Brick Livin [PA]

By stamping the No Limit logo on Mr. Marcello's Brick Livin album, Master P has breathed some life into his struggling label. In the late '90s, No Limit had thrived as the global outpost for dirty South thug anthems: songs about living in the ghetto, being true to the game, getting high, being hard, and living the thug lifestyle. By the end of the '90s, No Limit had recycled these cliches one too many times, causing successive albums to sound far too similar to their predecessors. The fact that No Limit had flooded the market and diluted their stable of producers didn't help either, resulting in lackluster beats for the increasingly generic rhymes. But for as much as Brick Livin stays true to these same motifs and uses these same producers, it succeeds where other albums from the same time such as C-Murder's Trapped in Crime suffered. What differentiates Marcello from his other peers on No Limit is a strong sense of enthusiasm. After all, he isn't actually a No Limit soldier but rather the kingpin of his own label, Tuff Guys. He's essentially just using the No Limit logo as a means for mass distribution and major-label backing, just as Master P is using Marcello to spice up his tired label. In terms of mandatory Southern rap motifs, Brick Livin covers all the bases: booty shakin' anthems ("How U Like It"), "get crunk" tracks ("Somet'in"), hard gangsta posing ("Ha Brah"), representing the ghetto ("Brick Livin'"), being true to the game ("Soldiers for Life"), tracks to bounce to ("Southern Funk"), and even a sentimental thug love song ("Me & My Girl"). Sure, listeners aren't going to find anything new on this record; as good as this record is relative to other No Limit releases, it surely isn't on par with classic thug albums such as 2Pac's All Eyez on Me or Juvenile's 400 Degreez. What listeners will find is a refreshing approach to increasingly generic motifs that could be the most enthusiastic record to bear the No Limit stamp since Master P's breakthrough album, Ghetto D. ~ Jason Birchmeier