Master P says hip-hop needs union to help struggling stars before tragedy hits

Hip-hop mogul Master P said a hip-hop union could help support struggling stars and icons of the culture. 

“DMX is an icon, and I just hate that we have to wait ‘til something happens to one of these guys, or to one of us, before everybody really starts saying how much they care and they love you,” P told TMZ in an impromptu interview. 

“I mean, we gotta figure out how to prevent that,” he continued. “The truth hurts. Drugs done killed a lot of our great ones and sent a lot of ’em to prison, and I’m praying for DMX and his family. And I hope that people start celebrating these icons while they’re alive. Imagine all the stuff we could’ve prevented for DMX to help him.”

“I feel like hip-hop need some type of union,” Master P contended. “The NBA have it. What happens when a guy fall off? After he done sold millions of records — even a female — what happens? We need that.”

Read More: Dave Chappelle says celebrities left ‘dirty notes’ for Trump administration

“Think about it,” he went on, “[In] the NBA, when they done, they go to SportsCenter, they can sit around… Where do hip-hop [retirees] go? Back to the ‘hood.” 

Master P, née Percy Miller, is the founder of No Limit Records, which, at its height, sold over 75 million records. The artist-executive also played basketball, making brief appearances with the Charlotte Hornets and Toronto Raptors. 

Read More: Matt Gaetz allegedly paid accused sex trafficker, who sent money to teen on Venmo

Since essentially leaving the music industry, P has launched several businesses. His most recent venture, a line of foods called Uncle P’s, features non-perishable items like pancake mix, instant noodles, rice and oatmeal. 

Later, in his interview with TMZ, Miller said: “My thing is, the education that we could invest into the next generation … we could prevent this … But I hope that we hold the people accountable — the people that own the big companies, that’s getting paid off of [DMX’s] music — to be able to say, ‘Let’s prevent this from [happening to] the next generation.”

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s “Dear Culture” podcast? Download our newest episodes now!
– is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku. Download theGrio.com today!

Share