Exclusive: Master P Announces New Album inspired By Verzuz Battle
After years away from the microphone, Master P returns with a new album, 'No Limit 5K Mix: Lost Tapes,' released in coordination with No Limit’s Verzuz against Cash Money at ComplexCon. We spoke with the mogul about his long-awaited return to music.
When
Swizz Beatz reached out to
Master Pabout doing a
Verzuz, the rap mogul was hesitant.
It wasn’t the first time a
Verzuz had been floated his way, but he had slowed down with music. He hadn’t released a new project since the
Tony Montana tape in 2018. These days, most of his time was dedicated to his entrepreneurial efforts and his day job as President of Basketball Operations for the University of New Orleans.
But Swizz convinced him, and that led to P digging through the vault. He was sitting on a whole trove of songs he’d never done anything with—including a collaboration with his Verzuz rival,
Lil Wayne.
“I just started looking through what I had. And I had all these songs. I'm like, man, I never really did nothing with these songs. Didn't make no videos, didn't do nothing,” Master P told
Complex. “And then the song I did with Lil Wayne, I feel like that inspired me because [we’re both] from New Orleans and this a celebration.”
And this is how we get
The No Limit 5K Mix: Lost Tapes—one more Master P album, released in coordination with tomorrow’s
Verzuz betweenNo Limit and
Cash Money at
ComplexCon 2025. The project is massive, featuring 25 new songs from the legendary rapper. No Limit and P have a storied history, and in many ways, this album pays homage to that legacy.
The album features appearances from the aforementioned Wayne, YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Gucci Mane, Jeezy, 2 Chainz, Kevin Gates, Meek Mill, Yo Gotti, and Nipsey Hussle—all artists who’ve either been inspired by P or share his entrepreneurial spirit. (Would Nipsey Hussle have been so empire-minded without P’s example?)
There are also clear nods
to No Limit classics: “Thirty-One Flavors” serves as a spiritual sequel to “Ice Cream Man” and “Freak,” featuring Kevin Gates, remixes the TRU classic. While “No Limit Gmix” features Usher doing the iconic Master P grunt and singing “make em say ugh.” Alongside the album, a documentary will be released, highlighting the label’s lasting impact and cultural legacy.
Here is the tracklist:
“Different Kind Of Power” (feat. Lil Wayne)
“Me & My Baby”(feat. Moe Roy & Rome)
“Thirty One Flavors” (feat. Pewee Longway)
“From The Bottom” (feat. NBA YoungBoy & Mr. Mase)
“Gone” (feat. Young Jeezy)
“Freak” (feat. Kevin Gates)
“Alleyoop” (feat. Meek Mill)
“Like 23” (feat. Rick Ross)
“Friends With Benefits” (feat. Kirk Kobang)
“Too Many” (feat. Gotti 4 Real)
“It’s On” (feat. Jeremih)
“No Limit Gmix” (feat. Usher, Gucci Mane & 2 Chainz)
“Trunk Full Of White” (feat. Yo Gotti & Krazy)
“Middle Finga” (feat. No Limit Boys)
“Believe” (feat. Moe Roy & Snootie Wild)
“Trending” (feat. Gucci Mane)
“We Made It” (feat. Blaqnmild)
“Back Down” (feat. Ten & Niq)
“The Projects” (feat. Blaqnmild)
“The Mob Up In Here” (feat. E40)
“Real” (feat. Nipsey Hussle)
“Wish”
“Green”
“Bonus”
“Winners Never Quit”
With the album and the Verzuz—which will be streaming live on Apple Music on Saturday, Oct. 26 starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT—Master P saw this moment as a final expression of gratitude to the fans who stood by him over the years.
“I’m giving it to the fans where they could get the music. I mean all my No Limit Soldiers—everybody got their camo on now. The tanks is out and we just giving them good music,” P said. “Those diehard fans and the new fans, the younger fans that probably didn't get a chance to really feel my music. They could get a chance now to see where we at and see where we was at back then.”
We talked to Master P about his new album, his Verzuz battle with Cash Money, recording music with Lil Wayne, and more.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You’re calling the album “Lost Tapes,”which makes it sound like this is music that you've been holding onto for a while. How would you describe it?
Master P: It's music I've been holding on for a while and then it's music that I never really put out back in the days. Maybe I kind of leaked some of it on some mixtapes and never promoted it. But now I’m giving it to the fans where they could get the music. I mean all my No Limit Soldiers—everybody got their camo on now. The tanks is out and we just giving them good music.
Those diehard fans and the new fans, the younger fans that probably didn't get a chance to really feel my music—they could get a chance now to see where we at and see where we was at back then. I put new verses on songs. This is 5K music. Your phone, the TV, everything coming in 5K. And I feel it's 2025, it's time to drop some No Limit 5K.
Why'd you kind of slow down with music?
I mean I really got into coaching. I really got into helping and making a difference and the music thing, it kind of got put to the background to where God put my life on something else. When Swizz called me about this Verzuz stuff, I was like, “Man, I ain't really been into the music in a while.”
But it was kind of like, “you know what? Let me give the world these last 25 tracks that I've just been holding onto. I feel like there’s hits here. There’s so many amazing artists that I did music with, songs we did a while back. It's that music that make you feel good. Some of the music makes you laugh, makes you cry, makes you understand how to overcome poverty.
And then some music is just fun. You want to dance and party and just go to the club. It's that New Orleans music. Then I got the West Coast with E-40, representing the Bay.
You said it was Verzuz and that talk with Swizz that really inspired you. Tell me a little bit about that conversation.
To be honest with you, I really wasn't into it.
I wasn't into doing Verzuz, people been coming at me a long time about it. But I love my fans. I got some of the best fans in the world. But after me and Swizz talked and I decided to do this, I was like, “OK let me see what music I got.” And I'm like, “Man, I never really did nothing with these songs. Didn't make no videos, didn't do nothing.” And then the song I did with Lil Wayne, I feel like that inspired me, because we’re both from New Orleans and this a celebration.
Both of us, together, represent the city of New Orleans and we're going to come together on Verzuz and show the world the sustainability of both camps. No Limit and Cash Money. So I thought it was only right.
I remember you guys did a song a couple of years ago, I know there was maybe a friendly rivalry back in the days. Was it ever odd trying to do songs with Cash Money members?
I think we all just went and did what we had to do and whenever we got time to do it we’d do it. I played basketball and I played in the NBA, I did all this other stuff. I had the sports company, sold clothes, did real estate. So I really ain't had the time. I really was focused on trying to create opportunities for so many people and so many family members. And I think I was into that. But we all got an open door policy, we all live in the same city, so it's like whatever the timing, we'll get in and do something.
During your peak you guys were putting out essentially an album a week. How the hell did you do that?
Just putting in the work. It's like right now. Times have changed. So that's why I put 20 something songs on this project. But these records only last for two minutes. Now. You can't make a song longer than two and a half minutes. So back in our time the music was longer, but we lived in the studio. So once I got that bug back, like I said, after talking to Swizz, I just went in the studio. We just lived in the studio. That's how I do it. I don't write music, it just flow. I never wrote a song.
Really?
It just got to come to me. Yeah. So all this music you hear, it just comes out. So when it start coming out, I just got to let it go. So after I talked to Swizz, I went to the studio and I just started pulling all these songs up and saying, “Let me add this verse on here, let me do this.” The song I did with Rick Ross [“Like 23”] I just went in there and it just come out. So I never write records, I've never done music like that. I got to feel it.
Are you doing the pens and pixel cover?
Yeah. Got all the covers on there and a big tank. So it is retro and it is old school mix.
I saw the interview you did with us about you treating the Verzuz as a celebration. But there's a part of you that wants to win right?
To be honest with you, with both of us being from New Orleans, I feel like it's a celebration, to be honest with you. The world just want to see us on the stage together. That's something they never witnessed.
And we all got a lot of respect for each other. So I just think it's, and we all grew up. I think that's so important. They're from the Magnolia, I’m from the [Calliope], so you got two different neighborhoods that's successful and have successful CEOs running these companies. And it is just like now we all still here. I feel like I'm in a good place to understand that this is a celebration for the city of New Orleans. It's a lot of great talent come out there and I feel like more talent is going to get exposed. I want to find the next Birdman, the next Master P, the next Lil Wayne, the next Mystikal, the next [Silkk the Shocker], the next Juvenile.
What kind of conversations have you had with Baby about the night?
Me and Baby talked about other stuff. I haven't even talked about Verzuz. I just wanted to be genuine and let it happen. Let it go. And we going to represent the city.
Can you give us just any hint about surprises, what people can expect on Saturday?
Just get ready y'all. There's going to be a No Limit party, a Cash Money party, and you're going to get the best of the best from both of us.