Master P Talks Family Business, Legacy, Artist Unions + More

wake up that ass in the morning the breakfast club in the morning everyone is tj envy angela yee charlemagne the boy we are the breakfast club we have some special guests in the building

master

product man that's what p means

master

product with his children hersey and mercy Welcome guys, yes, Pete came with a big bag with everything he had. I'll just tell you that no one has

more

products than me in the industry. I keep telling them that it is 90

business

es, 10 talents and, therefore, any order. o producer 5 producer 5

artist

what happened when your career ended with uh we have to start thinking about trust funds uh

family

trust if you look at what happened with dmx blackrock it's like we have to start thinking big and that's why I said I need the hip hop union, but I've been dealing with Dr.

Sasha Spade and we're going to come up with something about trust funds, so we need to make sure the industry understands that and that the product is always talent, my son's amazing basketball player . but they are not going to be dumb athletes, they will be, they will have a

business

, they will be able to do other things that when they look at us, they will look at me, they come from hip-hop, my The boy is educated, that's right, you know what I'm saying, very hurt, Mercy said, that's what I love about ace students. Some of the best high school basketball players in the world.

Congratulations to both of you. They just won the state championship. yeah, yeah, and then Hersey, you're going to Tennessee State, Tennessee, yeah, and you already have a scholarship, right, yeah, I do, I got a couple offers and you're just a freshman, yeah, yeah, no It's a game, how does that make you feel? Pete as a parent makes me feel good because we have come a long way and even my youngest son already has high schools and next year the rules will change. They are trying to play paying for kids to go to high school. schools and stuff so they want to surprise they have a program they just called me to pay me to get it so we want the best players I'm like man we care about education like we're bigger than that and then with uh hersey you know, with the NCAA the rules are changing in August, so I have two deals on the table for both of us, but I can't do it until August.

I mean, I made 400 a month playing basketball at a top college, but now he got a deal on the table, we have agent advertising, since you can use the picture, he already got a deal for 2.5 million dollars and he will probably be the highest paid player at any college, not just a hbcu wow, and that's being able to stay in school. and then my youngest son got a deal on the table for a million, but we can't even take it now because the rules are changing, so I think that's where we're going, man, this education, that's what it is.

That's what it's about for us. I love that my children are athletes, but education is

more

important. I'm teaching them about business, how to give back, not forget where you come from, so I respect their decision to go to an HBCU and be in the spotlight. because that's going to change the game now we talk about it all the time we've been talking about it for the last I don't even know 10 years we've been on this radio if an athlete decided to go to hbcu So why was that decision important to that you said you know what I'm going to go against the grain?

I'm going to do something that no one else does now. You know, most kids say I don't want to go to an hbcu because hbcus usually don't. They don't get the TV time, they don't get the notoriety, but you said I'm going to change, why? Good that? With me, I always thought outside the box. You know, I feel different. I feel like I'm going with me. For HBCU I can make a difference and that's what I did. I wanted to make a change and put the focus on all the spcu around me. My father always taught me to be a leader and I just made that decision by my own decision and I felt like it was the right decision and like I said I want to change the narrative so how many schools did you visit?

I visited about five or six schools. I had a ton of offers, but Tennessee State is the one that stood out to me. By the way, I'm sure it will be very exciting for everyone there, yes, and financially the people who are going to the games like it, so now we can talk about that. Now you said things are changing, right? Yeah, how's that? The deal is structured well, people come to me and they know they're my kids and they just put millions of dollars on the table because they know we just played the number one player in the country and he just won state, he was the leading scorer in the game, then led them to him, at his mercy, to the state championship, as a freshman, he scored 15 percent in the state championship game, he scored 24 points, I mean, a lot of advertising agencies realize that these Children are the future, but what I am saying is that I am happy because now they are investing in the future and these companies already see it before.

So what if I had Lebron and what if I had Kobe at a high level? school level to market and promote my product uh a kyrie irving I mean and like hershey always says uh when you look a little bit what is uh yeah little damon like no one really believes in him and now he's one of the best players in the NBA, but Imagine that you caught those guys in front because my sons had to work for everything well, as I let them know that they work with horses, but we put guard first. None of them had a car, like I don't buy my kids cars. like they walked to school, they rode their bike, you know, and that's what got them in the shape that they got because I want to show them how it works.

I feel like most people don't see that either. They probably just think we have it all. it was delivered to us, that's not the case like me and mercy work like us from the project, you know, like we work every day, uh, like my dad said, I'm not buying a car until I go to college, so I want to say it's a blessing to be However, I can do that, but one day I'll buy him a car too, so it's true and that's hard, when you come from me it's like your dad is p, so he has money, but even as a parent it's like how?

You instill in your children the right amount of work ethic and they don't coddle you and feel privileged. You know what I want them to be successful even when I'm not here. I want to build generational wealth, so I know what brought me here. I work hard because you even hear a lot of these

artist

s cry. Once their careers are over, you have to figure out something else and that's what I'm doing. We started the business so let me show you with my boys. I know you've all seen this. I started this with my kids on the ice cream man's 25 year anniversary and we got our own ice cream.

It makes sense that we would miss the ice cream man. We have our own ice cream. What is the name of the big big l? a great, okay, great, you know what? I'm saying the good thing about this ice cream is very important because it took us 25 years, but it was the best tasting ice cream you could get. Thank goodness we're lactose free and then we have all natural southern ice cream, but I'll show you. How much product do I have? That's what I'm talking about. Prepare. I have the ice cream. Good. You have the water. something for you I have the wife you know what I'm saying that's the wine right there just in case I passed that tour so look at your energy drink that's a good tool oh yeah so the king kong and the energy drink says make them say um Holy, who is the cereal?

Okay, I have the box of baking soda. You want a large size. Oh, no one has seen this. That's the rap snack puff icon. These are the best tasting puffs you've ever had. I'm just saying thank you. No, you're not lying. you have the master p icon noodles wait i have the fried fish this will be this will be kroger's next week so percy and mercy I don't think you guys can sign any other endorsements like he said we do it all as a

family

we have our series the shoes, these, all of you miatas, see what we do, we are getting better with time, uh, this is my favorite, this is the one that I like and then the one that does, charlotte maine, I remember you.

I was talking see why not get better once you're getting better absolutely you know what I'm saying 100 and uh I have the sadness of my friend rest in peace you know what I'm saying you're going to come I know You're going to come out with a basketball shoe. You have something that I have, but I have to do it right, so I'm going to let you wear the shoes that you love to wear. Okay, so everyone see our package. I'll keep the package. Do you know what I do? I'm saying this, this is how we do it, so the product trumps the talent, like I told you, listen to the song mystique, mystic said, uh, Mexico said, uh, 90 is your business, 10 percent is your talent and Snoop He got it, that's why he's successful, right?

Now a lot of artists don't understand that they're sitting there angry and angry, but you have to realize that even the record people tell me that I have a hit song, okay? Why do you know that even producers and artists have so many songs on a computer? You could buy a beat now for 200 and it would be made so they don't care about that. Once the next three to five years pass, they'll be looking for someone else and what happens after that, and that's what I do. I'm teaching my kids and I want to teach that game to everyone who's listening, I just know that without that record being marketed and promoted, it's like I made Ice Cream Man without coming up with a concept for it, This would be nothing if the ice cream man The song wasn't called Ice Cream, okay, what would it be?

Yeah, yeah, that was after we made the record, after the producers made it and I put my voice on it. I had to go out and market to spend money, people didn't. I know even one song zone below my hitters that song wasn't a hit at first so that song was hot. I liked. Magic liked it. They took it everywhere, but XL and I had made a clean version and Snoop hadn't. I didn't even know that record was a hit because we had another record that we released as a single and we had to keep going to the club.

I had to pay for the video, all these different things to make it a hit and I think the artists don't. I don't realize that's why they sell their soul to these big record labels and all that, but you know you're so talented. , but why did you sell your soldiers on important jobs because you know that 90 percent is the right business and I believe. we didn't prepare and that's why I said even the artists that we lost, I mean, God blessed my home day in Nipsey Hustle, he had to sign a record deal because he just couldn't do it on his own and When I looked at the deal he had, he said: "Oh, I just have to do it." It's like when he signed with Atlantic, think about it, he wasn't happy because he wasn't normally doing what he normally did, so you see. in that and that's what we have to change that never started talking about economic empowerment uh and I want to change that with my children when you talk about business and when you talk about you know education is so important, everyone thinks about money, right? because I?

I'm still successful because I realized, so think about it, the famous Amos cookies, right, mm-hmm, they ended up selling that company for two billion dollars, that was just for some cookies. See how much product we have here? Let me ask you this, yes. getting your product right into the stores because that's something I'm dealing with right now yeah, how receptive are people because obviously there's a limited amount of shelf space there's competition yeah, when it comes to these different products So how have these meetings gone? Are they receptive? Well, for me, that's what I did in New Orleans.

They have a company called Ross's and my thing is to bring black-owned products into those stores and onto those shelves, and they agreed to do that. They agreed to put money. Back to the community and I love it, it's hard for us to get our product on those shelves so now we have an avenue, if the product is good we can get it in these stores and I talked to the owners. of those companies that say and I've already started putting other products from other African American small loan businesses in those stores, so I think we have to make a good product and we also have to stand behind it, I'm talking about like As consumers, you know we always support other people's products, but if we are going to create economic empowerment, then we have to support our price, we have to go buy these products, not just take them to the stores, you know, the hard part is finding the product. stores that they are in, you know the same thing with you, like I have my I have water, yes, positive water, we got it in Hudson and all the airports, which was very difficult, yes, I got it in the city trends, but the problem is that it's like when I go to a store in New York, gas station in New York.

I would love to support yes, but they don't have it, they only have a certain amount, so I'm focusing on the distributors to make sure we get in there and I guess you're trying. forsay how we make sure we get it in all those stores where these distributors are also targeting minority-owned businesses, yeah, well, you know what you think about it with the George Floyd case, you know, we're standing up and protesting. and we march and you know, guys, we're in Minnesota, so you know we come from here and we have a house there and it's like we're protesting that, but now what I told you, I mean, what do you think is the most important?

It's economic empowerment right we don't know we don't have a plan what we're asking for and now it's time to demand that if we're going to change that narrative so that we can help our communities and our cultures, we have to stand up, you know, because everyone has to stand up. his Black Lives Matter jersey and you even see in the NBA we look at Lebron. look at kd you look at kyrie irving and they talked about giving money back to hbcus we need to start holding them accountable like we just started retaining no lebron but we say in the NBA you know maybe they need to start. go in there and yell at these people saying look well, where are you putting that money? because what I told Hersey is the only difference with the state of Tennessee.

They know they don't have the giant grand trines that other major universities have. Hershey, coming there, you're going to have a great time in the league this way, you're going to get to know these companies in the community, these games are sold out, people are calling from all over the world to come, but we need to make sure we put that they invest back into the areas, but they don't have to start with making sure that the small businesses in the community we support them and this is all community driven, but you know, a lot of these companies say they are giving money, but we have to find out where they are giving that money too, that's right and when they talk about business like you guys have done, I mean you guys on the radio, you guys on social media, social media is changing the game, so we just have to try harder on social media. social to make sure they get our products and I think you know all these companies that say they want diversity, they say they are giving back and helping small businesses, let's start holding them accountable and saying okay.

Well, put us in your stores, put us in Walmart, put us in Target, put us in Kroger, you know, and I think that's the narrative and that's what I like about the lists, it's like they're actually doing something about it. I have a meeting with them this weekend and I had that meeting thanks to Greg from Wheat, he acts good and you know, I have those things in there, yeah, exactly, so he walked in there and then he called me and said, look, he said. him about your press juices and he set it up and now I'm going to investigate it, so we have to do the same thing with Walmart and Target, we have to use our resources.

I think our problem is that we don't understand what resources are. That's how I can survive 25 years in business by maintaining good relationships and resources and I think that's what people don't know, you know, it's about education, even with my kids I said, "Okay, what is economics?" ?" Uh, it's a study of how society uses limited resources, yeah, what is investment? uh, allocating current money or financial resources to achieve big profits in the future, that's what I'm talking about. My whole issue is that we should send our kids to college. instead of prison, you know, when I was 18 and 15, we didn't think like that, so my thing is if I want to be a generation, well, because it's not what I have, all this is temporary, I don't care at all. money we don't live for money but if we could leave a mark on this planet so that when they look at us, oh yes, the masterpiece started a difficult life, it started on the streets, but look at my children, they won't have to.

Go through what I went through, but I will still teach you to work hard. You are a generational curse breaker. Pete, yeah, yeah, you know what it's about and that's what it's about so people don't get mad at me if they lock me up, but don't have anything in the corner that you want to hang on a calendar you'll never have anything now if I could tell you your future. through your friends I tell people all that time show me your friends and I'll show you your future and I think our culture doesn't understand that so if you're sitting around angry, you're angry and you're talking about something, no I care about what I did 20 years ago Charlemagne that's right I'm focused on that now how to grow how to improve how how to give my children a better life you know I'm not crying about it oh well this person didn't do this for me uh man once time passes you have to keep moving because time don't wait for anyone like I told you, everyone has 24 hours if you're in a club partying or resting you're not going to get anything, don't be mad at me because I'm shining 25 years later and I'm not even making money without music, I'm doing something totally different and I never tell you anything about myself.

I never hated anyone else. I always celebrated it with Puffy, uh, Jay-z, whoever was successful, I celebrated it because I know my Time will come if I keep working, I mean, when we started with the chips, James Lindsay and I, it's like you know what we're going for to go out and do something great. You already know me. James and I talk about it all the time and no one believes, but me selling them now, that's why you'll see me on a lot of these bags, because if you're not promoting this like you're promoting all the mother brands, we don't need yours, that's right.

They really have them in the bodegas like I go to the bodega, it's actually in my corner at the store, yeah, now p, you had a lot of artists, right? Yeah, and people were talking about Black Rob recently and saying Diddy should help and she should help. be doing this um and we should start a union. I feel like the industry should be like the NFL or the NBA when you get into that league, when you get into that place they have a guy that shows you what to do with your money and how to invest it what you should do you feel like the industry should do what same because you know you find someone in the neighborhood that has never had anything, you give them two hundred thousand dollars and they don't I don't know what to do, they don't know how to do it, yeah, so let me tell you that we need a union and I said it a long time ago.

I think the problem is that we don't take responsibility. Oh no, when I went to visit people in prison, I asked the room and I said why a lot of these guys here say that 90 of the people here are because of drugs and drugs are killing our people and we don't responsible, so we like Blame it all, but what about the big record companies? You know, you point to deities and all that, but what about Jimmy Ivenes and all these guys you don't talk about? I've never seen anyone. They didn't say anything, they, the ones who got the money, thought about it.

He was the middleman for these big corporations that he made a good living out of, but I never saw anyone angry or frustrated because those guys should be helping those guys make billions of dollars? dollars, then he could have made millions, but he's still the middleman at the front door, so I'm disappointed that in our culture, no one ever knows you, you get angry and upset with these guys, but diddy, we had to do it. Think about this and Black Rob I love him man and dmx all these guys and these guys have amazing talent but that's what they want to do to win they signed up to be talent and when that talent ends that's why that I'm doing it.

This with my children, not only do you have talent, you spend your money because you sign up for something, it's like a deal, you sign that deal, like when I sign that deal with them, big companies, they don't care if I lose everything and it comes back to the neighborhood, that's true but no one is going to say anything about it but if I hire the artist and then now they don't make it and they do poorly you'll look oh that's your fault no you don't understand the process a lot of these guys become Greedy and want to do their own thing.

I let a lot of guys go. I never said you had to stay with me. I'll break your leg or something. I'm not like any man. You don't want to be with me It's like a relationship goes on with your life I let them go Most of those guys left me and you can ask anyone who signed the deal with me I never kept them I never asked them for anything They made other deals to this day snoop went ahead and did what he had to do, we got a great relationship, some of the guys didn't do what they had to do, they got angry and upset, you can't be mad or sadder.

Someone, how long do you think a musical career lasts? You know what I am saying? Michael Jackson got to the top and fell before he died, so when he died things went back up, it's like DMX music went up four and a half which makes it pointless, so a lot of these Guys sitting around angry and upset can't blame diddy or jay-z because they're all going to die, that's what they need to realize, so stop thinking about that part and if you get a hit song, you gotta go to the a r, go get a job, go get a job, don't think that if I only thought I could be master peter, the ice cream man or musical things forever, time passes by my children, my 25 year old album, my children are not even that age so it's a long time you have to figure out something else and I think we just have to trust in fate and God to manage and use this like even young artists right now because they are dying young between 19 and 20 years.

You better start thinking about something else and how to last and survive, and I think that's what we're not doing because I keep going back to their education and I stop burning my finger, so when someone goes to jail, this is what I do. In this I want to tell everyone that we don't talk about what they said, if someone goes to jail we always say release someone, what about the family that lost their lives or their son that was killed during this incident or whatever be? We have to start looking at that, we have to start saying, okay, every story has two sides, that's right, you know, and you know the negativity that we're dealing with right now, we have to change that and we're positive because even right now.

I mean, we're dealing with so much police brutality and it's crazy, but at the same time look at the numbers. I looked at what happened in Philadelphia, where how many of us get killed is a lot more than that, but we don't do it. I don't want to talk about it because it's not good to talk about it, but what I'm saying is how are we going to educate ourselves, how are we going to educate our children, for me, getting my children out on the streets saying, you know, don't think simply. You have rights, your right is to get home, parents, we have to teach that to our children, you know, because now we think we're okay, so we're ready to show up when the police stop us.

I'm not going to teach that to my children. the right one if you go to jail I can get you out I want to take you home and we can work it out so those are the rights that I hope this generation gets and I hope the same thing that my dad said a retired police officer and one thing he says you can't win on the streets, yeah you can't win, he said you go to jail, I can take you home weekly right after, but if you die, you know, don't do anything with it. you know what you know what we're ashamed of the truth we don't want to hear the truth and that's one thing from the days when older people told you the truth I'm going to tell you the truth and I think now Even artists, someone gets caught up in something that we don't want to deal with the truth, even if someone died, so that's part of the truth, because I mean, we've seen people comply with police officers and still end up dead, yeah, you know what?

I'm saying yes, we have seen people handcuffed on the ground instead of men. I'm saying they have no right to kill us. That's how it is. They have no right to kill us. I am saying. that part, but I'm just saying we have to know when we walk out that door what we're dealing with, we have to talk, that's what I'm saying, we absolutely have direct goals, so you know, think about it, that's why we change and we grow. that's what I've done in my life, I'm not perfect, but what I'm saying is that yes, I come from a hard life, the police haven't thrown me to the ground and all that, and at some point I'm happy. to the police, think about it because if someone gets shot, someone gets killed, where are the police, they're crying, you cry for the police, so you know and then I just think I don't look at it.

As a police officer I look at the good people and the bad people and everything we do we have to lock up the bad people, we have to celebrate the good people that's how I see it and I'm tired of them killing us, I'm tired of us marching and I say we have to come up with some kind of plan and do something mm-hmm, that's what it's about and that's what I'm doing. I'm starting with my family saying: let me educate my children. so that they can have the opportunity to live a better life and maybe they can make a difference. just what she's doing right now, you know, saying no, I didn't get to this level as a talent, but now I can go to hbcu and change it for all of them and that's a blessing.

Were you tempted by any other offices at other schools? Are you 100 like going to an hbcu? You know, I already said all the offers.ghetto fighting, that is. right, you know, because think about it, my life has been like that with ups and downs, like when you make money, sometimes you have a lot of money, then as an entrepreneur everything goes down, you have to find out, that's how it is, so people were waiting for my downfall . but I'm like instant grits, just add this l.a big water and I'll recover. You know what I'm saying, so don't be afraid to feel, don't be afraid to recover, no.

You know, take these failures like even with my kids, you know what made them difficult, just like you said, man, they don't even mention my name, no one knows who I am. I'm going to the gym and I'm going to work harder. I'm going to get it. I better get smarter as a man as I grow, I don't need to be the same person I was 25 years ago, that's right, so there's no growth and I think that's where we need to be. Don't be mad at me because I have success, I could be in jail or dead like a lot of my friends, it's a church, you have your church, so you made that bad lie, don't look at me like it's My fault I just want to be better, that's right, I want I can give and help people who need it, but I won't give to ungrateful people who think you owe them something.

I think that's what any artist looking at this or any athlete, a movie star, whatever, you don't owe people anything but love, they say that in the Bible and you can't keep trying to be God, Romeo and I talk about it all the time, even Romeo Man. Romeo was successful and I love that he humbled himself and put God first and that's why he keeps going and keeps getting better. I mean Romeo and business. This is a family business. All we have, you know, is that Romeo or I make it up or the guys and we work together as a family and I like that Romeo just relaxes like he doesn't care what anyone thinks of him or whatever he does the right thing. because it's easy to do the wrong thing, it's easy to pick up a gun, kill someone and The place you think you're going is over, you're going to prison and I just look at a lot of these artists.

I'm going to tell you who my favorite artist is right now. He's crazy, if you look at him from a young age. uh to dirk, although I like all those guys, but one that really stands out for me is uh polo g oh yeah, I'll tell you why I think polo g if he had proper management, if he was with me, he would be the biggest. artist in the world because he was able to cross over you have the number one album in the country right now, a song, the number one song is going to come man polo g for me, be honest with you like you could feel his music like him, you could feel that he "Have a soul so you don't have to be the toughest guy in the world and I think that's what made my career mm-hmm so I think you have to have a soul even though you come from the street and He been through struggle and pain.

I think his music is attractive for that and I think I wish him the best. I think he's someone who's going to go a long way. Well, Peter, it's always a pleasure when you come, man. so much free jewelry, yeah, and Hersey and Mercy, we support you all, don't let anyone fool you, there are haters out there that don't want to see you succeed, that pissed off your dad and Romeo Here, being successful all these years, like this. Stay focused, young kings, the devil works hard, but God works harder, thank you all for joining us, yes sir, good morning.