‘Ghetto D’: A Triumphant 1997 Master P Album
By the time this album finished its run, Master P was living up to his label name like never before.
In a career that’s stretched decades, Master P has been many things: entrepreneur, rapper, label exec, basketball player. He even co-starred on his son’s Nickelodeon show. But at his core, he’s a master of excess, with his record label, No Limit, personifying that more is more ethos. From 1991 to 1999, the label unloaded over 70 albums, with platinum-selling releases from P, his group TRU, Silkk the Shocker, Snoop Dogg, and many more making it the most dominant force in hip-hop. Released in 1997, P’s sixth album, Ghetto D, distilled that abundance for an LP that crystallized his label’s status as a rap juggernaut.
Checking in at an hour-and-18 minutes, Ghetto D is overflowing with G-funk, jittery basslines, guttural shouts, and street rap platitudes, all threaded by unfailing conviction. The album is a No Limit showcase. On every song but one, P features another No Limit act. Over the course of the 19 tracks, the crew oscillates between thug love theme songs (“Gangsta’s Need Love Too”) and confrontational shooter theme songs (“Come and Get Some”), so they can touch every gangsta rap avenue in existence.
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Featuring a mournful sample from the The O’Jays, “I Miss My Homies” plays out like Master P’s own version of 2Pac’s “Life Goes On,” with kinetic guest verses from Pimp C and Silkk the Shocker adding an eccentric flair to the misery. The track peaked at No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Of course, that was only a precursor to “Make ’Em Say Ugh.” Flipping a classic Sugarhill Gang single, the beat itself is an archetypal soundtrack for an HBCU marching band. For his part, Master P turns his own primal shout into an affirmational anthem. For many, the track, which peaked at No. 16 on the Hot 100, served as a raucous introduction to the Dirty South.
While Master P’s 1998 follow-up MP: Da Last Don would surpass Ghetto D in both critical acclaim and commercial stature, this is the album that made Da Last Don possible. “Make ’Em Say Ugh” stands firmly as one of Master P’s biggest and best songs. And, by the time the album finished its run, Master P was living up to his label name like never before.
