Master P Good Side/Bad Side CD

Personnel includes: Master P, Silkk The Shocker, Lil' Romeo, Three 6 Mafia, C-Murder, B.G., Cash Money, Eightball, Bone Crusher, T.K., David Banner, Lil' Flip, Field Mob, Ludacris, UGK, Mystikal.
Producers include: Lil Jon, Myke Diesel, DJ Darryl, Full Pack, Serious.
Audio Mixer: Myke Diesel.
Photographer: Tim Alexander .
Master P returned after three years with Good Side, Bad Side, a double disc that's rowdy, fun, and annoyingly uneven with a concept that's unnecessary. The cover art and the individual disc titles ("Good Side" for disc one, "Bad Side" for disc two) point to the flimsy concept. What's confusing is why P's "Good Side" is the usual cheap funk with bragging while his "Bad Side" is flashy R&B with hooks and slick production (is this "Bad" in the '70s sense?). Good Side, Bad Side's run time is only a couple minutes over a CD's capacity, so with filler to choose from it could have been easily trimmed to fit. A good choice would be the opening "Act a Fool," another "No Limit's Back!" swagger of a track that gives a dull first impression of an album that gets much better. It's also the first taste of P's new partnership with the King of Crunk and fellow Southerner Lil Jon. The alliance comes off much better on "Who Them Boyz," a great call-and-response anthem that features a C-Murder rap straight from his jailhouse phone. The dark "Why They Wanna Wish Death," the party anthem "Them Jeans," and "You Don't Know Me" with producer DJ Darryl's sticky funk are other highlights from the "Good Side," but the album's standout moment is "It's a Drought," a spirited narrative about a dope shortage in the hood. While more fun at first, a bunch of thin ideas makes the "Bad Side" the weaker disc on repeat listens, but a couple grand moments do turn up. "Com. 4" is another great weed-shortage song, this time due to a bogarting houseguest and set to a country hoedown beat. "Thug and Get Paper" is P at his minimal and lowdown best, and both "Tell 'Em" and "That Ain't Nothing" are mixtape worthy. The rest of the tracks on the "Bad Side" feel unfinished, like they're demos awaiting R. Kelly's final touchups to ensure radio exposure (there's never been so much Spanish guitar on a No Limit release). Hungry over inspired and anxious over ambitious, this is a placeholder of an album, giving P some face time while he awaits the crunk of the South and the gloss on urban radio to pass. Whittle away some of his half-hearted attempts to be of-the-moment, take away the concept and double-disc grandeur, and you've got a solid No Limit release. ~ David Jeffries
In the late 1990s, Percy Miller built a tremendous empire with his No Limit label, featuring a slew of hardcore rap artists, including himself--the incomparable, growl-voiced Master P. No Limit never really went away, but nevertheless Miller decided to revamp it in 2004, and who better to christen the revival than his own alter ego? Christen it Master P does, in a style befitting the brash overstatement of the label known for its instantly recognizable covers featuring tanks and medallions, pastel-colored sleeves, and titles airbrushed in platinum. P's opening salvo is a double concept album loaded with star appearances and featuring two sides of his personality, GOOD SIDE/BAD SIDE.
In actuality, the two shades are more suitably described as "bad side" and "badder side" as both are pretty brash. Master P opens the "good side" with the warning "if [someone] comes at me, they better come correct" before launching into the diatribe of "Act a Fool." On the single "Them Jeans," he reveals a sense of irony, opening with a rubber-ducky squeak before unleashing a trademark No Limits beat and a classic chant for a sexy dance number. On GOOD SIDE/BAD SIDE, Master P doesn't so much return to where he left off as he sticks to his guns, right where he's always been.