Master P MP Da Last Don CD

Personnel includes: Master P; Rico (guitar); Mo B. Dick, O'Dell, Silkk The Shocker, C-Murder, Mystikal, Fiend, Mia X, Bone Thugs N' Harmony, Tru, Snoop Dogg, Sons Of Funk, E-40, Mac, Soulja Slim, U.G.K., The Commission, Magic, Kane & Abel, Mr. Serv-On.
Producers include: O'Dell, KLC, Craig B, Sons Of Funk, Mo B. Dick.
Personnel: Master P (rap vocals); E-40, Fiend, Kane & Abel, M.A.C., Mia X, Mo B. Dick, Mystikal, Silkk the Shocker, Snoop Dogg, Sons of Funk, Soulja Slim, Steady Mobb'n, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (rap vocals).
The double-CD set that No Limit godfather Master P envisioned as his final solo album, MP da Last Don was greeted with reams of press clippings by the media and open arms by the public, who sent it to 112 on the charts, the week before it was scheduled to be released. Spanning two CDs and 29 songs, the album is more of an advertisement for upcoming No Limit releases than a last will and testament. All of the No Limit roster appears somewhere on the disc, and info about upcoming releases (some of which have been in development for a year and a half) litters the liner notes. Master P himself makes his presence felt only because the formula MP da Last Don follows is one he invented. If you've ever heard a No Limit record, you'll know what to expect. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The double-CD set that No Limit godfather Master P envisioned as his final solo album, MP da Last Don was greeted with reams of press clippings by the media and open arms by the public, who sent it to 112 on the charts, the week before it was scheduled to be released. All this means is that Master P's master business plan worked -- he was able to position himself as the leader of the underground just to sell records. And there's no other way to view MP da Last Don; it's nothing but product, albeit well-made product. Spanning two CDs and 29 songs, the album is more of an advertisement for upcoming No Limit releases than a last will and testament. All of the No Limit roster appears somewhere on the disc, and info about upcoming releases (some of which have been in development for a year and a half) litters the liner notes. Master P himself makes his presence felt only because the formula MP da Last Don follows is one he invented. If you've ever heard a No Limit record, you'll know what to expect -- cribbed hooks, predictable bass grooves and drum loops, the standard gangsta lyrical clichés. The law of averages dictates that there will be a few passable tracks on an album this size, but there is no variety here at all -- you could start the album at any point and feel like you've heard it all before. So, Da Last Don isn't a grand final statement from Master P, though its crass commercialism and blatant hucksterism offer as accurate a summation of Master P's career as anyone could hope. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
The southern hip-hop sound of Master P is in full bloom on this album. Assembling an arsenal of talent known as the "No Limit Soldiers" in the form of Snoop Dogg, Mystikal, Silkk The Shocker, Sons of Funk, Fiend, Mia X, C- Murder and others, MP has more connections that AT&T. "Make Em Say Uhh" is already a hit at radio, and with two discs of jam-packed hip-hop treats, DA LAST DON delivers the goods.
"Soldiers, Riders and G's" features Snoop, Mystikal and Silkk The Shocker. "Get Your Paper" has an appearance from Cali's E-40. "Ghetto Life" has the UGK, aka The UnderGround Kings. Though none of the tracks are produced by outside producers, MP and his camp avoid a monotonous sound by collaborating with various MC's. Other tracks that will "make em say uhh" are "Mama Raised Me," "War Wounds" and "Thug Girl," which is a take off on the classic RUN D.M.C. track "Dumb Girl."Entertainment Weekly (6/26-7/3/98, p.126) - "...even if there's nothing new here...DON may be the best argument for this man's genius yet; who else but P could squeeze almost two hours of music out of such cliched beats and sentiments? Respect is due." - Rating: B
Entertainment Weekly (6/26-7/3/98, p.126) - "...even if there's nothing new where...DON may be the best argument for this man's genius yet; who else but P could squeeze almost two hours of music out of such cliched beats and sentiments? Respect is due." - Rating: B
The Source (8/98, p.166) - 4 Mics (out of 5) - "...this time around the Colonel injects a healthy balance of consciousness and enlightening social commentary....[H]e creates the blueprint for the "finale" album..."
Rap Pages (9/98, p.118) - 3 (out of 5) - "...THE LAST DON enthusiastically reclaims and resurrects the genre of 'crime rap' for niggaz who have nothing to lose, brothas in Chuck Taylors with nothing to look forward to, that it's almost anthem-like..."