Source: UNCENSORED / TV One
Master P is a legendary rapper, businessman and philanthropist representing Hip-Hop culture, without question. The New Orleans native’s life gets spotlighted in the latest episode of TV One’s UNCENSORED, and he offers game for which smart business people would pay a King’s ransom.
The episode explores how Master P, born Percy Miller, went from running a record to turning his independent No Limit Records label into an industry juggernaut. Part of how he made it happen was not falling for the okey-doke, which included passing on the million dollars that industry icon Jimmy Iovine offered to sign him.
“Bro, that white man offered me a million dollars, how much you think I’m worth?,” P rhetorically his brother C-Murder at the time, who couldn’t believe he didn’t take the money. “You gotta know your self worth.”
P would become a millionaire before he was 30, and he expanded his empire beyond music with his hands in everything from a clothing line to a branded cereal (“Master Crunch could be the next Wheaties box for our culture,” he tells Hip-Hop Wired with full earnestness.) to films to Rap Snacks.
In his UNCENSORED episode P says, “Whatever I got to do, I got to give me some product and I got to own it.” His No Limit Records distribution deal with Priority Records was famed because he got to keep 85% of his label’s earnings, which was unprecedented for a Rap act, or any act. One of the initial albums in that collaboration, Ice Cream Man in 1996, would go platinum, so do the math.
Ownership clearly paid off, and continues to. But despite the pristine example set by P, artists complaining about being stuck in bad deals or getting jerked by their label continue to be regular headlines in 2022. “You know why? Because our people [are] getting caught up by the Internet, getting caught up by what other people are doing because everybody wants fast,” says P when Hip-Hop Wired asked why he thinks artists are still getting duped regularly. “There’s no such thing as overnight success. It’s going to take hard work. It’s going to take sacrifice. It’s going to take building a team.”
That was free game. We won’t spoil it, so watch UNCENSORED to see how much P had to pull out of his own pocket to get some sound advice from Michael Jackson’s lawyer.
TV One’s UNCENSORED: Master P airs on Sunday, March 20that 10 PM ET/9c.
Check out Master P’s take on Nipsey Hussle not getting his proper flowers until after he passed away below.