The Breakfast Club Sits Down With Master P To Discuss New Orleans' Resilience, Son's Basketball Debut, C-Murder Freedom, New Products. Listen For More!
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Breakfast Club Morning, Everybody's dj en V Jess, Hilarius, Charlamagne, the Guy we are the Breakfast Club, Lauren Rosa Filing and for Jess, and we got.
A special guest in the building, the Legend Master P. Welcome back. What's going on, y'all? How you feeling, brother? Man? You know, we've been dealing with a lot in New Orleans, but we're holding on. And so for the fourteen people that lost their lives down there, were definitely praying for them and their families and the ones that got injured in this terrible tragedy terrors act that we had going on down there. Man, I got in the studio with Maya X and KLC produced a song with trombone Charlotta with Mac and Symphonique, and we made a song for the city and all the proceeds going to the families of the victim. So, and it's called New Orleans Keep holding on and we're holding on. You were front lines right away.
So for people at that, tell us how the city reacted right after, right because you know, we all know New Orleans is lively, it's fun, it's a party town. It's so much food, it's so much going on. So tell us about the atmosphere now.
I mean, you know what we're known for, second lining in the middle of the street, the food and everything, and well the parties. But I mean we was hurt. Man, We ain't never experienced nothing like that. Well, watching everybody come together and stick together and stand strong, and we got to stand up and show the world we're not scared and we're gonna bounce back. We resilient, Like just like I gave you the hoodie. Is you know that that hoodie tells it all. We resilient. Yep, We're gonna keep holding on.
Some people were upset a little bit and felt like New Orleans should have shut down a little bit longer.
What are your thoughts on that? Well, you're gonna always have opinions, man, with everything. But we got to let God leaders on this journey. And so imagine that we didn't bounce back and didn't stand up, then everybody be saying, man, while y'all holding y'all heads down. No, we got to keep going. The ones that that are alive. It's like anything else, you know, for some way in your heart, you just gotta let God just keep you moving. And that's that's what it is for us. We just keep moving like we're gonna keep moving no matter what. We also praying for the ones that lost their lives in California and the fires, the ones that lost their houses. So, I mean, y'all had something in New York. Y'all had to keep going. They had something in Chicago, had something in Vegas. I mean, you know, we're dealing with evil, but whatever they meant for evil, God gonna turn it into good. And so you know, that's the resilience with the city in New Orleans.
I guess my thing is, I'm always asking people, well, what what was the other option? Like people were upset when they saw you walking down Bourbon Street right after, and I'm like, well, what's the other option?
Like, well, what if I didn't show up exactly? Think about it. I could have stayed at my mansion and stay at home and don't do nothing. But guess what, I'm not. I'm not worrying about what somebody gotta think or say. I mean, it's about love, man. The only way we overcome the hate is with love. And we need more of us standing up doing what we got to do it, and that's why I'm able to honor these fourteen people. We got the Nola Walker fame on February sixth, and I'm the first black man with real estate on Canal Street to have a Nola Walker fame. How they had the Hollywood Walker fame. So think about it. Not only we honoring Lil Wayne and Birdman and just so many Grace Trumbone, Chardy, we got mia X, were honoring so many people. Right, we're honoring business people. But at the same time, I want to honor those fourteen people and put a plaque with them on Canal Street so we'll never will never forget them.
How do we I'm sorry this one last question? How do we stop that from happening again?
Right?
Because if you put barricades up and you block people, that kind of kills the vibe of what it was, right, So is there a way to prevent that from happening again?
Man? We just got to keep praying and doing the right thing because that could happen anywhere. I mean, the stuff that y'all had happened in New York. Like, you can't stop evil acts. Let's be honest. We got to deal with the mental illness. We've been talking about this. When you see signs of people not doing stuff right or going a different direction than like, you know, we have to do something about it. We have to talk to our people bout it. We have to sit down. So many people need to get counseled, and some of these people need to get help. So of these people need to get therapy. So I mean, even when you look at the people that's in the military, the people that are protecting us, like these are just regular people. And so you don't know when somebody gonna go left. But what we can do is you know, that's why we create all these different organizations to mental illness is real, and so we have to take note when we see these type of things.
What is Bourbon Street like today, like right now, Like what's happening there?
I mean, we had the Sugar Bowl you know game a couple of weeks later and that was sold out and people still walking down Bourbon Street. You still have business people still have to survive. You got a lot of great restaurants down Bourbon Street, and I think that's what it is. We do have a lot of flowers and crosses and stuff out there for the for the victims that lost their lives. But at the same time, I mean, we got to figure out some kind of way to come together. Now. I think putting up plaques up there to remember the ones that we lost, I think that's gonna be the right thing to do, because I think even when you keep passing by and you see that, it almost sends that you know, you kind of like keep reliving it. And so we got to get to a position. Hopefully we get to that position by the super Bowl, to where we don't have to keep reliving that and we gonna keep praying and moving on.
I was going to ask you do you think it will unpack like the business down there and like the Super Bowl, because a lot of the headlines, unfortunately to New Orleans, it focuses on how people felt like the city and like you know, the police they they failed, like there were certain things that should have been in place and stuff like that. Do you got do you think that I don't.
I don't think the police feel because the police that that uh that that that that that took the terrors out, I mean respecting because so many other people could have, you know, lost their lives. So I think we have a shortage of police. I think that even when you look at it in La we had a shortage of fire people. So I think I think the country have to come together. We have to start, you know, because none of us really care think about everybody don't like the police until you need the police. And so now I mean it's time to pay them the good ones, the ones that are doing the right thing. And I feel like we need to come together the good people. Because it's bad in everything. It's bad people in radio, it's bad people in government, it's bad people in all you know, television. So but we just have to acknowledge the good ones, same thing we do in music or whatever. Like you got bad and good in everything. So I think I want to be able to celebrate the good ones.
And also to your point earlier, you know, like taking some of those resources and putting those resources back into the community.
So people have you know, proper mental health care.
Yes, you know, yes we need that because that's the one thing that's scary. People need to know they not alone. And if you find somebody where it's a family member or whatever, we need to hold those uncomfortable conversations. And so those things are going to make a difference, especially like in our schools with our young people and our people that's constantly working, the people that's on the front line, because you never know, you could you could lose that person like that.
I want to ask people, haven't seen you in a couple of years, but you were want of the first to stand on HBCU athletics, right, yes, And I remember when when your son was going to college and you put your son into an HBCU.
People laughed, They said.
They wouldn't make it and you wouldn't get TV time now to see how things have changed. How does that look for you? What's your thoughts on that?
I mean, it looked good for me because think about it, Racism still exists, prejudicese still exists in our country, even though we're getting farther and getting better, right, but it's still places that you could go that you still have to deal with this. The great thing about the HBCUs is that this is our people, this is our culture. And that's why you know when I when I went spoke at the graduation at Gramblin and just seeing all the people and watching us evolve, being able to now go to Grambling and say we're gonna do movies over there, you know. So it's like we have more opportunities. But now we're making sure that the facilities are better than not because think about back in the day, the facilities.
That's what you said, that was that was you said, that was the biggest thing. We didn't have the facilities for the keys to we didn't.
Have the doctors, we didn't have the right training. And now you know, by making that noise, we're starting to get some of those things that shout out to Dion Sanders, I mean for stepping up and go and build his career at the HBCU. And I'm y'all might see me real soon coaching basketball. I ain't gonna you'm gonna see that'll be different.
You got the sign Jackson, that Delaware State coaching HBCU basketball team.
That'd be hard. Yeah, I mean you know what, I think, that's why we can't be afraid to grow up and be able to follow whatever. You know, Pat, go up, put you on. And so I just feel like coaching. I coached de mar de Roze and I coached Lance Stevenson. I coach I mean so many great pro athletes. Brandon Jennings and now to be able to get to a college and understand how this nil stuff work and be able to help our coach, you know, Okay, I'm sorry. Yeah, And that's what that's about for me, because it's also about preparing the next generation.
What's in the Miller jeans, Man, I see silk Son, Yeah, LSU ball and averaging seventeen and five.
Yeah, yeah, no, no, it's good man, because silk Son at LSU, my son at Houston doing this thing and they both freshmen. So you know, but I told my son, I say, education, don't rush it, you know. I mean, he had one of the top schools in the country and basketball. He averaged thirty pers in high school last year. And now he told me, said that when I get out, I want to be able to be one of the best players in the NBA. And I say, you know, I taught him that hard work to where this kid was three years old. I went to Target and brought the little plastic hoop and uh, he just loved a game, Like how Steph Curry loved the game? Wow? Is it a blueprint?
Like do y'all say, look, if you do this, this and this, Yeah, y'all gonna y'all gonna get the way y'all need to be.
Yeah, because think about it, right, so when you successful, you could give your kids everything and then they have that entitlement thing. But you know with my kids, they know that I didn't get his kid a car till you got in college. And so now he's on that path to bill character. He put God first and he just want to He want to win, he want to be great, and so I just thank y'all. Even with Black History Month, now I love what you said about the HBCU, but even in hip hop, we don't have that. Like we're doing the first hip Hop Black History Concert at the NJ Pack Center in Jersey on February twenty eight, So you can get your tickets now, go to ticket Masters or go to masterpeek concert dot com. But this is all about educating our culture, educating our people, and we're gonna turn up. I'm Drew Hill to be there the Locks and Masterpiece. So this is gonna be attire. It says camouflage, camerauflie, where your cameouflies? You know what I'm saying. So we won't represent I.
Want to ask you about mail or LaToya Cantrell. How important is it to have a black mayor in times like this?
Man, it's so important in it and she gets so much flak because she done been through it all. She just but I love that, you know, they made me the ambassador of entertainment for the city in New Orleans, and to have a black mayor. I support her because this woman had been through it all, but she loved the city of New Orleans. And matter of fact, I'm celebrating her. She's the first female mayor for New Orleans and we'll be able to celebrate her February sixth two. We're putting her black on Canal Street also.
And you were very vocal that, you know, thinking that Lil Wayne should have been at the super Bowl, and you still believe that he is that.
You know what that's over with now. It's like, I don't even want to go back. But you know, Lil Wayne is one of the greatest rappers alive. And we got so many other grapes and I think during essence, I want to celebrate juvenile Miss t I want to celebrate Chilk, I want to celebrate KLC Man in fresh So I mean.
I feel like Mia don't get the credits you deserve.
Man, Mia, we celebrate mill so big that you know, she's the queen of us South when you talk about music. She can open the doors for so many women. I talked to Roxanne Shot and Tatter the other day and hun and Mia is tightened. You know. Mia is just a real trailblazer. And she don't have to get the flowers. I tell you all the time. We're gonna give her fertilizer, because fertilizer growth.
I was at the Highboys dr Yeah, and then you came out on stage and gave and you told him about the start that he's gonna get on Canal Street and stuff like that. Like seeing you come out on the stage knowing y'all history for me And I'm not even from New Orleans, but I was standing with people that were and they were like literally in tears just to see you guys on Like, I mean, it's been years but the same accord and like it's just all positivity. When you got the phone call that that reunion was happening, how did you how did you react to that? And then what was the decision to honor him on that stage?
I mean he's the greatest rapper live and he's from New Orleans, so like people don't realize, like we all live right up the street from me, so people don't really understand the history of nor But you just think, and I think that's what we got to stop creating these beeps and creating all this negativity, you know, while we I just drove down Fifth Ab and see all these stores y'all have out here. They're all selling the same thing. I'm happy for them. I mean, I'm honoring Baby and Slim on Connell Street too. So it's a lot of love and outsiting. People don't realize that even you know, y'all don't see us together all the time, and we grew up, you know, with different expectations. I mean, we still root for each other. So we've been rooting for them ever since we started. They've probably been rooting for us. That's just a New Orleans thing. That's just that's like with me and my brothers. We'll get into it next week we catch one of y'all that we're gonna be fighting together, you know what I'm saying, Like that's just how it is.
I know, everything happens the way God wanted to happen, But you feel like there was missed opportunity back in the day for cash money and no limit not to do more together.
Now because I feel now that we are grown. You know, everybody been on their own journey, and I think if we wouldn't have been on our own journey, it wouldn't be as big as it is now for both of us. I mean, we sold one hundred million records and they sold so many records too, So I mean they got a lot of talent. Look at BG then got out, you know, hopefully my brother see get out, mystical get out. I mean we're gonna celebrate soldiers Slim on Canal Street for essence. So yeah, and so you know, I mean we have so much great talent down and that I mean just mentioning getting the studio with trombone Charlotte. He's he's one of the greats.
Now, how is he murdered doing it? You should possibly getting out? Is there is there some light to the case, you.
Know what I mean? We just got to keep praying he been in that long time and hopefully he get his day to be able to get back and get the function and doing what he needs to do. But we just keep praying as a family. So that's why I tell people, you know, love your loved ones when they walk out that dough because you never know when they're gonna come back. And that we experiencing this now in real time. It feels like.
There's always somebody attaching themselves to his kids. It's like every year I get a call about, hey man, it's such and such with Steve Murdy and want Steve Murder to call in.
I'm like, if I ain't hearing it from p somebody, you know.
And I think that's the problem, right because everybody wants to try to get some shine off people instead of just you know what, let God do what you gotta do. And I feel like, you know, my brother is gonna be able to touch down and see the light and get back with his family. But we just got to keep praying.
How are y'all? Because I know, like a few years back there was like the back and for what you are see murder in my I just.
Told you this, my family. I would go to the wall for my brother. I don't even play behind that. We don't even have to get into that. Like we family, you got brothers and sisters. If you do, you know, all that stuff you that don't mean nothing. You know, my son, I'm going to the wall behind mine. I'm just letting you know. So all that stuff y'all see, don't believe none of that stuff y'all see on the internet. And I done change my life. But I will go in that water behind my family as you should.
I was gonna ask you know, I hate to use the word regret, but the one thing about your family, Pee, is you showed us everything right, Yeah, showed us the good, the bad, the ugly, and a lot of times when black families weren't showing the positive side. And what you did for your kids, you regret it at all because it's like you show the good, but then it also comes with the bad, you know what.
But that's life and we gotta we just gotta change with the times. I mean, think about it right now, everybody, Afred a AI, I'm not because you either gonna have to figure out how to work with it. If we're gonna be successful. We building family brands now, and so what's good. We don't have to sit back and be Afred to say we're not a perfect family. You know, nobody has a perfect family because y'all all of them been through something, even everybody here on this should have been through something like, Man, is y'all serious? But we got to stop listening to clickbait, you know, these headlines to say they're never gonna tell you the truth. Right. So my thing is long as you know the truth and you know and you know God, then you'll be good. Because my thing is now, I'm about kingdom building. I'm about doing the right thing and about being a serving for our people and educating our people. I mean, we're losing so many young people. I had a Nipsey hustle in eighth grade in my program. So my program been around for over twenty five years. He was in my program in eighth grade, and I told you guys this, right, he was trying to figure out how to sell records. He got up too, like two hundred thousand. When he died, all his records went triple platinum, the same songs. It ain't like nobody changed none of this stuff. But I'm just saying, we got to be here for each other while we're here. Let's not be great when it's too late, you know. And so we all can create our own products and brands. I tell people now, it's like I created mill of family foods because when you look at Kellogg's, when you look at Gucci, Fasachi and all this, all these are family brands. How come we can't do it right? And so it's time for us to change.
You think we hate all you said. Nipsey was in your program in eighth grade. I know you've respected you how he was when he said, no.
Limited, no limited to West Nigga person middling the pleasure.
Now, Langstone, we created a program called Urban Bond that was in California. So my kids now, even though you see them now they're in college doing what they're doing, but there was playing for cal Supreme that was right in that neighborhood. So my kids always played in the hood. They played in my programs, They played with Oakland, So you know, so I got my start in the Bay. So, I mean, I've been around California, I've been been around New Orleans. So we helped in the city kids. That's in some of the worst environments.
I was gonna ask you, you feel like a lot of times we hate on each other. The reason I asked that, right is something happened with your son a couple of a month ago.
Right all over the blogs, charges were dropped. I seen it on one block, you know what I mean.
The thing about it bother you because you're like, damn, give give me before give it.
Back to me. To be honest with you, I don't worry about that. You let God fight your battles. And they say whatever they they meant for evil, God to turn it into good. Right, But everybody, no, guess what if that was real? My son wouldn't have been able to keep playing back to school. He couldn't go back to school. So they they made a headline, right, so you can't steal something that's out by the trash can for a month and a half in the snow, in the rain. This was some old things with these kids. They pick up you know, you go to college. They pick up chairs that be out there by the dumps. They pick up all this stuff and then they put a price tag on it, say fifteen hundred dollars something that was worth one hundred dollars. Right that they given no way that they let the kids come take you. Everybody been to college my son for him? Would my son drive a two hundred thousand dollars car. He got a multi million dollars I'm glad it happened because that let me know that we still live in a broken world. But if it didn't happen with my son being involved, y'all would have never knew. Then you would have really been looking at these other kids like they did something. And if that, I be honest, if that's the only thing my son ever did, I'll be a happy proud dad. Just be honest. That don't even make no sense. But I told my son, I say, you a business man, what you want to do? He say, we know what that they called me hercules were about to start making some hercules refrigerator. That's what we're gonna do. We're about to make some Hercules refrigerators now and then we're be able to give them to the kids in the hbcuit. But that's what happened. Right, my son is in a school where it's not as many us there that's in Utah and so, but they wasn't after my son. They was after the coach. They have a black coach. And because think about it, imagine all the stuff that happened. I have seen a kid get killed let these schools play basketball. They getting all kinds of stuff. They don't half of this stuff, the crazy stuff that I have seen. They don't even report the coaches that going. Man, hold up, don't y'all come over here for my school? The campus police should have ran over there and did that, like, don't you think? And then ain't they ain't even mentioned none of the other people name just mentioned Masterpiece Son.
Wait, it didn't start with campus police. It went straight to the police outside of it.
Yeah, so that's how we're normal. But that's how we knew they was after the coach. So it was targeting. Basically, it was targeting.
Because anytime something happens on campus, campus police shows up first.
Us. Actually, but that's why Black History money is so important that we should have that more than just February. And we need to educate our kids and our culture because we got to know that even though Martin Luther King lost his life for us, we still got a long way to go. And that's why I say the way we do it, we got to bridge the wealth gap. And that's why telling our people this, go out here and create these products, create these brands, create our own stuff. And so it's gonna be to bed, Like you say, they never mentioned that even even a thing when y'all see the news. Is the crazy thing about it that happened two months ago and they put it out two months later, which was crazy to me. That was what him had lines. I saw it.
I'm like, but I think it's just the fact that he has to deal with that. But again, the way that you raise your kids, because they've.
Been in there. You didn't see my son say nothing about it. I love him because he humbled, but he's successful, he's he's he's a man of God, and now he got so many great things, so many great opportunities. Uh, we have so many big brands that we are dealing with, and and and and people see this. So I think some of the time you gotta let God fight some of them battle, especially when you know it's not real.
Do you deal with uh, like parental I mean your parent we all parents, you deal with like parental paranoia. Having sons that are a certain age, they're in the light, they're doing good. And you know what type of world we're in, bro.
I'm just telling y'all, right, God do things for reasons, right. I could have got another phone call. That's true, And I'm like, I'm blessed. I think God, I'm blessed, and I'm happy. And I'm gonna keep doing the right thing, and I'm gonna keep being the best fault that I could be. I'm not perfect, and I'm gonna keep loving my kids and we're gonna keep growing as a family.
There.
Whatever happened with the lawsuit with Walmart over the snoopers.
Man, think about it, right, even that Walmart put a big old thing. Is this supposed to be Black History Month? They not even worried about diversity no more. It's that easy. You know what I'm saying. Nobody's talking about it, nobody's saying nothing in this light. But you know, I'm doing what I gotta do. I'm stand up for my people.
And you guys have been crump on the case. What you're right?
Yeah, you got that in front of you. What's that? Man? Look? Got to make them saying unselfish, I'm just letting y'all a hustle. You make them say, that's the only drinking the world that makes that's only drinking that world liquor in ith in it, that making s It's only five percent. It's only five percent. No, I'm telling you it's only five percent. That's the legal amount.
Okay, that's it.
She looks like I know, but you know what, people are not drinking alcohol. No more people are not drinking beer. We we were the first at the table in the game doing what we gotta do. And y'all see that's that make them say this is it's a whole it's a game change, absolutely, and that's what I'm saying. Were able to create our own brands, and that's what we're doing, and that's gonna say that's you could you could get this go to make them say M A K E E M S A y U h H dot com. You know how many products you got? I got, I got so many.
Still we still got the over there then you had when I was you had and we tried those and it was good. Yes, okay, we're okay, Yeah, you got a lot of stuff.
See that. But guess what why we can't. I just said, I'm walking down the street seeing all these stores and y'all gonna go in there, each one of them stores y'all want to go into, right, how come we can't do it?
I was just sitting here thinking like why if because I'd be buying Roman like once a just keep it in the house. Why don't I? I literally just thought that's what I was thinking of. When I stopped talking, I'm like, why don't I just buy his news?
Yes, well, we got to support each other. So think about we spend trillions of dollars as black people, but we we're consumers, that's right, and we buy other people products. And that's what we was talking about, right, those companies that I talked about, from Gucci to Facade, the catalogs, those are family last names. And how come we can't do it?
That's absolutely how's your family in California with the fires and stuff? Is everybody good?
Yeah? We hanging out. It came close, so I know that it's like twenty eight percent contained now in Palace days, So we was we was almost evacuated, saying that if that the winds keep blowing, you know, it hit hit and heels so and then Calabasas would be next. So we just we keep praying and hopefully hopefully it is over soon.
Yeah.
Absolutely, Well, don't forget.
P's gonna be out at February twenty eighth, proceeds to support Team Hope. Team Hope Foundation dot org if you want to go. Camouflage is the attire of February twenty eighth, Drew Hill The Locks, Master P and Friends is a benefit concert and that's going down at the Njpack.
We appreciate you.
Go to Teamhope Foundation dot org to donate if you want to help it to get back.
And then I want to I want to give a shout out to our restaurant that's down in California, Fishbone. We're the first black owned friend ties seafood and and what what what they're doing there bringing food out there to the to the people on the front line and and and shout out to Fishbone with definitely making a difference and on the front line feeding out people. Absolutely all right, Well, there you have it. It's Master P. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning. Wake that ass up in the morning. Breakfast Club.