U.n.l.v.
Uptown 4 Life
By 1996, nearly every major U.S. city had its own unique and identifiable rap scene, and New Orleans was infamous for the furious cookie-cutter gangsta rap of Master P's No Limit Records. Hot on No Limit's tail was Cash Money Records, which like No Limit began as a regional distributor before churning out countless hits by the end of the decade. Both labels were famous for their huge rotating rosters of MCs, tag-team posse cuts, funky in-house production, hilarious covers, bloated albums, love of cars and jewelry, and portrayal of the N.O. as a violent, dangerous city. Although both had reached national infamy by the mid- to late-1990s, Cash Money found continued success well into the new millennium as No Limit was forced to regroup due to financial woes. U.N.L.V. are a hip-hop group from New Orleans, Louisiana, originally consisting of rappers Tec-9, Lil' Ya, and Yella Boy. Their name is an acronym for "Uptown Niggas Living Violent." They were one of the first artists signed to Cash Money Records, where they recorded four albums from 1993 to 1996. This is a reissue of their 1996 album.