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Master P  b. Percy Miller, 29 April 1970, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. As the founder of the highly successful underground hip-hop label No Limit Records, Master P is the mastermind behind one of the biggest commercial sensations of the late 90s. With mainstream labels disassociating themselves from the gangsta rap genre, Master P and his crew of MCs have tapped a rich vein with a remarkable glut of gangsta-related product. Miller grew up in New Orleans, a city with a violent underbelly but far removed from the urban centres that would become associated with rap music, New York and Los Angeles. He spent time in California as a teenager, and eventually moved to that state to study business in Oakland. Left a substantial sum of money by his grandfather in the late 80s, he invested it in a music store in Richmond, California, No Limit, before starting the label of the same name in 1990. Noting a gap in the market for hardcore rap records with street beats, Master P and his production team Beats By The Pound began churning out records characterised by their use of lifted hooklines and rather clichd G-funk backing. Cheaply produced and recorded, and with no backing from mainstream radio or television, Master P and his team exploited the rap market to such an extent that the label soon became an underground sensation. Scoring an underground hit with his solo debut, 1994's Ghetto's Tryin' To Kill Me!, Master P shocked a music business used to records that followed a proven formula to commercial success. He formed Tru with his brothers C-Murder and Silkk The Shocker, providing the label with its mainstream breakthrough when their debut album entered the R&B Top 30. Further Master P albums, 99 Ways To Die, Ice Cream Man (US number 26, May 1996) and Ghetto D (US number 1, September 1997), established the highly successful No Limit practice of using an album to promote its roster of rappers and advertise future releases. With Silkk The Shocker and C-Murder releasing breakthrough albums, and a support cast including Mia X, Mystikal and Young Bleed, No Limit was by now firmly established as one of hip-hop's most popular labels. Master P's self-produced and self-financed autobiographical movie I'm Bout It, was another showcase for No Limit's gangsta rap and G-funk fixations. Denied a cinema release the movie went straight to video, while the soundtrack entered the US album chart at number 4 in June 1997. Another movie, I Got The Hook-Up appeared in summer 1998 at the same time as the chart-topping Master P album, MP Da Last Don. The same year No Limit released the new Snoop Doggy Dogg album, Da Game Is To Be Sold, Not To Be Told, under the rapper's new moniker Snoop Dogg. In February 1999, Silkk The Shocker's Made Man topped the Billboard album chart. The indefatigable Master P's other interests include a clothing line, a sports management agency, and personal forays into basketball and pro-wrestling.
Silk The Shocker b. Vyshonne Miller, Louisiana, New Orleans, USA. Miller, recording as Silkk The Shocker, is arguably the most popular rapper on the hugely successful No Limit Records, the underground hip-hop label founded by his brother Master P. Miller began rapping as a teenager and was a member of several gangsta crews, including the Down South Hustlers. Originally known as Silk (without the additional k), he was a member of Tru alongside Master P and his other brother C-Murder. In keeping with No Limit's highly nepotistic approach to record promotion, he appeared as a guest rapper on label compilations and albums by several other No Limit artists. He released his debut set, The Shocker, in 1996, and soon afterwards adopted The Shocker as his given moniker. Like most other No Limit releases the album became a big underground hit, although there was nothing groundbreaking or remotely original about its clichd gangsta rap. However, Silkk was easily the most marketable of No Limit's artists, with his imposing physique and youthful good looks. In 1997, he appeared on numerous No Limit releases, including the soundtrack for I'm Bout It, Tru's Tru 2 Da Game, Mia X's Unlady Like, Mystikal's Unpredictable and Master P's breakthrough chart-topper, Ghetto D. Silkk's sophomore effort, Charge It 2 Da Game, consolidated No Limit's commercial status. The album debuted at US number 3 in March 1998, while Silkk's duet with R&B singer Mya on "Movin' On" became a big radio hit. Made Man was his most accomplished set to date, and debuted at US number 1 in February 1999. It quickly went platinum like its predecessor.
C-Murder  b. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Gangsta rapper C-Murder is the younger brother of Master P, founder of US underground label No Limit Records. He first appeared as a member of Tru, alongside Master P and another brother Silkk The Shocker. The trio's albums, including 1995's True and 1997's Tru 2 Da Game, helped establish No Limit as a mainstream commercial force. C-Murder also cropped up on several other No Limit releases, including Master P.'s Ghetto D and the I'm Bout It movie soundtrack. He released his debut Life Or Death in 1998, which entered the Billboard album chart at number 3 in April. The album's success was virtually guaranteed following extensive promotion of the album on other No Limit product. With his rapping ability offsetting the predictable G-funk backing of the No Limit production crew, Life Or Death established C-Murder alongside Silkk as arguably the label's most talented artist. His inferior sophomore set, Bossalinie, entered the US album chart at number 2 in March 1999.
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