LOS ANGELES -- Prevented earlier this year from fulfilling his dream of becoming a professional basketball player, No Limit founder Master P has taken to expressing his love of the sport off the court.

Specifically, the rapper hopes to appeal to hoop fans with a free-CD offer.

The 29-year-old rap mogul and basketball fanatic announced Thursday (May 27) in Beverly Hills that anyone who buys a pair of All Star MPs -- the Converse/No Limit basketball shoes designed by Master P -- will get a free, five-track disc featuring the label chief and his stars Silkk the Shocker and New Orleans rapper Magic performing basketball-inspired songs.

Master P hopes the joint offer for the CD, Converse B-Ball, and the sneakers will be something that sports and rap fans can't refuse.

"I see kids on every court playing basketball to it, and kids that just love basketball carrying it around with them or riding with it," said Master P, who tried out for the Charlotte Hornets earlier this year but was cut from the team.

Wearing a red jersey and a No Limit baseball cap, the rap mogul was standing in a backroom lounge of Planet Hollywood watching as his brother Silkk, 20, shot pool. Master P earlier had unveiled his Converse shoe line at a press conference in the restaurant's upstairs room.

"It's a fun CD to listen to -- there's a lot of energy to it and it kind of gets you prepared to play, gets you ready for the game," he said. "I think a lot of stadiums will play it, too."

The title cut, which appears twice, features Master P (born Percy Miller) rhyming while R&B girls chant, "We're playing basketball/ We love the basketball." He calls it an anthem of sorts for the promotional campaign. No Limit's Magic rhymes on a tune called "You Ain't a Baller."

Silkk the Shocker (born Vyshonn Miller) is featured on the CD's final track, "Love This Game," which finds the tall, baby-faced rapper imagining himself as a basketball star. "It was like I was a basketball player and I'm playing a fantasy thing," Silkk said during a break from playing pool.

The rapper, whose Made Man album hit #1 earlier this year, was similarly dressed in a blue jersey and No Limit cap. Silkk said he wrote the first verse of the song, but the rest was more a product of freestyling in the studio during the track's recording session two weeks ago.

Earlier this week, Master P released another tribute to basketball, Master P Presents The No Limit All-Stars Who U Wit?, a compilation album featuring Snoop Dogg, Mystikal, Silkk, C-Murder, Mia X, Fiend and Mr. Serv-On.

At the press conference, Master P sat at a table with his new shoe line in each of its four colors -- white, red, blue and green -- positioned in front of him. Each color will become available on a different date; the white-leather style hits stores first June 10.

The sneaker, which will sell at a suggested retail price of $100 a pair for men's, is designed with an asymmetrical toe and chrome eyelets. The shoes also will be made for infants and children.

Master P, who also has his own line of talking dolls, discussed how he helped design the high-top shoe from heel to toe. He suggested the color and picked out the slick material. "As an entertainer and an athlete, I wanted to create a shoe that not only looks good, but one that works both on and off the court," he said.

A longtime basketball fan and player, Master P said merging the sport and music was not difficult for him. "You know, music is something I know how to do, and basketball's something I know how to do, and I have fun doing it, so this was easy," he said.

Master P will spend the summer working on his next No Limit film, "Lock Down," which is set to feature several members of the No Limit Family -- including Silkk and another brother, C-Murder (born Corey Miller). He also plans to assemble a greatest-hits album that will include several new tracks before the end of the year.

Next week, Master P, Silkk the Shocker and C-Murder will release Da Crime Family, their fourth album under the name Tru.