Master P – “Power” (Feat. Lil Wayne, Gangsta, & Ace B)
In the late ’90s, two different New Orleans rap labels crossed over and achieved total commercial domination. First came Master P’s No Limit Records, and the Williams brothers’ Cash Money Records followed not long after. The two labels were crosstown rivals, and their figureheads did not like each other. (Lil Wayne in 1999: “Ain’t got on no suits cuz we ain’t tryna be presidents.”) So it’s significant that, so many years later, Master P and longtime Cash Money standard bearer Lil Wayne have come together on the same song for the first time. (It’s probably no coincidence that the song has emerged just after Wayne claimed to be on the outs with Cash Money.) The long-absent P is enjoying something of a career resurgence; he released the great Al Capone mixtape a year ago. “Power” is a decent-enough Southern rap track that also has appearances from Gangsta and Ace B, two generically-named rappers I’ve never heard of, but its real value is in its historical interest. Listen to it below.
P has an album called Money Mafia – We All We Got coming sometime soon. Note that Wayne is wearing a suit in that cover art.