Master P - Ghetto Postage [Clean] (CD)

All Music Guide

Around the end of 1998, a few months after the hype surrounding MP Da Last Don wore off and objective listeners began to see Master P's supposedly final album for what it was -- a bloated amalgam of mediocre No Limit tracks with Master P's stamp on it for marketing purposes -- it became fairly clear that the No Limit army was crumbling. And when his 1999 comeback album, Only God Can Judge Me, backfired and only affirmed the justification for this sudden No Limit backlash, it was clear that the colonel had to regroup his troops and reassess his army's tactics. By the time Master P delivered Ghetto Postage in late 2000, he had discharged most of his soldiers as suddenly as his army of primarily teenage fans had disavowed their loyalty to his army a year before. So it's safe to consider this album as Master P's second attempt at a comeback -- and a considerably improved attempt. Granted, it's hard to attribute musical quality to Master P's success in the late '90s but, primarily based upo...n the quality of Ghetto Postage rather than marketing gimmicks or musical trends, the rapper has come close to rivaling his best album of the 1990s, Ghetto D. Like that breakthrough album, Ghetto Postage is a simplistic tour de force through a myriad of proven gangsta rap motifs. Beginning with the standard "I'm Bout It" variation, this time titled "Bout Dat," Master P and his post-Beats by the Pound production team -- primarily Carlos Stephens, XL, Ke-Noe, Myke Diesel, and Suga Bear -- move through the motifs without making them seem too clichéd. More importantly, they perform with an aura of confidence and poise, two attributes sorely lacking on Only God Can Judge Me. Of course, there are many awkward moments along the way since Master P is far from a versatile rapper, but there are a few truly noteworthy moments: the blatant Snoop Dogg vehicle, "Poppin' Them Collars"; the booty-shakin' club track, "Twerk That Thang"; the hot-girl-needs-some-thug-passion ballad "My Babooski"; the don't-mess-with-us-cuz-we-thugs exercise "Hush"; the where-are-my-soldiers-at? singalong "Souljas"; and the ain't-no-one-gonna-stop-me-now call to arms "I Don't Give ah What." Ghetto Postage is one of the best No Limit albums yet, deserving acclaim for not surrendering to the trite stunnin'-bling-bling-flossfest-get-down-on-yo-knees-ho clichés littering rap at the end of 2000 and for at least being a blatant motif exercise with integrity. Thug farce or not, Master P is actually a rather likable guy here and, more than anything, he does what he does best on Ghetto Postage. He gives his fans exactly what they want -- ultra-simple, call-and-response gangsta rap with charisma -- without any self-serving, egocentric attempts to be an artist. In case you forgot, he's strictly an entrepreneurial entertainer, not a poet. [The "clean" version of Ghetto Postage removes the album's profanity.] - Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide Read more Less