Information AboutMaster P |
Percy Robert Miller (born April 29 , 1967 in New Orleans, Louisiana ), better known as '''Master P''' is an entrepreneur, businessman, marketer, and Rap artist. He is the founder and CEO of No Limit Enterprises, an entertainment and financial Conglomerate .'' Fortune '' magazine listed Master P as one of the wealthiest men under the age of 40 in North America, with a net worth of $361 million in 1999 . BIOGRAPHY Born Percy Robert Miller in New Orleans , in 1967, the oldest of five children, Master P grew up in a housing project then called the Calliope Apartments in New Orleans Third Ward . When interviewed by NBC, Master P stated that he had to sell marijuana and crack cocaine in the projects. Though he shuttled back and forth between New Orleans and California, the teenaged Percy settled in New Orleans, attended Booker T. Washington and Warren Easton high schools, and played basketball at both schools. Master P also attended Richmond High School in Richmond, California . After the death of his brother, Kevin, and with some junior college business courses to his credit, Master P moved to Richmond, California and opened a small record store, No Limit Records, financing the store with $10,000 that he received as part of a medical malpractice settlement related to the death of his grandfather."Diamond in the Rough". Roy S. Johnson. September 27, 1999. ''FORTUNE'' Magazine We've got the "hook-up" with Master P After working in music industry as a retailer, Master P became an entertainer, as well as owning his own record company. No Limit Records, the retail store, became No Limit, the record company. In 1994, he self-produced his first album, ''The Ghetto's Tryin' to Kill Me'', and sold it out of the trunk of his car in neighborhoods in and around Oakland and also in New Orleans. After selling records, he decided to sign his company, Penisweeat, to a straight pressing and distribution deal with Priority Records. "In order for me to stay true to myself and my company, I had to maintain complete creative control," says P. When the deal was solidified with Priority in 1995, No Limit Records released TRU (made up of Master P and his brothers, Silkk The Shocker and C-Murder ). In early 1997 Master P released TRU's latest project, "TRU 2 DA Game", which debuted at number two on the R&B chart, number one on the Rap chart and number eight on the Top 200. Within one week of its release, "TRU 2 DA Game' was RIAA certified Gold and is now double Platinum. His first feature film, 'I'm Bout It', a straight to video project that he financed, wrote, directed and produced, and acted in, debuted number one on Billboard's Top Music Video chart http://www.hiponline.com/artist/music/m/master_p/ and has attained a multi-platinum selling status. The film is allegedly based loosely on his life growing up in New Orleans. The soundtrack, also a platinum seller, made history. According to Billboard magazine, 'never before had a soundtrack charted unless it was accompanied by a theatrical film release.' The soundtrack debuted number one on Billboard's R&B album chart and number four on Billboard's Top 200 http://www.hiponline.com/artist/music/m/master_p/ . PERSONAL LIFE Master P is married to Sonya C. Miller with seven children including Lil Romeo and Young V . Legal woes In 2003 , Master P was arrested in New Jersey for carrying hollow-point bullets, which are illegal in that state. He had presented his legally registered firearm to Transportation safety officials, but after the discovery of the illegal ammunition, he was detained. He was later released on his own recognizance, with a scheduled court appearance in June 2003. Master P Arrested For Carrying 'Cop-Killers' Master P and his brother Silkk the Shocker (real name Vyshonne Miller) were arrested in Los Angeles on the University Of California, Los Angeles campus on January 27 , 2005 , after police found two handguns in the car. They were ordered to stand trial on February 27, 2006, and face a maximum sentence of 3 years if convicted. Master P, Silkk The Shocker Arrested On Gun Charges BUSINESSMAN AND ENTREPRENEUR As founder and CEO of No Limit Entertainment, Miller at one time presided over a business empire that included No Limit Records Bout It Inc., No Limit Clothing, No Limit Films, No Limit Sports Management, PM. Properties and Advantage Travel. Master P ranked 10th on Forbes magazine's 1998 list of America's 40 highest paid entertainers with an estimated income of $56.5 million. We've got the "hook-up" with Master P By 1999 Master P built an empire worth $361 million in four years according to ''Fortune'' magazine, a feat which has never been matched in hip hop history. At one time, the estimated worth of his business dealings reached $661 million. Hip-hop's Down Beat Entrepeneurship Master P was one of the first rappers to build a financial empire by investing in a wide range of business ventures. Master P invested the millions of dollars he made from No Limit Records into real estate, films, toys, a phone sex company, clothing, telecommunications, book & magazine publishing, car rims, fast food franchises, gas stations, sports management and many other ventures. No Limit Communications, a joint venture with marketing gurus, Djuan Edgerton and Rickey Spearman, was a surprising success. No Limit Enterprises quickly became a financial powerhouse. According to Black Enterprise magazine No Limit Enterprises grossed $110 million in revenue in 1998 alone. Rapper Master P began his rap career in 1991 in Richmond California when he released 'Get Away Clean' on In-A-Minute records. Master P later formed hard-core rap group TRU with his two brothers Silkk The Shocker and C-Murder . Master P left In-A-Minute records shortly after releasing his debut album and formed his own label No Limit Records . With Master P as its premier artist, No Limit Records went on to release many albums from artists such as Snoop Dogg , Mystikal , Mia X , Mercedes , Soulja Slim , and Miller's siblings Silkk Tha Shocker and C-Murder and Lil Romeo .In 2004, Master P's No Limit Records filed for bankruptcy. He started a new label The New No Limit Records , but released far fewer records than his previous label. In 2005, Master P started a new label called Guttar Music Entertainment . Actor and film producer Master P is also an actor and film producer, appearing in both movies and television. He has made guest appearances on '''', in 2006, written by his personal staff writers Britt O. Wynn and Banio Koroma Jr. In 2007 he starred in the ultra low budget, straight to DVD comedy Black Supaman with Tony Cox . Basketball player He had a contract with (CBA) for Fort Wayne Fury . Author In 2006, Miller announced the production of a book, titled "Guaranteed Success". The book is designed to "educate those interested in benefiting from the power of Hip-Hop from a financial stand point." Master P & His 'Guaranteed Success' The book is scheduled for a September 2007 publication date, under the banner of Kensington Publishing Corporation. No Limit Sports Miller established a sports talent agency organization under the title No Limit Sports. The most lauded No Limit Sports client was Ricky Williams , who was represented by Leland Hardy during his negotiations with the New Orleans Saints. Hardy negotiated the contract for Williams, which was largely incentive-laden in exchange for an $8M-plus signing bonus with salary incentives worth a range of $11 million to $68 million should he hit all of his incentives, with most of them requiring higher than top-level production to attain. In March of 2000, after failing to qualify for many of his incentives, as well as having an injury-prone season and lack of performance, Ricky Williams ended his relationship with No Limit Sports. Williams Quits No Limit Sports No Limit Sports also represented NBA players Ron Mercer and Ricky Davis in their dealing with the Denver Nuggets and the Charlotte Hornets. In January 2000, both players severed their ties with Master P and No Limit Sports citing Miller's aims at playing professional ball, as well as the disastrous contract No Limit Sports had negotiated for Ricky Williams. Rap Star Losing Sports Clients Within six months of the departure of Williams and the basketball players, No Limit Sports had no clients and closed its doors. A Limit On No Limit Miller was sued by Bank One for over $700,000 owed on a line of credit indirectly related to the failure of the sports venture as well as lackluster album sales. Video Games According to Allhiphop.com, Master P and Seth Green are producing a video game entitled '' Play The Industry ''. The game has an anticipated 2009 release date. ACCOMPLISHMENTS
DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Master P discography Solo albums
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