NEW YORK -- In practically no time, Mr. Serv-On has gone from the ranks of the obscure to the top of the charts.

No Limit Records played no small part in that.

A childhood friend of the label's chief executive officer, Master P, and until a month ago a relatively unknown rapper, Mr. Serv-On burst onto the Billboard 200 albums chart last week at #14 with his second album, Da Next Level.

In doing so, he not only had the week's highest-charting debut, but also passed hit records by better-known No Limit artists, including Silkk the Shocker and Mystikal.

Not bad for a guy who earlier this month made his first trip to New York. But not necessarily unexpected either.

"I understand that what I do now shapes my future, shapes a lot of kids' futures," Mr. Serv-On (born Corey Smith), speaking during his recent

New York trip, said in a soft Southern drawl. "I have to do things and put it the way I know it needs to be put. It's not, like, rapping for fun anymore. It's a business, and it's serious."

No Limit has come to expect this kind of success from all its artists, thanks to a loyal core of fans, and Mr. Serv-On was more than willing to talk business -- and its accompanying responsibility.

At the time of the conversation, he was in a trailer outside the Tunnel, a Manhattan nightclub where he was about to shoot a video for

"From N.Y. to N.O."

(RealAudio excerpt), the first single from Da Next Level, with New York rapper Big Punisher.

He was personable, making sure to acknowledge the people around him and make them feel at ease. But he was careful not to say too much -- he gave his age only as "in the 20s" and refused to say where he lives. A company man, he talked repeatedly about Master P's business sense and leadership, and about what he feels distinguishes No Limit from the rest of the hip-hop world.

"We talk about what we went through as kids on up to being men," he said. "I think a lot of people out there can relate to that, because in this nation right now, there's a lot of suffering people, poverty . . . We have that influence over people right now."

Mr. Serv-On grew up in New Orleans, as did several other No Limit rappers. He credited his lean years there, during which, he said, he witnessed a murder, with providing him the background to make insightful records.

He was introduced to hip-hop after moving to Northern Virginia as a teenager. Influenced by L.L. Cool J and encouraged by friends, he eventually dedicated himself to rap as a profession, signing a contract with No Limit by the mid-1990s. He set out, he said, to counter the reputation that Southern rappers have for bawdy party music -- although Da Next Level has some of that, too.

"I don't want people to think that we just get on and say things on songs that get people real rowdy and have fun and all that," Mr. Serv-On said. "We also can be real deep and lyrical. We're all talented when it comes to this."

Among the party and gunplay that feature such guests as C-Murder, Mystikal and Mia-X, Da Next Level includes a number of introspective titles, including "I Hate The Way I Live" (RealAudio excerpt)," "F.U. Serv" and "Freaky Dreams."

In its first week in stores, the album sold 75,000 copies and surpassed the chart success of his first album, Life Insurance (1997), which topped out at #23. It also unseated rap goddess Lauryn Hill's The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill from the top of Billboard's Top R&B Albums chart.

In the video he shot this month, Mr. Serv-On and Big Pun, dressed in yellow club outfits, explore the benefits of a multicolored nightclub and its female patrons. According to Serv-On, the song was meant to transcend boundaries.

"Pun's from New York and I'm from New Orleans, and we're just doing a thing where, hey, music go[es] from New York down to New Orleans," he said. "We're just giving everyone else in between something to dance to."

Big Pun (born Christopher Rios) said he was honored to participate in the hip-hop coastal exchange, which was arranged by the No Limit production team Beats by the Pound.

"We wanted to show our similarities," Big Pun said, adding that making hip-hop universal is important to him.

For all his sober talk, Mr. Serv-On clearly is enjoying his life as a rapper. The cover of Da Next Level shows him dressed in white, flashing a Rolex watch, surrounded by beautiful women.

But he's already looking beyond that life.

"If No Limit decides, well, OK, we're not a rap label anymore, then it's no more," he said. "You can't rap forever. [Master] P has prepared us to do a lot of other things. We're not just rappers. We own businesses. I own a promotional company and an animated website company."