The Top Five Films of Master P

Hip-hop and Hollywood have combined to create the biggest story in all of entertainment at the moment as the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton is dominating the box office and receiving rave reviews for bringing rap history to the silver screen. Its success has already caused quite a number of moves to be made in the industry, including the announcement of a biopic for No Limit Solder and iconic rap entrepreneur Master P. But if you've ever been bout it bout it, you'd know this wouldn't be the first time P's solid gold tank would roll into the celluloid canon.

No Limit Films was actually a pretty groundbreaking division of P's No Limit Records, paving the way for rappers to star in their own direct-to-video films and prove there's a market to see them act. From ambitious but humble beginnings shooting on VHS to getting some actual big name stars under P's direction, there's quite a lot to “Hoody-Hoo” in your popcorn about. It is in anticipation of more P cinema that we bring you The Top Five Movies of Master P.

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5) I'm Bout It
The movie that started it all of P's on-camera career was 1997's I'm Bout It. Aesthetically, while the shot-on-video style may appear cheap at first, it creates a really unique atmosphere that captures mid-'90s New Orleans. Sort of a scripted home movie feel with a rawness that really feels like P's bringing his lyrics to life. Part slice-of-life, part wish fulfillment revenge fantasy, I'm Bout It redefined what a hip-hop film could be, forcing even P's most vocal critics to respect it.


4) Da Game of Life
When Snoop Dogg left label Death Row for No Limit in 1998, it was unclear how The Doggfather's style would fit within No Limit's aesthetic. P wound up giving Snoop the full tank treatment, including co-writing and co-directing a direct-to-video film for him Da Game of Life. Following the same budgeted mafioso vibes that a lot of P's film work would tap into at the time, fans may recognize some of the set used in the film from Snoop's debut No Limit single “Still A G Thang.”


3) I Got the Hook-Up
After the success of I'm Bout It, major studios began taking notice of P's genuine charisma and on-screen presence. Thus, Dimension Films snatched him up to co-star in a comedy about all the perils selling a truckload of stolen cell phones will lead to. Genuinely funny in quite a few spots, the unique talents here are unlike the majority of casts in wide-released Hollywood films at the time. P shows quite a bit of range here too, and what he learns making the film here reappears in quite a few other of his later works.


2) Hot Boyz
The last film of the first proper No Limit Films era, Hot Boyz was solely written and directed by P as a vehicle for his brother Silkk the Shocker to make a splash in the movie world. Co-starring Gary Busey, the movie is everything you would expect from the parties involved and more. An unbelievable amount of action and a wide range of emotions for Silkk show one of the most conflicted and complex releases to come off the tank.


1) MP: Da Last Don
Whether you know it as MP: Da Last Don or just Da Last Don, it's an absolute masterpiece. While P being left to his own devices to make I'm Bout It gave the low budget elements such an authentic feel, P's top notch production of Da Last Don is such an unfiltered pure Id of what one man thinks a movie should be, with few peers. If there was ever a hip-hop version of Tommy Wiseau's The Room, this would be it. P plays the recently anointed new Don of a crime family who is resistant to his new ideas. P becomes a hero, anti-hero and villain and basically stars in what clearly are reinterpretations of all of his favorite films in one movie. Endlessly replayable, we at The Weekly fully believe it needs to reach cult classic status.

See also:
The Top 10 Rappers in OC
10 More of OC's Best Rappers
Top Five Female Emcees in OC

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