By Tai Saint Louis
After close to fifteen years in the game, rapper Master P has decided to officially abandon the name under which he attained success.
With over 75 million records sold worldwide, the five-time Grammy Award winner will now go by P. Miller in an effort to expand on his equally impressive achievements as a businessman.
“I’m changing my name because Master P is who I used to be,” the No Limit Entertainment CEO explains. “I call it my childhood, and P. Miller marks my manhood. There’s a lot of people out there who are afraid to grow up and change, but I’m not and P. Miller is the evolution of me, Percy Miller, the entrepreneur, the businessman.”
With a net worth valued at an estimated $500 million, Miller has achieved quite a bit of mainstream attention in recent years, most notably since appearing before the United States Congress in 2007 to address the widely publicized criticism of Hip-Hop lyrics and culture.
Soon after, he and his son Romeo launched Take A Stand Records as a profanity-free record label.
In July, Miller made history by inking a deal with retail giant Wal-Mart to distribute his affordable P. Miller Designs clothing line in stores nationwide, thus becoming the discount chain’s first African-American Hip-Hop supplier.
“I’ve branched out into so many different arenas, but all that gets overshadowed because I come from the Hip-Hop industry,” says the multi-platinum artist, who’s maintained his relevance with a new generation of fans by being the driving force behind his son’s run at superstardom. “People grow mentally and spiritually through life experiences, but when you come from Hip-Hop, it’s almost impossible to get past the stereotypes associated with it.”
P Miller continues by saying, "It's important for young hip-hop artists to know that they are not limited to one career, they can educate themselves, and prepare for life after hip-hop the same way pro-athletes prepare themselves for life after sports." Miller adds, "Also, know that you can branch out into other avenues if you are multi-talented or have other dreams. My dream was to enter corporate America, my son's dream is to go to college and play basketball, and Will Smith's was to be a famous actor. Many of us can begin new careers, take advantage of different opportunities and still remain true to Hip-Hop."
Throughout his illustrious career, Miller has also used his success to support and motivate others through two charitable organizations, P. Miller Youth Centers and the P. Miller Food Foundation, and the 2007 release of Guaranteed Success, a semi-autobiographical guide to wealth building and business.
In support of the book, Miller embarked on tour with Donald Trump, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, and Rich Dad, Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki, working with The Learning Annex to teach the importance of financial literacy.