In an interview with VladTV, Master P recently claimed to have sold as many as 75 million albums during his tenure with No Limit Records.
When asked by an interviewer how many albums he’s sold throughout his career, P quickly replied “75 million.” When pressed, he clarified, “that’s my catalog with No Limit” before admitting that he stopped counting and is unsure of how many records were sold by the label in its entirety.
Master P released his thirteenth studio album late last year in the form of The Gift on his newly branded No Limit Forever Records label. As recently as 2012, Master P’s net worth was estimated at upwards of $350 million by the website Celebrity Net Worth. In 2013, HipHopDX reported that the rapper owed more than $200,000 in back taxes to the state of California. Prior to that story, P’s wife of 24 years reportedly filed for divorce in October.
Master P Says He Is The Best Businessman & “Hustler In The Game”
In his recent interview with VladTV, Master P also talked about the No Limit record deal that paved his path to industry success, noting that his “80-20 deal” with full control of his masters “was rare” even then. “The thing about it is, people don’t realize, I consider myself—I ain’t tryin’ to be the best lyricist—I just make music that people could feel,” he said. “But I am the best businessman, I feel I’m the best hustler in the game. So, I’m always about my business, I think that people didn’t think you could do that, but when you put your own marketing and promotion money up you can control your rights.” P added that beyond a beneficial recording contract, knowing when to release music is integral to maintaining a successful career. “What people don’t realize, when you hot man—I come from the streets, when you hot you just keep on hittin’ it, keep on milking it,” he said. “These artists nowadays, they get a hit song and that be it, they think they could chill, that’s when you gotta work more. That’s why I call myself the Michael Jordan of this whole street Hip Hop industry.”
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The label founder also told Vlad about using his music simultaneously as an escape and as a vehicle to share his life. “Music is like my escape from the real world, where I was able to give my life and give what I’ve seen, what I’ve been through, you know, through my music,” he said. “I think that what people brought into, it’s authentic, it’s real, they was happy to see somebody from the streets be able to make it. I lost my brother to the streets. That’s why I tell people, man, I’m like a loner, I don’t really have friends because my brother’s so-called best friend killed him. You know how it is in the streets, when you’re in that life it’s either eat or be eaten, that’s it… Losing so much, like a brother or something like that, that pain, that’s where ‘I Miss My Homies’ came from. That was about my brother, that pain came into that record.” Master P’s “I Miss My Homies” can be streamed below.
P also described growing up in both New Orleans and California’s Bay Area as a child as the beginnings of his music career. “I grew up in New Orleans but I lived in the Bay for awhile,” he said. “I went to the Bay and lived with my Mom. You could kind of say I grew up in both places you know ‘cause I got a chance to feel the whole Bay Area life and then by me living in the Calliope Projects in New Orleans I was able to feel that life. It was just coming from one struggle to the next. The Bay was definitely where I got my hustle from, my music hustle, you know ‘cause everybody was thinking independently and putting their own CD’s out which I think really helped me with my career being who I am today.”
