly hot 97 to have thier music played

most west coast cats felt if you fukk wit me...then just fukk wit me off the strength that you like my music or we have a good relationship that doesn't involve as SPICE 1 stated "tricking on a deejay to get yo shyt played"

lol....yeah the politics was crazy back then......alot of people don't know these stories

the GAME was to be SOLD not TOLD and MASTER P mastered that part of the game

 

[JustCKing]

I was in nyc at the time elevators got decent spin on hot97. I remember because it stood out that a southern artist got play

I didn't see that post until you quoted it, but just recalling that era, several things come to mind:

1) Greg Street used to play No Limit songs that other stations weren't playing. I remember hearing Soulja Slim's "At The Same Time" and a couple of other No Limit album cuts on Street's shows on V103 ATL.

2) Hot 97.5 started talking down on No Limit around 1999. I always thought it was more due to the fact that it became common place to diss No Limit in 1999 given the rise of CMR and No Limit declining. It seems like this was more so a protest against rival station V103 being pro No Limit and No Limit wasn't really giving them the looks they were giving Greg Street. P was shouting out Street in '95/'96

3) When No Limit played Hot 97.5's Birthday Bash, they also had Pastor Troy on the bill and this was when "No Mo Play In G.A." was red hot. Goodie Mob had to intervene to prevent an altercation between No Limit and Troy.

 

[JustCKing]

I was in nyc at the time elevators got decent spin on hot97. I remember because it stood out that a southern artist got play

I didn't see that post until you quoted it, but just recalling that era, several things come to mind:

1) Greg Street used to play No Limit songs that other stations weren't playing. I remember hearing Soulja Slim's "At The Same Time" and a couple of other No Limit album cuts on Street's shows on V103 ATL.

2) Hot 97.5 started talking down on No Limit around 1999. I always thought it was more due to the fact that it became common place to diss No Limit in 1999 given the rise of CMR and No Limit declining. It seems like this was more so a protest against rival station V103 being pro No Limit and No Limit wasn't really giving them the looks they were giving Greg Street. P was shouting out Street in '95/'96

3) When No Limit played Hot 97.5's Birthday Bash, they also had Pastor Troy on the bill and this was when "No Mo Play In G.A." was red hot. Goodie Mob had to intervene to prevent an altercation between No Limit and Troy.

 

[Frump]

YUP after ARISTA/LAFACE gave it an official cosign

because it's another BIG DAWG RECORD POOL leaked record courtesy of GREG STREET

Andre 3000 even drysnitched and told how the record blew up on radio in ATL

he said ....LA Reid and arista didn't feel it was worthy of being the lead single for that album

felt it was rather "dark"....

so instead Andre 3000 disagreed and decided since it was FREAKNIK weekend ...with thousands of visitors to the city from DC...MIA..CHI ..LA and even NY

leaked the track to Greg Street who immediatly played it over the airwaves on his infamous 6 oclock radio show that weekend and continusely had to play it that weekend ..cause the phones for it's request blew the fukk up!

and being that Greg was a BIG DAWG PITBULL member it's not suprising it made it to the playlist of HOT 97 inspite of the fact how resistant HOT 97 was to southern artists....

BUT THOSE MARKETING DOLLARS from ARISTA/LAFACE definitly helped

but that was the business model at the time ....and the South "played the game"

i can attest to that...because i recall my former CEO spent thousands on plane tickets and parties just to have DJ Absolute play a single on his mixshow back in the early 2000s on HOT 97

that "CEO" is still pissed to this day...cause he spent all dat bread and the song STILL DIDN'T BLOW up

but real talk...

this also added unto the tension of the EAST VS WEST

alot of WEST COAST cats didnt' wanna "play the game" (payola) of paying the east coast deejays particuarly hot 97 to have thier music played

most west coast cats felt if you fukk wit me...then just fukk wit me off the strength that you like my music or we have a good relationship that doesn't involve as SPICE 1 stated "tricking on a deejay to get yo shyt played"

lol....yeah the politics was crazy back then......alot of people don't know these stories

the GAME was to be SOLD not TOLD and MASTER P mastered that part of the game

Good point elevators didn’t sound like your typical first single. I was shocked when I heard it on hot97

NYC College radio was playing OutKast heavy when atliens was dropping. That’s the first time I heard Outkast

 

[LunaticVillage415]

Back when P and No Limit was still in Richmond, CA, big homies from my old hood of Lakeview, San Francisco were early collaborators with P. Cellski and Cougnut were on West Coast Bad Boyz Vol. 1. Cellski was also on West Coast Bad Boyz Vol 2 with "Roll Yo Vogues". "Stressed Out" was easily the best cut on West Coast Bas Boyz Vol 1 that dropped in the summer of 94'. Neither Cellski or Cougnut wanted to sign with P. P offered Cellski 100k to sign with No Limit but Cellski turned down the deal to be independent. But Bay Area Rap has always been fiercely independent. The only Bay Area rappers that actually signed with P were Steady Mobbin from West Oakland. None of the rappers from West Coast Bay Bad Boyz Vol I signed with P. And the roster was pretty impressive of you are familiar with Bay Area Rap (i.e. JT the Bigga Figga, Rappin 4Tay, C-Bo, Totally Insane, Ray Luv etc.). But P definitely got his game from the Bay, just like Pac and the Game, and the raw independent hustle of grinding hard in the streets and the studio to be heard by any means necessary in the early 90's in the rougher locales of the Bay is definitely the spark the eventually allowed No Limit to blow once P relocated back to the N-O. Cellski said he saw P performing at MTV Spring Break in 98' after he blew up and he was in the front row and P acted like he didn't know him.

 

[KENNY DA COOKER]

I didn't see that post until you quoted it, but just recalling that era, several things come to mind:

1) Greg Street used to play No Limit songs that other stations weren't playing. I remember hearing Soulja Slim's "At The Same Time" and a couple of other No Limit album cuts on Street's shows on V103 ATL.

2) Hot 97.5 started talking down on No Limit around 1999. I always thought it was more due to the fact that it became common place to diss No Limit in 1999 given the rise of CMR and No Limit declining. It seems like this was more so a protest against rival station V103 being pro No Limit and No Limit wasn't really giving them the looks they were giving Greg Street. P was shouting out Street in '95/'96

3) When No Limit played Hot 97.5's Birthday Bash, they also had Pastor Troy on the bill and this was when "No Mo Play In G.A." was red hot. Goodie Mob had to intervene to prevent an altercation between No Limit and Troy.

TRUTH.COM...

yup....P had Greg Street on that payroll heavy

and HOT 97.5 now known as HOT 107.9 Atl wasnt feeling it...even though they weren't "saints" as well...they accepted "checks" too


and for the record Greg Street been a HOE for the labels or any street mogul who willing to cut that check for thier music to get played

i remember one of our collegues from another local street promotion team in Atlanta came to hang with us at Pinups strip club out in decatur

it just so happned that collegue was also doing intern work for Universal/Def jam and was rocking a def jam jacket that evening

man you should have seen GREG STREET FACE

whole night he stared at our table and shouted out DEF JAM rep iz in the "house"!!! all night

it was funny but pathetic at the same time...

dude even sent strippers to our table and invited the "intern" to the deejay booth


that's why i laugh my azz off when people speak of the "CULTURE" of back in the "day"

yeah right...it's was all one big azz MARKETING SCHEME and you gotta get in where u fit in

 

[phonthought3000]

@OHSNAP! I remember back on the SOHH boards back in the day. Someone had mentioned that there was a version of Down 4 My nikkas with Mystikal in place of Magic. Is that true or jus bs?

 

[Justin Nitsuj]

Is there anymore Louisiana based rap stories? I know it's a lot of interesting stories from New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport.

 

[OHSNAP!]

@M.DOT @OHSNAP!

opinions on West Coast Bad Boyz/Down South Hustlers compilation?

So much pain actually might be my new favorite Carlos Stephens production lol. I rather have the other members of BBTP produce an entire album, but with C-Los I know I will get one dope amazing cut out of him that will ring out.

Did you ever listen to Sonya C's EP?

WCBB 1 and 2 are great (Cellski shined on both, best cuts on there), but DSH is one of my alltime favorite compilations. Anthem after anthem! Way Down South, RIP, So Much Pain, Fright Night, Murder Weapon, Bounce That Azz, Playas From The South...
Carlos always had some hidden gem on them albums. So Much Pain was fire

 

[OHSNAP!]

@OHSNAP! I remember back on the SOHH boards back in the day. Someone had mentioned that there was a version of Down 4 My nikkas with Mystikal in place of Magic. Is that true or jus bs?

Well according to KL the song came together when C came to the studio, furious after some type of altercation and wanted some rowdy violent beat, penned the hook, Magic was with him and put down his verse, after that Snoop did his part. Maybe Mystikal did record his verse later on, like a remix was supposed to drop!? Might be possible

 

[OHSNAP!]

@THE RETIRED SKJ @JustCKing

Yup I heard it from Serv-On, Gipp, KLC, different HM/NL/Dungeon Fam members: NYC was vicious with their outright loathing of southern rap music, refusing to play almost anything in the 90s until Outkast and No Limit caught on big. From the fans to the radio/video stations, NYC were some straight ignorant hatin' ass isolated folks

Those petty insecure fukks ignored various UGK/8Ball+MJG/Scarface classics

 

[phonthought3000]

@THE RETIRED SKJ @JustCKing

Yup I heard it from Serv-On, Gipp, KLC, different HM/NL/Dungeon Fam members: NYC was vicious with their outright detest of southern rap music, refusing to play almost anything in the 90s until Outkast and No Limit caught on big. From the fans to the radio/video stations, NYC were some straight ignorant hatin' ass isolated folks

Those petty insecure fukks ignored various UGK/8Ball+MJG/Scarface classics

That was evident when Kast won at the Source awards and they booed out by the East Coast