Tre-8

Producer/rapper Tre-8 is one of the many hip-hop artists to come out of Master P's No Limit Records during the mid-'90s, when P had one of the most exciting collections of young talent in the rap industry. Tre-8 was born in Detroit, but had relocated to New Orleans, where he first began to explore his skills as a producer. He began to craft tracks that fit into the lazy drawl and stripped-down production of many other New Orleans rappers, and soon he caught the ear of local entrepreneur Master P. When the two met, they discovered that Tre-8's beats fit P's vision of no-frills, hardcore hip-hop, which made P enthusiastic about adding Tre to his stable of producers. He signed a distribution deal with the label, but wouldn't commit to a contract that would give P exclusive rights to his output, which created bad blood between the two. Despite the growing tension, he was still included on their next compilation, 1995's Down South Hustlers. His solo debut, Ghetto Stories, was also released through No Limit, but he continued to look for a major-label deal despite P's insistence that he sign. After contributing beats to Master P's Ice Cream Man and Mia X's Good Girl Gone Bad, he ended his relationship with the label, starting his own Smoke 1 Records for 1996's Dey Scarred of Me. This would turn out to be his biggest mistake, since No Limit's popularity grew during the next few years while Tre struggled to get distribution and found it hard to get his material heard in the competitive New Orleans scene. Still, he continued to release his own records, including 1998's Nuttin' but Drama and 2002's 2 Hot 4 TV. ~ Bradley Torreano, All Music Guide