Big Ed

Big Ed's debut album is one of those albums that I thought was just so-so upon first listen but turned out to be a keeper later on down the road. There really isn't anything contained on this disc that I would call required listening and, granted, it's a No Limit release after all and I didn't expect much in the way of gems from that label. The Assassin is a solid album when graded against other gangsta rap albums, though. Ed did managed to drop two more albums before succumbing to cancer in 2001, but neither of those are as good as his debut. Back in '98 this was worth checking out for the Beats By The Pound production alone -- it's incredibly dated and generic now, but it was pretty decent when it dropped. Give it a shot. You might like it.

The Assassin [No Limit / Priority 1998]

1. Intro
2. My Entourage feat. Silkk The Shocker & Mystikal
3. I'm Yo Soldier feat. Silkk the Shocker & Master P
4. Rodeo feat. Silkk the Shocker & Mia X
5. Make Some Room feat. Mia X, Mac, C-Murder, Snoop Dogg
6. We Some feat. Steady Mobb'n
7. Go 2 War feat. Mystikal, Full Blooded, & Master P
8. Life feat. Master P
9. Uh Oh feat. Mystikal, Fiend, & Master P
10. I Miss 'Em feat. Mac & O'Dell
11. Buck 'Em feat. Fiend & Magic
12. Just Me & U
13. We Represent feat. Mia X, C-Murder, Mr. Serv-On, & Silkk the Shocker
14. Assassin feat. Master P
15. Shake'm Up feat. Mac, C-Murder, & The Gambino Family
16. Come Home w/Me feat. Mr. Serv-On & Mo B. Dick
17. Come Get Me feat. Mia X
18. Scriptures

Mystikal

Here's another No Limit release that I think is pretty damn good. No Limit got panned a lot (and deservedly so) for flooding the market with wack material, but there were a few gems amongst all the sewage and Unpredictable is one of them. Though it's not his debut album, it's his first drop for No Limit and a lot of people were anticipating it. He'd already dropped a dope LP (Mind Of Mystikal) on his own and teaming up with No Limit right when they were developing heavy buzz only made people want this album even more. The production is handled, of course, by Beats By The Pound -- mostly by childhood friend and BBTP member KLC, though. Mystikal's rapid fire flow is well known to most and it's at its best on this album, in my opinion. It even has fewer guests than the typical No Limit release. Give it a listen. It's better than a lot of the other No Limit albums out there.

Unpredictable [Jive / No Limit Records 1997]

1. Born 2 Be A Soldier feat. Master P. & Silkk The Shocker
2. Murder 2
3. 13 Years
4. Unpredictable
5. Ain't No Limit feat. Silkk The Shocker
6. Ghetto Child feat. Master P. & Silkk The Shocker
7. Did I Do It
8. Here We Go feat. B-Legit, E-40, & Master P.
9. We Got The Clout feat. Mia X
10. Still Smokin'
11. U Can't Handle This
12. The Man Right Chea
13. Dick On The Track
14. Sleepin' With Me feat. O'Dell
15. It Yearns
16. Gangstas feat. Snoop Doggy Dogg & Master P.
17. Shine

Mac

Shell Shocked is one of my favorite No Limit releases and it can be argued that it's also one of the best No Limit releases. It came out back in '98 during the peak of No Limit's popularity, but it didn't get the same shine that other releases from the label were getting. The production, just like everything else that came out of there at the time, is handled exclusively by Beats by The Pound. It's evident that Mac has rhymin' skills and he was a more than capable story teller. His second album, World War III, is okay, but it doesn't come close to this one. The vultures have jacked up the prices of his two known releases because he's doing a 30 year bid for manslaughter. Though it's definitely a great album, and one of No Limit's best releases (along with Fiend and a few others), I don't think it's worth the $34.95 I see it selling for on Amazon.




Shell Schocked {1998 No Limit Records}

1. Boss Chick feat. Mia X
2. Be All You Can Be feat. Silkk the Shocker & Fiend
3. Soldier Party feat. Master P
4. Murda, Murda, Kill, Kill feat. Mystikal
5. Tank Dogs feat. C-Murder & Fiend
6. Slow Ya Roll feat. O'Dell
7. We Don't Love 'Em
8. Wooo feat. Snoop Dogg, Mia X, Big Ed, Mr. Serv-On, & Kane & Abel
9. Can I Ball feat. Soulja Slim
10. Money Gets feat. Master P
11. The Game
12. Callin' Me
13. Memories feat. C-Murder
14. Meet Me At The Hotel feat. Mr. Serv-On, Magic, Storm, & Mo B. Dick
15. Shell Shocked feat. Fiend
16. Paranoid feat. Silkk the Shocker
17. Nobody Make A Sound feat. 2-4-1, Magic, & Fiend
18. Beef
19. Camouflage Love feat. Storm
20. Empire
21. My Brother
22. Shell Shocked (Outro)