0
0
Rap legend Master P has seen the world. His lifetime of careers, from founding and running No Limit Records to stints in the NBA and numerous entrepreneurial ventures, has afforded him the opportunity to be a globetrotter. However, to him, nothing beats the streets of New Orleans.
“I was 8 years old,” Master P recalled of his first time participating in a “second line” with Forbes in a digital interview.
He reminisced about the excitement he felt partaking in his first traditional NOLA street parade. “They had a second line on Martin Luther King and I was so excited. To see people out there dancing in the streets, having fun and jumping on cars… everybody was happy. Those are the parts that make me proud to be from New Orleans.”
Born Percy Miller, Master P was raised by his grandmother and grandfather in the B.W. Cooper Public Housing Development, famously known as the Calliope Projects.The housing projects stretched across 56 acres and 24 city blocks in New Orleans’ 3rd Ward. Within the iron gates, Friday night card parties and fish fries set to the soundtrack of jazz and R&B music cultivated a sense of community and resilience.
Growing up with music as a staple in his household inspired Miller to enter the music industry as a promoter curating performances for local acts. It wasn’t until a Halloween concert at the now-demolished Riverboat Hallelujah Auditorium that the then-19-year-old Miller grabbed the mic for himself.
“The people who were supposed to perform didn’t show up. I ended up getting up there and just saying some stuff. People were like, ‘Man, that’s dope,’ and I was just on the mic talking. But it showed me that I had something and people were paying attention,” he said.
He began making his rounds around the city as a performer, even hitting the stage at the infamous Club Rumors, a prominent hip-hop venue in the city’s 9th Ward from the late 1980s to the late 1990s.
His early efforts both on and off the mic laid the foundation for what would become No Limit Records.
With artists on the label representing several areas across the city, Miller was intentional about showing the world the true essence of New Orleans.
“You had to be from the East Coast or the West Coast to be successful in the music business and our music was just different,” Miller said.
He added that his label of over 10 artists was pivotal in changing the “mindset” of what people thought about Southern hip-hop.
“No Limit brought resources and money to hip-hop. When MTV came to see my crib and saw that we weren’t riding horses and cattle, we had Rolls-Royces; we have mansions… and we did it off of hard work. We had all these different people and all these different personalities. But we had one mission. We were going to change and get better. That was what No Limit was and that’s what we stood on.”
In February 2025, Miller cemented his affection for the city and the creatives who made it special with the unveiling of the New Orleans Walk of Fame.
Along Canal Street, the embedded plaques recognize the city’s cultural icons and trailblazers.
We’re telling these stories, we’re painting this picture for the next generation to walk by and say, ‘Those guys come from nothing. I can get a fleur-de-lis on Canal Street. I could be like Lil Wayne. I could be like Todd Graves with a multi-billion-dollar company or Tom Benson and own a football franchise.’ We wanted to celebrate these people who came right here from New Orleans so these kids could actually dream and dream big,” Miller expressed of the sentimental project.
For over 30 years, Miller has been at the helm of taking fans on sonic tours of The Big Easy. In the role of the General of the “No Limit Soldiers,” he consciously introduced people to the glamour and grit of the city that raised him.
On Sunday, July 6, Miller will take the stage at the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture in the Caesars Superdome. In his signature army fatigues, Miller will give what he is calling his final performance.
“This is not a concert. This is a celebration,” Miller says of the planned extravaganza. “This show is going to take you on the journey of my life as Master P, this is where it all started.”
Before he lays his “soulja rag” down as a performer, Miller has curated a personal guide to New Orleans that highlights the best of the city for tourists and natives alike.
Story Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/martiebowser/2025/07/05/from-calliope-to-courtside-master-ps-ultimate-guide-to-new-orleans/
*Photos added for context from TRUTANKSOLDIERS archives!
Comments
