Audio Master P
Featuring Master P

MP3: Hey man, how you doing? Master P: Im good. So I wanted to ask you about some stuff you've got going on and just pick your brain a little bit. Okay. I know obviously the big thing that everybody is talking about is your decision to start strictly making clean music and positive, non-violent stuff. I wanted to ask you, is that something that's been kind of on your mind for a while or is it something that came up specifically in response to all the negative publicity, the stuff with Imus and the stuff with Russell Simmons and all that? No. I think, man, you know at a point in your life when you grow up you say, "You know what, man, you've got to start thinking about doing the right thing and you want to help the people that's coming after you, the next generation." And I think that with that in mind, you want to do that and there's a time and a place that you say, "You know what, man, I'm always giving back to the community and trying to be a part of that big business saying what could we do to save our kids and all."

After getting in the car with my kids and I have to turn the music down and I'm saying, "You know what, man, I done made a lot of money from this. So what could I do to help this next generation?" And that's what I've figured out. I said, "You know what, this could be an opportunity to show kids not to take away from their music, keep the same street music and talk about your community and represent your hood, but just take the profanity out, man, because, you know what, in the long run you can clean up your record anyway for the radio. So you're not selling out. They don't play cuss records on the radio."

So my thing is, and these are the benefits. If you have an album that blow up—think about it, I sold 75 million records. Now, imagine if I were to have made clean music back then, I would have sold 150 million. I would have been able to get into Wal-Marts, the Targets, all those different things and they would have promoted my record and not just had it under a censorship program. So you would make more money if you really have a hit song, and most songs that we make once we get these records out there, we end up cleaning them up anyway. And once you clean the record up, you know, what is that called? Is that called selling out?

Because MTV is not going to play no dirty video, or BET. So we already compromising. And I'm thinking, "You know what, also, what about endorsement deals?" There's a lot of opportunities that I passed up because of my music. People wanted to do business with me, but once they listened to my music they were like, "Wow. I really like this guy but I can't do no business with him. Look at his music." I mean, I got cut from the Charlotte Hornets in the NBA. I could have made the NBA. I remember that. I was the last cut on the team. What do you think it came down to? I mean, if you're the last cut you could—that means you could play on this team. So if they cut all these other people before you and you were the last person to leave, it came down to one thing, my image and my music. Bob Bass, the general manager, said, "Man, I like you as an athlete. But your music is pure filth." And that gave me a lot to think—a lot of doors closed that I could have had open if I had thought about the way I made my music from the jump.

And that's what I can show them now the way my son's making his music. It's all positive. It's all clean. He never made a dirty album. He sold 10 million records. So it can be done the right way. And now he'll probably be--you know, he's getting ready to go to college or he'll make it to the NBA. He'll be the highest-endorsed player in the world because now they can't go back to that music and say, well, his music is negative. I mean, he could get every sponsorship across the country. Who's not going to want to sponsor Romeo. They could go—he's a good student. He's a good athlete. And he's got great music. It's the total package. Man, and that's what I want to prepare the next generation for. I also wanted to talk to you about, I mean, right now and really for the past five years or so the South has kind of been running things in terms of sales and in terms of hot songs in the clubs and on the radio and stuff. You were really, No Limit was really the first Southern movement to blow up gigantically on an major, major level like that. I mean, obviously there were cats before you guys as well. But in terms of just huge multiplatinum mainstream success, you guys kind of wrote the blueprint. Cash Money came afterwards and Lil' Jon came after that. Do you feel like you get the props or the recognition or the credit that you deserve for sort of being a pioneer like that? You know, I'm really not in it for that, though, you know what I'm saying. Sure. I'm not in it for that. I'm in it for growing. And I know that there's going to be 20 other people coming after me. But my thing is about setting trends and doing things different, opening up other avenues and hopefully that there's 20 or 30 Master Ps now. And that's what my goals are, to build a generation of wealth because when you look at it there's always going to—see, this generation is always looking for something new.

Just like the movie Scarface right now. There's going to be 20 Tony Montanas after this. But I mean, I think he set the precedent, the stage of real gangster movies. And you look at it now, American Gangster right now, so these movies wouldn't be in existence if it wasn't for Scarface. Yep, definitely. And I think the real world knows, everybody knows that what I did in the game—what I did was rap a lot, open the doors. But I was able to take it to another level on the mainstream to make them accept it. And I think that's what's so important for us and our community to say, "You know what, let's go a little further."

And I always thought that they could do it, how come we can't do this on our own, why we have to just get a record deal, how come we can't be a corporation. And that's where I'm taking my game now. I'm taking my game to corporate America and taking hip-hop to Wall Street to say, "Now, let's build equity funds. Let's learn how to raise money. Let's learn how to take out game to an even bigger level."

And I think anybody that's listening and watching and understanding where this digital world is going to, there's not nobody going to be able to conquer this game like me. And that's why I really haven't been putting our regular CDs right now. The game is going all digital, all high tech. Mm-hmm. For sure, man. I also wanted to ask you—I know that before you were in New Orleans you were out in the Bay area. Yeah. No Limit started as a store in Richmond and stuff. We're out in San Francisco as well, this company. Are you still in touch and following E-40 and Dre Dog? I know you're tight with a lot of people out here. Are you a fan of, like, the Hyphy Movement and the stuff that's going on out here? Oh, yeah. Let me tell you something. If anybody could come up with something unique and brand new to sell, I'm a fan of it. I love the Bay Area. A lot of my family is out there. I'm still out there. Right now, in San Francisco we're building the Miller Oaks Learning Financial Facility in San Francisco right now.

So my thing is about financial literacy, to give back to our kids in the community and say, "You know what, let's build this generation on wealth." Now we've got to teach these kids, you know, because anybody can make money. But without the right knowledge and education, you can't grow, you can't take your game to the next level.

So I'm also putting up P Miller Youth Centers, which are probably going to be the first one, after the one in New Orleans, it will probably be in, like Richmond or Oakland or San Francisco. So I've been out there with the mayor and taking this thing to the next level. Cool. Excellent, man. Right on. And now are you still—you're still doing movies as well right? Yeah, I've got a new, I'm working on a movie right now with Katt Williams. It's called Internet Dating. Nice. Is that going to be, like, theatrical or straight to DVD or what? Both. Cool. Excellent, man. That sounds good. I also read that you're working on some videogame? What's the deal with that? Oh, me and Seth Green, we have a videogame. It's called "Play the Industry," where you could kind of, like, live somebody else's life and prepare for what you doing and see if you make this move if you end up making it back to the ghetto, you make that move and you might make it to Corporate America.

So it's not just about Hip-Hop, it's about the whole industry. If you want to be a Hollywood actor, if you want to be a Hip-Hop star, if you want to be a manager, attorney, a lawyer, anything dealing with the entertainment industry you could be one of those people and see how you could get from the bottom and take your game to the top. That sounds cool, man. Right on. So I just got, like, two more questions for you and then I'll let you roll. Okay. You're somebody that's been doing this for a long time, had a lot of success at a lot of different levels, not just music, but movies and the sports and different ventures and whatnot. Nowadays, everybody is like, "Oh, yeah. I'm independent. I've got my own label. I've got a movement, this and that." Everybody wants to be a star and an artist and stuff. What advice would you give to those millions of kids out there that's just starting out and just trying to get it popping? Well my thing is you have to have a vision and don't make an investment in something that's over saturated. I mean, find something unique and invest in it. And if you think that you have something unique, then you believe in it and you go after it and you set your goals and you can be successful.

But I mean, but if you don't have something that's not unique, you have to be real with yourself because it's hard to make it in this world right now without something unique and without hard work and without believing in the man up above. And lot of this you've got to believe in the man up above and you also have to get out there and apply the work with it. And also another thing I could give them is that knowledge is more important than money. Don't get into something just for the money. Totally. Well you got any last words for the people in cyberspace that's going to be checking this out? Well anybody that believe in something, man, take a stand for it. I mean, that's what Take A Stand Records is all about, Take A Stand Films. A life without change is a wasted life, so if anybody feels like they're wasting their life, man, there's always tomorrow. You could start over. So stay focused, man. Like I said, believe in the man up above and do something to better yourself and not just for the money. And there's no limit from there. That's what's up, man. Excellent. Well thanks for taking the time to talk to me, P. I appreciate, man. Okay. And good luck with all your projects. Thank you. All right. Take care. Bye-bye.