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How did No Limit
Records get its start?

2
00:00:02,236 --> 00:00:04,505
We start out the trunk
of the car.

3
00:00:09,409 --> 00:00:11,044
Greatest team ever assembled.

4
00:00:11,078 --> 00:00:13,313
Master P, Silkk the Shocker,

5
00:00:13,347 --> 00:00:14,114
C-Murder.

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Kept on adding ingredients.

7
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Mia X, Mr. Serv-On,
stirring it up.

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Beans, Mac, Soulja Slim.

9
00:00:21,655 --> 00:00:22,789
How that taste?

10
00:00:22,823 --> 00:00:24,958
This is real gumbo right here.

11
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When they get Mystikal,

12
00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:28,495
one of the greatest
free agent moves in hip-hop.

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00:00:28,529 --> 00:00:32,866
And then, here comes Snoop.
That was so big.

14
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Problem is,
he was signed with Suge.

15
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Well, he's got guns,
we've got guns, who cares?

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He used to be a CEO,
now he's just an inmate.

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00:00:39,773 --> 00:00:41,208
No Limit for life, baby.

18
00:00:46,613 --> 00:00:48,048
Our machine was rolling.

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23 albums, 16 gold or platinum.

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00:00:52,586 --> 00:00:54,555
Starting to make
hundreds of millions.

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We were building this
southern Motown.

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We got a shopping center,
real estate business.

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What's up, y'all?

24
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This is Master P,
and welcome to my crib.

25
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Sports business.

26
00:01:04,798 --> 00:01:07,043
They're gonna do some
really big things here,
and I wanna be a part of that.

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I wanted a tank.

28
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Film.

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Uhh. Uhh!

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The Charlotte Hornets suited up

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with Master P in the lineup.

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What do you wanna play
basketball for,

33
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all this money we making?

34
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You gotta realize,
everything has its climax.

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Shit got weird.

36
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There was clashing of egos.

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Man, he lost peeps
by the pound, man.

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Everybody left.
The love was gone.

39
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I don't wanna hear that shit!

40
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A dark cloud came over.

41
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Kane and Abel
indicted for cocaine...

42
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Mac indicted for
second-degree murder.

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C-Murder wanted for
attempted murder.

44
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Nothing could stop us but us.

45
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All self destruction.

46
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But wait till the smoke clear.

47
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I'ma be good.

48
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Master P is the mastermind

49
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of one of the most successful
labels in hip-hop history.

50
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Oh my God!
Master P in his Hummer!

51
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Master P, he was a game changer
for hip-hop, period.

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Master P, number-one song
in the country.

53
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Being this force
to be reckoned with,

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changing the outlook of music.

55
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Master P's deal
with Priority Records

56
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was one of the best deals
in rap history, period.

57
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This man is the reason rappers
are able to make millions.

58
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If there wasn't Master P,
a lot of the rappers

59
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you see now wouldn't be here.

60
00:03:00,222 --> 00:03:03,158
Y'all know who it is. Master P.

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00:03:03,192 --> 00:03:05,060
At one point, Russell Simmons,

62
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Suge Knight, Jermaine Dupri,
Jay-Z,

63
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they all looking up at P
like, "What the..."

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Yeah, I don't give
a... who you were.

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Sorry.

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My life was damn near lost,

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and then that's when
Master P stepped in.

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Master P taught us
the right way.

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It wasn't just about me,
it's about we.

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Without y'all,
there wouldn't even be No Limit.

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One of the great dynasties
in hip-hop.

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No Limit Records.

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That's Master P's legacy.

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To understand me,

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I think you have to understand
where I came from.

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This is New Orleans.
This is where my story started.

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There's no other place
like this.

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The greatest music.

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The greatest food.

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All these nice houses,
nothing but riches and wealth.

81
00:04:16,865 --> 00:04:20,069
But you walk over those steps,

82
00:04:20,102 --> 00:04:22,213
you back in
the Calliope Projects.

83
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You see nothing but poverty.

84
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I grew up in
the Calliope Projects.

85
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This is where my character
was built.

86
00:04:31,046 --> 00:04:33,224
When I was here as a kid,

87
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this was the murder capital
of the world.

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Calliope Projects,
they're at war.

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One of the most violent places

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00:04:39,788 --> 00:04:43,659
in one of the most violent
cities in the country.

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You see a bunch of
mansions around here?

92
00:04:45,260 --> 00:04:47,396
No. But I bet you one thing.

93
00:04:47,429 --> 00:04:51,300
Every person back here
probably own a gun.

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Calliope is the worst place
this side of hell.

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That's all you need to know.

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You might not be doing nothing
but going to the store... bop!

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And that's how it go,
man, in our hood.

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The reasons most often cited

99
00:05:00,376 --> 00:05:03,645
for the increase...
Kids, guns, and drugs.

100
00:05:03,679 --> 00:05:05,981
My first time
seeing a dead body,

101
00:05:06,015 --> 00:05:07,516
this guy was laid out
in the street,

102
00:05:07,549 --> 00:05:09,494
there was just flies around him
and nobody was like...

103
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It wasn't even like nobody was
even acknowledging he was dead.

104
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I had a best friend,
and I'm sorry,

105
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but she was murdered
at the age of seven years old.

106
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It just was bad.

107
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People know, you come from here,
you definitely seen hell.

108
00:05:26,435 --> 00:05:29,938
You made it out of here,
that says a lot about you.

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If you gonna survive back here,

110
00:05:31,740 --> 00:05:32,908
it's for real.

111
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Like, a life
ain't worth nothing.

112
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I'm like five years old,

113
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I hear these guys arguing
over a beer.

114
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I hear the shots.

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Seen the guy on the ground dead.

116
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For a five-year-old, man,
that puts you in a cold place.

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The fact that P is alive today,

118
00:06:00,369 --> 00:06:03,672
the fact that he built
an empire is a miracle.

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In April of 1967,

120
00:06:07,976 --> 00:06:10,612
Master P was born
Percy Robert Miller.

121
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Percy was the oldest,

122
00:06:13,115 --> 00:06:15,260
he had three other brothers
and a sister.

123
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My mom worked
at the Hyatt Regency,

124
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she worked in the hotel
business.

125
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You know, my dad was out there

126
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trying to keep a job
in the French Quarter.

127
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He was like the security guard
for them.

128
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When he was young,
his parents broke up.

129
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My mom and my dad separated.

130
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My brother Corey,
which is C-Murder,

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my brother Vyshonn,
Silkk the Shocker,

132
00:06:34,236 --> 00:06:35,871
and my sister, Germaine,

133
00:06:35,904 --> 00:06:39,475
they went to stay with my mom
in the Magnolia Projects.

134
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Me and my brother, Kevin,
we lived in the Calliope

135
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with my dad and my grandparents.

136
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But we see each other every day.

137
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My mom would bring us over there
and pick us up later.

138
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So, there used to be
a lot of kids in the house.

139
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So, even going back and forth,

140
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all my brothers and my sister G,

141
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one thing we were was together.

142
00:07:03,665 --> 00:07:05,434
But my grandparents had 12 kids.

143
00:07:05,467 --> 00:07:07,102
And me and my brother together,

144
00:07:07,136 --> 00:07:08,680
and then there's big momma
and big daddy.

145
00:07:08,704 --> 00:07:12,374
So, that's 16 people
in a three-bedroom project.

146
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I'm sleeping on the floor.

147
00:07:14,710 --> 00:07:17,046
Everybody ate before me.

148
00:07:17,079 --> 00:07:19,882
I remember,
sometime all I got to eat

149
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was corn flakes and water.

150
00:07:21,450 --> 00:07:22,685
We couldn't afford milk.

151
00:07:22,718 --> 00:07:24,386
And my grandparents
would tell me,

152
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"Even though we live in poverty,

153
00:07:25,921 --> 00:07:28,199
be happy and make the best
out of what you have."

154
00:07:34,263 --> 00:07:36,065
Despite the circumstances,

155
00:07:36,098 --> 00:07:37,633
he had a really
tight-knit family.

156
00:07:37,666 --> 00:07:40,002
My grandparents
used to have suppers,

157
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and I was the DJ.

158
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So me and my brothers,

159
00:07:43,439 --> 00:07:46,575
all of us together,
it was like the Jackson 5.

160
00:07:51,346 --> 00:07:53,549
We was poor, but still happy.

161
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AB, common mark.

162
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We all sacrificed,

163
00:07:56,385 --> 00:07:58,253
but we just came together
like one big family.

164
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We had our problems,
but we all stuck together.

165
00:08:01,290 --> 00:08:02,825
Everything that he had
to fight through

166
00:08:02,858 --> 00:08:05,361
and struggle through,
that's what No Limit is.

167
00:08:05,394 --> 00:08:06,995
It's breaking barriers.

168
00:08:07,029 --> 00:08:11,734
And the whole military theme,
it runs really deep.

169
00:08:13,369 --> 00:08:16,772
It came from his family members
who were in the Army.

170
00:08:16,805 --> 00:08:20,743
Everything starts
with my grandfather.

171
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He was a real G.

172
00:08:22,945 --> 00:08:24,580
My grandmother was a G too, man.

173
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Like, drug dealers
would be on the porch.

174
00:08:26,448 --> 00:08:28,884
My grandmother come pour
hot water on 'em.

175
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His grandparents,
Claude and Maxine,

176
00:08:32,521 --> 00:08:35,357
gave him a sense of self.

177
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My daddy was the man
of the family.

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He worked two and three jobs.

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And my mama was
a hard worker, too.

180
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My grandfather, Big Daddy,

181
00:08:42,931 --> 00:08:44,466
he worked at McKenzie's Bakery.

182
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And Big Mama, my grandmother,

183
00:08:46,702 --> 00:08:49,304
she was a nurse at the hospital.

184
00:08:49,338 --> 00:08:51,774
My grandfather, my grandmother,

185
00:08:51,807 --> 00:08:53,275
just work, work, work.

186
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They found a way
to provide for us.

187
00:08:57,246 --> 00:08:58,623
That's where I got
my work ethic from.

188
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This is how it is.
If you want something,

189
00:09:00,482 --> 00:09:02,851
you got to work for it,
you got to strive for it.

190
00:09:04,253 --> 00:09:06,622
He went around cutting grass.

191
00:09:06,655 --> 00:09:07,890
Recycling cans.

192
00:09:07,923 --> 00:09:10,492
Popcorn boy at the Superdome.

193
00:09:10,526 --> 00:09:12,528
He was doing stuff like that
at ten years old.

194
00:09:13,762 --> 00:09:15,464
Our family inspired us

195
00:09:15,497 --> 00:09:18,867
to be better than what
other people around us were.

196
00:09:18,901 --> 00:09:20,903
My grandmother told me that

197
00:09:20,936 --> 00:09:24,273
having a dream is the most
important thing.

198
00:09:24,306 --> 00:09:27,876
If you don't have no dream,
then... why wake up?

199
00:09:27,910 --> 00:09:29,812
I have a dream.

200
00:09:29,845 --> 00:09:32,257
She made me keep reciting
that "I Have a Dream" speech.

201
00:09:32,281 --> 00:09:35,193
My grandmother said,
"There's gonna be no limit

202
00:09:35,217 --> 00:09:36,985
to your success when
you dream big."

203
00:09:38,487 --> 00:09:40,356
That just stuck in my head.

204
00:09:40,389 --> 00:09:41,890
Kept saying, I'ma get us
out of here.

205
00:09:41,924 --> 00:09:44,326
I don't know how,
but one day I'm gonna be rich.

206
00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:46,362
One day, I'm gonna make
millions of dollars.

207
00:09:46,395 --> 00:09:47,739
One day, I'm gonna buy
my grandmother a house,

208
00:09:47,763 --> 00:09:50,132
my mom a house, my dad a house.

209
00:09:50,232 --> 00:09:52,701
I just thought big like that.

210
00:09:52,735 --> 00:09:55,471
Somebody had to make it
in the family.

211
00:09:55,504 --> 00:09:58,040
He was the first born,
so he had to take leadership.

212
00:09:58,073 --> 00:10:00,976
The main thing, my goal was,
my parents' goal was making sure

213
00:10:01,009 --> 00:10:02,010
they got an education.

214
00:10:03,746 --> 00:10:05,023
{\an8}Big Daddy's like,
"I'm gonna take

215
00:10:05,047 --> 00:10:06,548
"my Social Security check,

216
00:10:06,582 --> 00:10:08,484
send you to this
Catholic school, St. Monica."

217
00:10:08,517 --> 00:10:10,819
The only private school,
across the street

218
00:10:10,853 --> 00:10:12,388
from the projects.

219
00:10:12,421 --> 00:10:14,232
My grandfather,
he was close to us.

220
00:10:14,256 --> 00:10:17,092
He took time out to teach Percy
how to do the right things,

221
00:10:17,126 --> 00:10:18,994
and it changed his life.

222
00:10:19,028 --> 00:10:20,772
When I walked through
the Calliope Projects

223
00:10:20,796 --> 00:10:22,498
with my Catholic school
uniform on,

224
00:10:22,531 --> 00:10:24,533
sometime I had
to fight my way back home.

225
00:10:24,566 --> 00:10:26,935
I had to do what I had to do.

226
00:10:26,969 --> 00:10:28,237
He was an altar boy.

227
00:10:28,270 --> 00:10:29,772
My grandfather said,

228
00:10:29,805 --> 00:10:32,183
"If I can get you
those golden values,

229
00:10:32,207 --> 00:10:33,842
I can save you."

230
00:10:33,876 --> 00:10:36,187
St. Monica, we got to go there,

231
00:10:36,211 --> 00:10:37,913
and then we met
during that time.

232
00:10:37,946 --> 00:10:39,948
His grandmother
and his father, and all that,

233
00:10:39,982 --> 00:10:41,850
you know, he had a lot
of people on his neck.

234
00:10:41,884 --> 00:10:44,953
We couldn't come home with Ds
and Fs and all that shit.

235
00:10:46,455 --> 00:10:49,124
He also went
to Booker T. High School.

236
00:10:49,224 --> 00:10:52,327
That's when Percy matured.

237
00:10:52,361 --> 00:10:56,732
Booker T. is the father
of black nationalism.

238
00:10:56,765 --> 00:10:59,568
His philosophy was do for self.

239
00:10:59,601 --> 00:11:02,771
Quite naturally,
that's where P learned

240
00:11:02,805 --> 00:11:04,807
what it meant to be independent.

241
00:11:04,840 --> 00:11:07,743
He just was different,
like, always focused.

242
00:11:07,776 --> 00:11:10,412
Like, he had plans
to go further in life.

243
00:11:10,446 --> 00:11:13,015
I never met a guy like him.

244
00:11:15,651 --> 00:11:19,188
Oh, when I first met Percy,
it was like 1983.

245
00:11:21,190 --> 00:11:22,324
We met at a club.

246
00:11:24,193 --> 00:11:25,561
It was called Nexus.

247
00:11:25,594 --> 00:11:27,563
And I was dancing
on the dance floor.

248
00:11:27,596 --> 00:11:30,265
I knew of Sonya before.

249
00:11:32,368 --> 00:11:34,303
Everybody was trying
to get at her.

250
00:11:34,336 --> 00:11:37,906
When I seen her, man, I knew,
like, this was gonna be my girl.

251
00:11:37,940 --> 00:11:39,308
He came over.

252
00:11:39,341 --> 00:11:40,385
I'm like, look, shorty,

253
00:11:40,409 --> 00:11:41,710
you're gonna be for me.

254
00:11:43,412 --> 00:11:45,080
She was like, "Boy, you crazy."

255
00:11:45,114 --> 00:11:46,291
I'm like, look, I'm telling you,

256
00:11:46,315 --> 00:11:47,816
this is how this
is gonna happen.

257
00:11:47,850 --> 00:11:50,352
We started dancing,
and there it was.

258
00:11:50,386 --> 00:11:53,198
It was like love at first sight.

259
00:11:56,592 --> 00:11:58,894
Percy and I,
we was high school lovers.

260
00:12:03,899 --> 00:12:07,436
I had my family,
Sonya, and school.

261
00:12:07,469 --> 00:12:09,938
That was the first time
I see a bright future.

262
00:12:11,507 --> 00:12:13,809
But one day,
my whole life changed.

263
00:12:16,145 --> 00:12:18,580
Yo, what's up?
We down here in New Orleans.

264
00:12:18,614 --> 00:12:20,749
It was 1983 New Year.

265
00:12:20,783 --> 00:12:23,285
Three, two, one!

266
00:12:23,318 --> 00:12:24,787
Yay!

267
00:12:24,820 --> 00:12:26,955
My grandfather,
his blood pressure was up.

268
00:12:26,989 --> 00:12:29,892
I remember me and my brother
Kevin was arguing that night

269
00:12:29,925 --> 00:12:32,795
about who gonna walk
my grandfather to the hospital.

270
00:12:32,828 --> 00:12:35,164
So, I end up saying,
I'ma walk with you.

271
00:12:36,832 --> 00:12:38,701
There's no way
I could have known

272
00:12:38,734 --> 00:12:40,736
what was about to happen.

273
00:12:48,359 --> 00:12:49,960
Happy New Year!

274
00:12:49,994 --> 00:12:52,563
New Year 1983,

275
00:12:52,596 --> 00:12:55,399
I'm walking with my grandfather
to the hospital

276
00:12:55,433 --> 00:12:57,535
'cause his blood pressure
was up.

277
00:12:57,568 --> 00:13:01,572
So we get to the VA hospital,
stayed out there overnight.

278
00:13:03,541 --> 00:13:06,077
The next day,
they checked him out.

279
00:13:06,110 --> 00:13:07,578
They say he was good.

280
00:13:07,611 --> 00:13:10,281
"But before you go,
we gonna get some medicine

281
00:13:10,314 --> 00:13:12,283
for your blood pressure."

282
00:13:12,316 --> 00:13:15,386
So he had a guy sitting
in another bed

283
00:13:15,419 --> 00:13:17,721
next to my grandfather.

284
00:13:17,755 --> 00:13:20,925
They gave my grandfather
the guy's medicine.

285
00:13:28,399 --> 00:13:30,701
It killed my grandfather.

286
00:13:32,403 --> 00:13:33,771
I had to come back
to the project

287
00:13:33,804 --> 00:13:35,806
and tell all my grandfather kids

288
00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:38,976
and my grandmother that
my grandfather was gone.

289
00:13:39,009 --> 00:13:40,754
When we found out
what really happened to him

290
00:13:40,778 --> 00:13:42,255
when they gave him
the wrong medicine,

291
00:13:42,279 --> 00:13:45,683
it was very hurtful.

292
00:13:45,716 --> 00:13:48,219
That was probably
the toughest time of my life.

293
00:13:51,489 --> 00:13:53,090
I just couldn't believe it.

294
00:13:53,124 --> 00:13:54,759
My grandfather's really gone.

295
00:13:54,792 --> 00:13:58,129
Without my grandfather,
I don't know what I'm gonna do.

296
00:14:00,064 --> 00:14:02,900
I don't think we'll survive
this environment without him.

297
00:14:06,137 --> 00:14:09,039
Big Daddy passing away
made him more motivated

298
00:14:09,073 --> 00:14:10,875
to be the man of the house.

299
00:14:12,376 --> 00:14:14,311
He used to tell Percy,
"If I'm not here,

300
00:14:14,345 --> 00:14:16,447
you gotta take care
of this family."

301
00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:18,783
So Percy said,
"I promise you, G,

302
00:14:18,816 --> 00:14:21,185
I'm gonna get us out of here."

303
00:14:21,218 --> 00:14:23,187
Basketball was my way

304
00:14:23,220 --> 00:14:25,823
to take my family
up out of this.

305
00:14:25,856 --> 00:14:28,159
I just kept
working on my game, man.

306
00:14:28,192 --> 00:14:30,528
All day, every day.

307
00:14:32,963 --> 00:14:35,399
Kids used to hustle back there.

308
00:14:35,433 --> 00:14:36,667
And the police could see you,

309
00:14:36,700 --> 00:14:38,502
so they would shoot
the lights out.

310
00:14:40,671 --> 00:14:43,207
I'm out there in the dark
just putting up shots.

311
00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:44,651
I'm like, how you know it go in?

312
00:14:44,675 --> 00:14:46,977
You just hear the nets.

313
00:14:47,011 --> 00:14:48,012
Like, "shing."

314
00:14:50,047 --> 00:14:52,349
For me, as his coach,
every time we played him,

315
00:14:52,383 --> 00:14:53,818
he would... he would
put on a show.

316
00:14:53,851 --> 00:14:57,321
He was averaging like 25,
30 points a game,

317
00:14:57,354 --> 00:14:59,256
like 10, 12 assists a game.

318
00:15:00,891 --> 00:15:02,927
Back then,
it was definitely not uncommon

319
00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,162
for brothers in the hood
to make money

320
00:15:05,196 --> 00:15:06,764
off high school basketball.

321
00:15:06,797 --> 00:15:09,900
So they were betting on him.

322
00:15:09,934 --> 00:15:13,003
Somebody was gonna get hurt,
namely him.

323
00:15:18,642 --> 00:15:20,444
I was a junior in high school.

324
00:15:20,478 --> 00:15:22,046
I'm playing on the varsity team.

325
00:15:22,079 --> 00:15:25,116
I'm at the free throw line
for us to go to the playoffs.

326
00:15:25,149 --> 00:15:28,519
Tie game, it's up to me.

327
00:15:28,552 --> 00:15:30,688
A guy flashed his gun.

328
00:15:30,721 --> 00:15:32,690
He said, "You make that shot,

329
00:15:32,723 --> 00:15:34,558
you might not make it
out of here."

330
00:15:35,860 --> 00:15:37,795
I had to think quick, man.

331
00:15:39,263 --> 00:15:40,664
Man, I'm ready to die for this.

332
00:15:42,466 --> 00:15:44,702
Because if basketball
don't work,

333
00:15:44,735 --> 00:15:47,171
the circle is gonna
close in on me anyway.

334
00:16:03,354 --> 00:16:04,794
We won, we going
to the championship.

335
00:16:06,390 --> 00:16:07,892
We broke out running.

336
00:16:07,925 --> 00:16:09,627
Coach said, "You got to duck,

337
00:16:09,660 --> 00:16:11,495
you might get the window
shot out."

338
00:16:11,529 --> 00:16:13,798
That's just how bad it was.

339
00:16:24,275 --> 00:16:28,079
Growing up,
basketball brought me
and my brother Kevin together.

340
00:16:29,513 --> 00:16:32,683
So, me and my brother
at Warren Easton.

341
00:16:32,716 --> 00:16:35,920
It was happy times.
It was us against the world.

342
00:16:35,953 --> 00:16:39,523
He was an all-city athlete,
well known.

343
00:16:39,557 --> 00:16:41,768
He had the girls like,
"Oh, that's your brother?

344
00:16:41,792 --> 00:16:43,527
That's P? Um, he's good."

345
00:16:43,561 --> 00:16:44,695
And I'm like, okay.

346
00:16:44,729 --> 00:16:46,163
He did it all.

347
00:16:46,197 --> 00:16:47,965
He had bloomed into a very,
very good player.

348
00:16:50,034 --> 00:16:51,869
Top colleges coming
to the projects.

349
00:16:51,902 --> 00:16:53,904
Denny Crum from Louisville,

350
00:16:53,938 --> 00:16:57,208
Guy Lewis from Houston,
John Thompson from Georgetown.

351
00:16:57,241 --> 00:17:00,010
I think I might make it out
of here after all.

352
00:17:00,044 --> 00:17:03,347
In 1985, he graduates
from high school,

353
00:17:03,380 --> 00:17:06,350
going to the University
of Houston to play basketball.

354
00:17:06,383 --> 00:17:09,487
He wanted to go to college
and become this pro player,

355
00:17:09,520 --> 00:17:12,056
and to move his family
out the projects.

356
00:17:12,089 --> 00:17:13,858
The University of Houston
at this point

357
00:17:13,891 --> 00:17:17,695
were major entertainment
in terms of national TV.

358
00:17:17,728 --> 00:17:20,197
This is just one year
after Hakeem Olajuwon

359
00:17:20,231 --> 00:17:21,832
and Clyde Drexler.

360
00:17:21,866 --> 00:17:23,834
Hakeem is there,
14 rebounds for him,

361
00:17:23,868 --> 00:17:25,069
and for the game.

362
00:17:25,102 --> 00:17:26,837
Another lob. Drexler, look out.

363
00:17:26,871 --> 00:17:29,073
They were known
as Phi Slama Jama,

364
00:17:29,106 --> 00:17:31,475
were bringing a lot
of notoriety to the school.

365
00:17:31,509 --> 00:17:33,444
This was a really big deal.

366
00:17:35,913 --> 00:17:38,682
Houston was the best thing
that happened for me.

367
00:17:38,716 --> 00:17:41,719
I worked so hard
that summer, man,

368
00:17:41,752 --> 00:17:44,989
'cause I really wanted
to start as a freshman.

369
00:17:46,223 --> 00:17:48,893
It was time for me
to be a big star.

370
00:17:48,926 --> 00:17:50,795
He had the weight
of his whole family.

371
00:17:50,828 --> 00:17:53,497
It wasn't just his
immediate family,

372
00:17:53,597 --> 00:17:55,066
it was like the whole hood.

373
00:17:55,099 --> 00:17:59,203
And he knew that basketball
could help everybody.

374
00:18:00,671 --> 00:18:02,973
Unfortunately,
P ends up getting injured.

375
00:18:04,809 --> 00:18:08,879
So I'm in practice
going so hard, and I fell.

376
00:18:08,913 --> 00:18:11,649
Then I heard a pop.

377
00:18:11,682 --> 00:18:14,852
The doctors told me
it was an ACL injury.

378
00:18:14,885 --> 00:18:19,123
It sidelined his dreams
for playing basketball.

379
00:18:19,156 --> 00:18:23,027
Just this quick,
I thought my life was over.

380
00:18:25,229 --> 00:18:29,333
I left Houston and took
this long bus ride

381
00:18:29,366 --> 00:18:30,868
back to the projects.

382
00:18:30,901 --> 00:18:33,771
And I feel like a failure, man.

383
00:18:36,373 --> 00:18:38,242
Definitely was a big blow,

384
00:18:38,275 --> 00:18:41,846
'cause you feel like that
was your ticket out.

385
00:18:41,879 --> 00:18:43,547
It made it tough,
and a lot of people

386
00:18:43,647 --> 00:18:44,949
don't bounce back from that.

387
00:18:47,084 --> 00:18:48,853
Everything crashed.

388
00:18:48,886 --> 00:18:51,222
I start questioning God
in my mind.

389
00:18:51,255 --> 00:18:53,457
I keep seeing
my grandfather around me

390
00:18:53,491 --> 00:18:54,859
telling me, "Man, you know what,

391
00:18:54,892 --> 00:18:56,494
you gonna have to figure
something out."

392
00:18:56,594 --> 00:18:57,962
Me and Master P,

393
00:18:57,995 --> 00:19:00,574
we lived in the same
neighborhood in the Calliope.

394
00:19:00,598 --> 00:19:02,466
You either sell drugs
or you work.

395
00:19:04,235 --> 00:19:06,203
I remember Percy
working at BellSouth.

396
00:19:06,237 --> 00:19:08,205
I was selling phones.

397
00:19:08,239 --> 00:19:10,841
The only bad thing,
I'm working on commission.

398
00:19:10,875 --> 00:19:12,410
Never got a check.

399
00:19:12,443 --> 00:19:14,478
Drugs here are
a profitable business.

400
00:19:14,512 --> 00:19:18,983
Even a small-time crack dealer
can pull in 50,000 a year.

401
00:19:19,016 --> 00:19:21,595
So, for P, like a lot of kids,

402
00:19:21,619 --> 00:19:23,120
especially in the ghetto,

403
00:19:23,154 --> 00:19:26,323
selling drugs
was your only option.

404
00:19:26,357 --> 00:19:28,692
I have always tried
to play it straight.

405
00:19:28,726 --> 00:19:30,928
My grandfather told me,
"I don't want you

406
00:19:30,961 --> 00:19:33,964
hustling with them boys
out there on the block."

407
00:19:33,998 --> 00:19:37,968
But you will risk it all
just for the people you love.

408
00:19:38,002 --> 00:19:41,005
It wasn't too long before
hustling the street

409
00:19:41,038 --> 00:19:43,407
put me in
a life-or-death situation.

410
00:19:47,494 --> 00:19:49,096
So by late 1987,

411
00:19:49,129 --> 00:19:51,131
P felt like the weight
was on him

412
00:19:51,165 --> 00:19:53,200
in terms of what he was gonna do

413
00:19:53,233 --> 00:19:54,902
to lift up his family.

414
00:19:54,935 --> 00:19:57,638
I can't play basketball
because I got hurt.

415
00:19:57,671 --> 00:20:00,707
And back then,
music wasn't a reality,

416
00:20:00,741 --> 00:20:02,109
wasn't a dream for me.

417
00:20:02,142 --> 00:20:05,279
I never knew of anybody
making money rapping.

418
00:20:05,312 --> 00:20:09,316
Percy had to survive like
everyone else, selling drugs.

419
00:20:09,349 --> 00:20:14,455
Master P cousin Jimmy...
Hotboy... he the man you go to

420
00:20:14,488 --> 00:20:15,823
to get your product.

421
00:20:15,856 --> 00:20:17,057
So I'm hustling,

422
00:20:17,091 --> 00:20:18,859
trying to be like my cousin.

423
00:20:18,892 --> 00:20:21,195
First time I went out there,
I don't know what I'm doing.

424
00:20:21,228 --> 00:20:24,098
Had a crackhead
rock up something for me.

425
00:20:24,131 --> 00:20:26,109
I get it back, I'm like,
what is this, this is nothing.

426
00:20:26,133 --> 00:20:28,368
Lafeen stole his money

427
00:20:28,402 --> 00:20:29,770
and stole his drugs.

428
00:20:29,803 --> 00:20:32,806
He was getting bamboozled.

429
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:34,341
I remember one guy,

430
00:20:34,374 --> 00:20:35,976
he was a dean at a college.

431
00:20:36,009 --> 00:20:38,045
I asked him, I said, man,
why are you doing this?

432
00:20:38,078 --> 00:20:40,180
He said, "Look, man,
you gonna sell me some crack,

433
00:20:40,214 --> 00:20:42,916
or you a dope dealer
with a conscience?"

434
00:20:42,950 --> 00:20:45,419
I didn't feel happy
riding around

435
00:20:45,452 --> 00:20:47,121
trying to be a drug dealer,

436
00:20:47,154 --> 00:20:50,324
but I wanted to help my people
have a little money.

437
00:20:50,357 --> 00:20:53,227
I built so many customers,

438
00:20:53,260 --> 00:20:54,995
thousands of dollars coming in.

439
00:20:55,028 --> 00:20:56,797
I was getting
real money back here.

440
00:20:56,830 --> 00:20:59,233
So I kept pushing,
telling my family

441
00:20:59,266 --> 00:21:01,301
that I'm making money
off the phones,

442
00:21:01,335 --> 00:21:02,836
but I'm really hustling.

443
00:21:02,870 --> 00:21:04,872
He end up making enough money
to buy him a car.

444
00:21:04,905 --> 00:21:07,174
It was a red Audi.

445
00:21:07,207 --> 00:21:08,976
That's a nice little car
you got.

446
00:21:09,009 --> 00:21:11,545
Smooth and slippery to the wind,

447
00:21:11,645 --> 00:21:14,982
it is the world's most
aerodynamic luxury sedan.

448
00:21:15,015 --> 00:21:17,518
I was trying to be slick,

449
00:21:17,551 --> 00:21:20,921
park the Audi like three,
four block from the project.

450
00:21:20,954 --> 00:21:25,292
Next thing you know,
I see all the windows broke out.

451
00:21:25,325 --> 00:21:28,328
Big Mama took a bat and busted
all the window out of the car.

452
00:21:30,831 --> 00:21:32,433
You didn't wanna fool
with Big Mama.

453
00:21:32,466 --> 00:21:35,002
She told him, "If I catch you
doing such and such,

454
00:21:35,035 --> 00:21:38,238
'cause I heard about drugs,
I'm gonna call the police."

455
00:21:38,272 --> 00:21:40,974
P's grandmother
didn't go for that,

456
00:21:41,008 --> 00:21:43,077
because she wanted him
to be somebody.

457
00:21:43,110 --> 00:21:46,647
She was just tough,
but Percy, you know...

458
00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:48,348
he wouldn't listen.

459
00:21:48,382 --> 00:21:52,086
One day me and my cousin Hotboy,
we shooting dice.

460
00:21:58,859 --> 00:22:02,196
And these guys drive up,
all of 'em got guns.

461
00:22:02,229 --> 00:22:04,098
So they tell me,
"You know what it is."

462
00:22:04,131 --> 00:22:06,500
I throw my money up in the air,
then run.

463
00:22:08,035 --> 00:22:11,205
I hear shots.

464
00:22:11,238 --> 00:22:13,340
They leave,
I hear the car squeak off.

465
00:22:15,342 --> 00:22:18,078
I ain't hit at all,
no bullet wounds, no nothing.

466
00:22:18,112 --> 00:22:22,216
Hotboy, he laying on the ground,
they shot him eight times.

467
00:22:24,118 --> 00:22:26,920
I jump in the car,
take him to Charity Hospital.

468
00:22:28,122 --> 00:22:30,023
Hotboy ended up surviving.

469
00:22:31,925 --> 00:22:35,896
You have to understand
the law in our hood,

470
00:22:35,929 --> 00:22:37,931
retaliation is a must.

471
00:22:39,533 --> 00:22:41,735
Me and my homeboy,
we found the house

472
00:22:41,769 --> 00:22:43,871
where the guys was at.

473
00:22:43,904 --> 00:22:46,206
We waited for 'em.

474
00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:49,586
We end up seeing, like,
their mama and their sister.

475
00:22:49,610 --> 00:22:52,379
My homeboy was like, "Man,
we about to let them have it."

476
00:22:55,783 --> 00:22:58,252
I'm like, nah, man.
We didn't shoot.

477
00:23:00,421 --> 00:23:03,724
That night, my grandmother
put a black dress

478
00:23:03,757 --> 00:23:05,325
over the nightstand.

479
00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:08,829
Said, "Yeah, I'ma wear that
to your funeral.

480
00:23:08,862 --> 00:23:10,664
"'Cause the way
you living right now,

481
00:23:10,697 --> 00:23:13,300
you ain't gonna last."

482
00:23:13,333 --> 00:23:16,703
I didn't understand
until I had my own family.

483
00:23:19,273 --> 00:23:22,876
Percy and I got married in 1989

484
00:23:22,910 --> 00:23:25,646
after we had Romeo.

485
00:23:25,679 --> 00:23:28,482
When he had Romeo, it was like,

486
00:23:28,515 --> 00:23:30,951
this my son, this my baby.

487
00:23:30,984 --> 00:23:33,087
And it was joy.

488
00:23:33,120 --> 00:23:35,923
Now you got people
depending on you for real.

489
00:23:35,956 --> 00:23:38,292
At the time,
he and his wife Sonya,

490
00:23:38,325 --> 00:23:42,062
and Romeo were all living
in the Calliope projects.

491
00:23:42,096 --> 00:23:45,265
Me having Romeo
was just a blessing, man.

492
00:23:45,299 --> 00:23:47,000
But you gotta wanna change.

493
00:23:56,710 --> 00:23:59,012
I was in the car
passing through the projects

494
00:23:59,046 --> 00:24:00,247
hustling on the streets.

495
00:24:00,280 --> 00:24:02,149
I used to like Ice T, "Colors."

496
00:24:05,219 --> 00:24:07,187
I used to go everywhere
with two guns.

497
00:24:10,991 --> 00:24:12,726
I got Romeo in his
little baby carriage,

498
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:14,294
got the music turned up.

499
00:24:15,896 --> 00:24:17,474
All of a sudden,
hear my grandmother saying,

500
00:24:17,498 --> 00:24:18,766
"Turn that music down,

501
00:24:18,799 --> 00:24:21,201
and take that boy out this car."

502
00:24:23,871 --> 00:24:25,639
I start looking at Romeo.

503
00:24:27,641 --> 00:24:29,143
I just start crying, dawg.

504
00:24:30,477 --> 00:24:32,446
I'm not gonna see this kid
go to college

505
00:24:32,479 --> 00:24:35,849
if I don't get out
of this environment.

506
00:24:35,883 --> 00:24:40,521
In that moment, I decided
I gotta get out of Louisiana.

507
00:24:43,090 --> 00:24:44,634
Percy was like,
"Come on, let's pack up.

508
00:24:44,658 --> 00:24:49,396
And we packed Romeo up
and left all our things

509
00:24:49,430 --> 00:24:51,865
in our apartment and took off.

510
00:24:51,899 --> 00:24:53,400
Sonya end up having
some relatives

511
00:24:53,434 --> 00:24:55,402
living in Richmond, California.

512
00:24:55,436 --> 00:25:00,107
But soon I started realize,
Richmond was a tough place, too.

513
00:25:01,608 --> 00:25:04,244
Richmond is as hood
as hood can get.

514
00:25:04,278 --> 00:25:07,881
So it was like out of
the frying pan, into the fire.

515
00:25:09,683 --> 00:25:12,820
And to be able to be in Richmond
and survive Richmond,

516
00:25:12,853 --> 00:25:15,055
I gotta be legit.

517
00:25:18,625 --> 00:25:21,762
One day, man,
I was just driving around,

518
00:25:21,795 --> 00:25:23,606
and I see this place

519
00:25:23,630 --> 00:25:26,609
with just hundreds of people
standing outside.

520
00:25:26,633 --> 00:25:29,803
I'm like, what is that?
Oh, that's a record store.

521
00:25:29,837 --> 00:25:31,505
It was called Jones and Harris.

522
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:35,109
It just clicked, I'm like, man,

523
00:25:35,142 --> 00:25:37,678
I'm about to get
in the music business.

524
00:25:37,711 --> 00:25:42,483
I start thinking about what
my grandmother told me as a kid.

525
00:25:42,516 --> 00:25:46,019
If I dream big, it's gonna be
no limit to my success.

526
00:25:46,053 --> 00:25:48,689
So I open up No Limit Records.

527
00:25:48,722 --> 00:25:51,158
{\an8}The seed money
for the record store

528
00:25:51,191 --> 00:25:52,659
was $10,000.

529
00:25:52,693 --> 00:25:54,461
It actually came
from an interesting place...

530
00:25:54,495 --> 00:25:57,464
A malpractice suit
that his family won

531
00:25:57,498 --> 00:25:59,433
from his grandfather's passing.

532
00:25:59,466 --> 00:26:01,301
Me and Percy
started that record store

533
00:26:01,335 --> 00:26:03,103
as like a "raggly" building.

534
00:26:03,137 --> 00:26:05,939
You know, we had
to reconstruct it.

535
00:26:05,973 --> 00:26:07,584
I took $10,000,

536
00:26:07,608 --> 00:26:10,811
put it into the business,
finally made a profit,

537
00:26:10,844 --> 00:26:13,514
like two to three grand.

538
00:26:13,614 --> 00:26:17,785
Maybe three to four months,
it was all washed away.

539
00:26:17,818 --> 00:26:21,488
So me, Romeo, and his mom
lived in the back of the store.

540
00:26:21,522 --> 00:26:25,325
Sharing clothes, trying to
figure out food every day.

541
00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:28,028
The most horrible,
mold-infested building

542
00:26:28,062 --> 00:26:30,064
you ever wanted to see.

543
00:26:30,097 --> 00:26:31,608
I gotta figure something out.

544
00:26:31,632 --> 00:26:33,801
Like, I could be right back
on the streets.

545
00:26:37,846 --> 00:26:40,849
In 1989, Master P
and his wife Sonya,

546
00:26:40,882 --> 00:26:43,885
and their son Romeo
were all living

547
00:26:43,919 --> 00:26:45,487
in the back of the record store.

548
00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:47,556
It was rough, it was a struggle.

549
00:26:47,589 --> 00:26:50,459
And it was hard on me
'cause I had Romeo.

550
00:26:50,492 --> 00:26:52,694
But you have to do
what you have to do

551
00:26:52,728 --> 00:26:54,363
if you wanna get to the top.

552
00:26:54,396 --> 00:26:56,965
I realized if I make
this business work,

553
00:26:56,998 --> 00:26:58,467
my whole life was gonna change.

554
00:26:58,500 --> 00:27:01,470
He looked around the area
where he was living

555
00:27:01,503 --> 00:27:04,673
and noticed nobody
was selling gangster rap.

556
00:27:04,706 --> 00:27:09,811
And like a good entrepreneur,
he filled that void.

557
00:27:11,947 --> 00:27:15,784
{\an8}1990 was a pretty
landmark year for hip-hop.

558
00:27:15,817 --> 00:27:18,120
{\an8}Turned out with NWA in Compton.

559
00:27:18,153 --> 00:27:19,187
{\an8}What's up, y'all?

560
00:27:19,221 --> 00:27:21,556
After NWA came out,

561
00:27:21,590 --> 00:27:23,358
you had all
these gangster rappers

562
00:27:23,392 --> 00:27:25,093
coming out of the woodwork.

563
00:27:30,165 --> 00:27:34,002
P used to sell local rap
on consignment.

564
00:27:34,036 --> 00:27:36,204
The local independent rappers
would come by,

565
00:27:36,238 --> 00:27:38,407
put the product in the window.

566
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:42,377
He was constantly interacting
with these rap entrepreneurs,

567
00:27:42,411 --> 00:27:45,380
and he was seeing what worked,
what didn't work.

568
00:27:45,414 --> 00:27:48,617
All this is happening
on the streets, you know.

569
00:27:48,650 --> 00:27:50,952
So we just letting 'em know
what's happening,

570
00:27:50,986 --> 00:27:52,426
'cause it happens
all over the world.

571
00:27:52,454 --> 00:27:54,189
So P started to realize,

572
00:27:54,222 --> 00:27:56,158
"You know what,
I can do this, too."

573
00:27:56,191 --> 00:27:58,593
I wanna be rapping
about my life,

574
00:27:58,627 --> 00:28:01,430
my gangster life
I lived in New Orleans.

575
00:28:01,463 --> 00:28:03,908
I really lived this,
I done seen this.

576
00:28:03,932 --> 00:28:05,600
I could do this.

577
00:28:06,768 --> 00:28:08,136
So now, I'm a rapper, dawg,

578
00:28:08,170 --> 00:28:10,405
I'm from New Orleans,
I'm from the streets.

579
00:28:10,439 --> 00:28:13,942
But I start realizing
that I needed a team.

580
00:28:16,178 --> 00:28:19,181
The year was 1989.

581
00:28:19,214 --> 00:28:22,084
I was in Richmond
at a Jack in the Box.

582
00:28:22,117 --> 00:28:25,120
And I turn around
and I see Percy Miller.

583
00:28:25,153 --> 00:28:28,090
With nothing but black and gold
Saints stuff on.

584
00:28:28,123 --> 00:28:30,392
I say, what?!
What you doing out here?

585
00:28:30,425 --> 00:28:31,860
He said, "Man, I'm rapping."

586
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:33,562
I say, hey, P, I'm rapping, too.

587
00:28:33,595 --> 00:28:35,664
I say I wanted to start
a record company.

588
00:28:35,697 --> 00:28:38,166
I said, hey, man,
whatever you trying to do,

589
00:28:38,200 --> 00:28:40,702
I wanna do it too, we out here.

590
00:28:40,736 --> 00:28:44,272
In early 1990,
he forms a group called TRU...

591
00:28:44,306 --> 00:28:46,007
The Real Untouchables.

592
00:28:46,041 --> 00:28:49,111
TRU was my brother,

593
00:28:49,144 --> 00:28:50,779
King George,

594
00:28:50,812 --> 00:28:53,248
and then there was a bunch
of guys from the neighborhood.

595
00:28:53,281 --> 00:28:55,283
I had to name myself.

596
00:28:55,317 --> 00:28:58,487
I could have been Killer P,
Dopeman P, whatever.

597
00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:01,323
I'm like, no,
I gotta think bigger.

598
00:29:01,356 --> 00:29:03,058
Whatever I do, I'ma master it.

599
00:29:03,091 --> 00:29:05,460
So I just said, man,
it's gonna be Master P.

600
00:29:05,494 --> 00:29:08,797
A couple weeks later, he said,
"Look what I got made."

601
00:29:08,830 --> 00:29:12,434
It was a MasterCard
with "Master P" in there.

602
00:29:15,337 --> 00:29:17,205
So now I need to create a logo.

603
00:29:17,239 --> 00:29:19,374
So I start thinking
about my grandfather.

604
00:29:19,408 --> 00:29:21,410
He always told me, he'd say,
"Man, you know,

605
00:29:21,443 --> 00:29:23,178
you start your own army."

606
00:29:23,211 --> 00:29:25,414
So that's where
the No Limit tank come from.

607
00:29:27,049 --> 00:29:28,950
I was ready to go to work
after that.

608
00:29:31,319 --> 00:29:33,822
I started looking
for a studio to go to.

609
00:29:35,457 --> 00:29:37,893
P hooked up with a guy
named K-Lou.

610
00:29:39,428 --> 00:29:42,064
K-Lou's like a super producer
in the Bay.

611
00:29:42,097 --> 00:29:43,875
Known for making
some platinum records.

612
00:29:43,899 --> 00:29:47,569
E-40 was recording with him,
and a number of others.

613
00:29:50,706 --> 00:29:53,742
I started my studio
in my mom's garage.

614
00:29:53,775 --> 00:29:55,944
First day I met P,
he came in there,

615
00:29:55,977 --> 00:29:58,547
and soon as he opened his mouth,
I said, wait a minute.

616
00:29:58,580 --> 00:30:03,251
He had this country accent,
and he wanted to use the studio.

617
00:30:03,285 --> 00:30:05,120
He didn't have any money,
so he said,

618
00:30:05,153 --> 00:30:06,655
"Yeah, I'll do whatever, man."

619
00:30:06,688 --> 00:30:09,091
So my mom needed
her house painted, right?

620
00:30:09,124 --> 00:30:10,902
So P said, "I could do it."

621
00:30:10,926 --> 00:30:14,296
You paint my mom's house,
I'll give you some studio time.

622
00:30:16,064 --> 00:30:18,233
So we came out,
looked at his work.

623
00:30:18,266 --> 00:30:20,235
Hold it, hold it.

624
00:30:20,268 --> 00:30:22,270
Put that paintbrush down, boy.

625
00:30:22,304 --> 00:30:24,706
I mean, he had that house
tore up.

626
00:30:26,675 --> 00:30:29,044
You know, I appreciate
the hustle at the time,

627
00:30:29,077 --> 00:30:31,146
so I just said, come on, man.

628
00:30:31,179 --> 00:30:32,381
Come on in, let's do this.

629
00:30:35,017 --> 00:30:38,453
{\an8}Coming from the projects
in New Orleans,

630
00:30:38,487 --> 00:30:40,956
when I got in the studio
with K-Lou,

631
00:30:40,989 --> 00:30:42,290
that was like new to me.

632
00:30:43,925 --> 00:30:48,263
The first song I did
was "The Mind of a Psychopath."

633
00:30:58,106 --> 00:31:00,976
The lyrics to that was inspired
by my life and my story,

634
00:31:01,009 --> 00:31:04,413
the people murdered
and the people on the streets.

635
00:31:09,017 --> 00:31:11,896
A couple days later,
we do a couple more songs.

636
00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:13,588
We got four tracks now.

637
00:31:13,622 --> 00:31:16,591
Man, I was so hyped,
I thought we was going platinum.

638
00:31:16,625 --> 00:31:21,229
Everything about the record
is very raw, unpolished.

639
00:31:21,263 --> 00:31:23,031
Most people would consider it
to be a demo,

640
00:31:23,065 --> 00:31:26,201
but Master P put that out
as an actual project.

641
00:31:26,234 --> 00:31:28,470
You know, you have
Public Enemy out,

642
00:31:28,503 --> 00:31:31,206
Ice Cube is out, and then,
you have Master P.

643
00:31:33,375 --> 00:31:36,745
With a very rough project
by comparison,

644
00:31:36,778 --> 00:31:39,214
it didn't hold up
in that regard.

645
00:31:39,247 --> 00:31:41,216
This shit bringing in no money.

646
00:31:43,051 --> 00:31:46,054
P said, "Be cool, King.
We're gonna make it, man.

647
00:31:46,088 --> 00:31:48,890
We're gonna go back
in the studio and do it again."

648
00:31:49,891 --> 00:31:51,593
Meanwhile, back in New Orleans,

649
00:31:51,626 --> 00:31:54,930
Master P's little brother Kevin
was fully in the streets.

650
00:31:54,963 --> 00:31:57,032
We knew he was moving it.

651
00:31:57,065 --> 00:31:59,568
That's why we was trying
to get him out of that life.

652
00:31:59,601 --> 00:32:01,879
We was trying to get him
out there with us.

653
00:32:01,903 --> 00:32:05,440
P actually wants
to get all of his siblings

654
00:32:05,474 --> 00:32:07,042
to come to Richmond with him.

655
00:32:07,075 --> 00:32:11,546
I left to move to Richmond,
C went to the Army,

656
00:32:11,580 --> 00:32:14,549
Vyshonn came,
and Kevin stayed behind.

657
00:32:14,583 --> 00:32:17,586
My brother Kevin, I think
he just didn't know

658
00:32:17,619 --> 00:32:19,654
that it was time to leave.

659
00:32:19,688 --> 00:32:22,357
I was in the Bay
working on music,

660
00:32:22,391 --> 00:32:25,660
and I get a phone call,
and my world was crushed.

661
00:32:31,749 --> 00:32:34,719
September 26, 1990,

662
00:32:34,752 --> 00:32:37,122
authorities found
Kevin Miller's body

663
00:32:37,155 --> 00:32:38,656
right off the Interstate I-10.

664
00:32:40,158 --> 00:32:42,494
They said that he had been
driving with two other men

665
00:32:42,527 --> 00:32:44,529
who were in the car.

666
00:32:44,562 --> 00:32:47,532
They got into some
sort of argument.

667
00:32:47,565 --> 00:32:50,335
Ultimately, he was shot
several times

668
00:32:50,368 --> 00:32:53,004
in the back and in the head.

669
00:32:54,839 --> 00:32:56,808
They dumped his body
on the side of the road.

670
00:32:58,776 --> 00:33:00,812
Like, how do you
do that to someone?

671
00:33:03,448 --> 00:33:06,117
I couldn't believe
that my brother was dead.

672
00:33:07,852 --> 00:33:10,755
Everything stopped, man,
my world was crushed.

673
00:33:10,789 --> 00:33:13,691
It just ripped something
out my heart, man.

674
00:33:14,726 --> 00:33:17,495
He was hurt, and he cried.

675
00:33:17,529 --> 00:33:19,998
I had to hold him still,
like you know,

676
00:33:20,031 --> 00:33:21,199
I had to keep him near,

677
00:33:21,232 --> 00:33:22,710
because I can't feel
what he was feeling,

678
00:33:22,734 --> 00:33:25,370
but I could see
that it was nothing nice.

679
00:33:27,572 --> 00:33:29,774
I drove all the way
back home nonstop.

680
00:33:29,808 --> 00:33:33,511
That was the fastest
I ever got back to New Orleans.

681
00:33:33,545 --> 00:33:35,814
Corey was in the Army,

682
00:33:35,847 --> 00:33:38,149
and he couldn't get released
to come,

683
00:33:38,183 --> 00:33:40,752
so he went AWOL, he left.

684
00:33:40,785 --> 00:33:42,663
And I don't know how
he got there, but he came.

685
00:33:42,687 --> 00:33:46,324
When I got home,
I go in the funeral.

686
00:33:46,357 --> 00:33:48,927
I see my brother Kevin.

687
00:33:48,960 --> 00:33:51,672
Like, how could I get
through that?

688
00:33:51,696 --> 00:33:54,699
When my son got killed,
that really tore us up.

689
00:33:54,732 --> 00:33:57,735
P and Kevin were real tight.

690
00:33:57,769 --> 00:33:59,571
That was another sad day for us.

691
00:33:59,604 --> 00:34:02,574
We was devastated.

692
00:34:02,607 --> 00:34:05,944
He was supposed to be on his way
to California with P

693
00:34:05,977 --> 00:34:11,349
so he could be part
of the No Limit family.

694
00:34:11,382 --> 00:34:13,485
And it's not fair.

695
00:34:16,788 --> 00:34:21,359
My dad and his brothers talked
about Uncle Kevin every day.

696
00:34:21,392 --> 00:34:24,629
They all tatted him
on their arm.

697
00:34:24,729 --> 00:34:26,431
And they never let his name die.

698
00:34:26,464 --> 00:34:28,833
He's here with us in spirit.

699
00:34:32,370 --> 00:34:33,838
When Kevin got killed,

700
00:34:33,872 --> 00:34:36,241
P had enough sense to say,
"You know what,

701
00:34:36,274 --> 00:34:38,510
I have to come up
with a game plan."

702
00:34:38,543 --> 00:34:41,713
And so, he came up with
a game plan to save everybody.

703
00:34:41,746 --> 00:34:44,516
"I gotta save you, Vyshonn.
I gotta save you, C.

704
00:34:44,549 --> 00:34:46,384
I gotta save Romeo."

705
00:34:46,417 --> 00:34:48,153
After losing Kevin,

706
00:34:48,186 --> 00:34:49,521
he couldn't trust no one.

707
00:34:49,554 --> 00:34:52,223
And that's why he wanted
to turn Corey

708
00:34:52,257 --> 00:34:54,592
and Vyshonn into rappers.

709
00:34:54,692 --> 00:34:57,671
I wanted to give my brothers
something positive to do,

710
00:34:57,695 --> 00:34:59,831
something bigger
than the streets.

711
00:34:59,864 --> 00:35:03,201
I want them to be a part of TRU.

712
00:35:09,374 --> 00:35:11,743
I wasn't looking
to become a rapper, per se,

713
00:35:11,776 --> 00:35:14,813
but I definitely didn't wanna
be in the streets.

714
00:35:14,846 --> 00:35:17,849
Percy got Corey and Vyshonn

715
00:35:17,882 --> 00:35:20,151
to start brainstorming names.

716
00:35:21,386 --> 00:35:24,355
My rap name come from...

717
00:35:24,389 --> 00:35:26,700
they used to call P Big Silkk,

718
00:35:26,724 --> 00:35:28,526
and then they used
to call me Little Silkk.

719
00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:31,362
Silkk name was like Silkk,
Silkk the Shocker,

720
00:35:31,396 --> 00:35:34,165
"I'm gonna shock the world."

721
00:35:34,199 --> 00:35:35,900
Silkk was like 16 at the time,

722
00:35:35,934 --> 00:35:37,502
but I started
putting him on hooks

723
00:35:37,535 --> 00:35:40,104
to kinda like ease him
into the business.

724
00:35:44,943 --> 00:35:48,012
Yeah, we out here
chilling in K-Lou's studio.

725
00:35:48,046 --> 00:35:50,515
C came up with C-Murder.

726
00:35:50,548 --> 00:35:52,660
C-Murder actually got his name

727
00:35:52,684 --> 00:35:54,686
from serving in the Gulf War.

728
00:35:54,719 --> 00:35:56,121
He was a medic corpsman.

729
00:35:58,690 --> 00:36:03,261
And a medical corpsman
sees a lot of blood and guts,

730
00:36:03,294 --> 00:36:04,562
and people die.

731
00:36:06,030 --> 00:36:09,000
I was arguing with him,
dawg, don't name yourself that.

732
00:36:09,033 --> 00:36:11,903
He's like, "Man, I name myself
what I want."

733
00:36:11,936 --> 00:36:15,273
And from the first song
that C made, he was just raw.

734
00:36:29,354 --> 00:36:31,723
Master P, at this point,
he realizes

735
00:36:31,756 --> 00:36:36,661
he needs Bay Area artists
to enhance his company's roster.

736
00:36:36,694 --> 00:36:40,865
He hooked up with Big Ed,
Cali G,

737
00:36:40,899 --> 00:36:44,402
and another rapper by the name
of Chilee Powdah.

738
00:36:51,109 --> 00:36:53,878
Master P was putting out
projects independently.

739
00:36:55,113 --> 00:36:58,316
They were very rough
around the edges sonically,

740
00:36:58,349 --> 00:37:00,661
artwork-wise, packaging-wise.

741
00:37:00,685 --> 00:37:02,720
But... he was relentless.

742
00:37:04,789 --> 00:37:06,801
To keep it real, Master P,
we thought that was like...

743
00:37:06,825 --> 00:37:08,936
That was some garbage music,
like, what is this bullshit?

744
00:37:08,960 --> 00:37:11,262
It wasn't even a real buzz
in the street.

745
00:37:11,296 --> 00:37:15,033
You literally could find
those albums on the ground.

746
00:37:15,066 --> 00:37:17,101
You gonna kick it
like a beer can.

747
00:37:17,135 --> 00:37:19,404
He was new in that game, but...

748
00:37:19,437 --> 00:37:20,538
there was a bigger plan,

749
00:37:20,572 --> 00:37:21,972
a bigger picture
to the whole thing.

750
00:37:23,174 --> 00:37:24,876
No Limit was a work in progress,

751
00:37:24,909 --> 00:37:26,444
and a lot of people
didn't believe.

752
00:37:26,478 --> 00:37:31,249
But we knew what the outcome
was gonna be if we kept going.

753
00:37:31,282 --> 00:37:32,484
At least, I knew.

754
00:37:36,955 --> 00:37:40,191
One night, Master P and TRU,

755
00:37:40,225 --> 00:37:44,638
they were to perform
at a nightclub in Oakland.

756
00:37:44,662 --> 00:37:46,931
If you're from Oakland,
you can't go to Richmond.

757
00:37:46,965 --> 00:37:48,642
If you're from Richmond,
you shouldn't go to Oakland.

758
00:37:48,666 --> 00:37:51,236
So they were in a situation.

759
00:37:56,808 --> 00:38:00,578
Me, Big Ed, Cali G,

760
00:38:00,678 --> 00:38:03,414
and Silkk, we get in the club.

761
00:38:03,448 --> 00:38:05,150
And we from Richmond.

762
00:38:06,684 --> 00:38:08,853
But we're not ever scared.

763
00:38:08,887 --> 00:38:11,556
We was like, yo,
we gotta get money.

764
00:38:11,589 --> 00:38:13,100
We gotta start getting
our name out there.

765
00:38:13,124 --> 00:38:19,297
We was waiting to perform
when, uh, a guy...

766
00:38:19,330 --> 00:38:20,698
stepped on Silkk feet.

767
00:38:21,900 --> 00:38:23,268
Yo, don't step on my foot.

768
00:38:23,301 --> 00:38:26,371
It was me just being,
like, young and dumb.

769
00:38:29,541 --> 00:38:31,843
My brother was arguing
with everybody.

770
00:38:31,876 --> 00:38:35,847
And then, Big Ed
just punched the guy.

771
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:37,315
Bam!

772
00:38:37,348 --> 00:38:39,651
Then I heard, "East Oakland!
East Oakland!"

773
00:38:39,684 --> 00:38:41,719
This dude looked like
the Incredible Hulk

774
00:38:41,753 --> 00:38:43,888
come out of nowhere.

775
00:38:43,922 --> 00:38:46,858
Hit Big Ed one time,
knocked Big Ed out.

776
00:38:47,826 --> 00:38:49,661
I looked for P outside,

777
00:38:49,694 --> 00:38:51,830
Silkk hide in the bathroom
somewhere.

778
00:38:53,832 --> 00:38:55,767
I got a TEC-9 in the car.

779
00:38:55,800 --> 00:38:57,645
Grab the TEC,

780
00:38:57,669 --> 00:38:59,304
come back in the club...

781
00:39:01,806 --> 00:39:03,141
See the dude.

782
00:39:06,444 --> 00:39:08,046
Nothing come out the gun.

783
00:39:11,449 --> 00:39:14,752
Everybody run, I get Big Ed,
get him to the car.

784
00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:19,591
I see the guy again jump out,
start shooting.

785
00:39:19,691 --> 00:39:21,226
Nothing come out.

786
00:39:27,665 --> 00:39:30,502
Get by Emeryville Bridge,
under the bridge.

787
00:39:36,040 --> 00:39:37,040
Ta-ta-tat.

788
00:39:38,076 --> 00:39:40,812
It shoot just as good as ever.

789
00:39:40,845 --> 00:39:42,380
Guess everything happen
for a reason.

790
00:39:42,413 --> 00:39:46,885
Because if that gun went off
in the club in Oakland,

791
00:39:46,918 --> 00:39:49,318
that would have been the end
of No Limit Records right there.

792
00:39:52,390 --> 00:39:53,958
After that night in Oakland,

793
00:39:53,992 --> 00:39:56,094
I realized God
had a bigger plan for me.

794
00:40:00,857 --> 00:40:02,892
No Limit definitely wasn't
an overnight success.

795
00:40:02,926 --> 00:40:05,895
He was like, "Some of us
ain't gonna make it."

796
00:40:05,929 --> 00:40:08,231
There ain't nothing but fire
coming from the window.

797
00:40:10,066 --> 00:40:11,801
I know y'all got this
"Ice Cream Man" album,

798
00:40:11,835 --> 00:40:12,969
made of 31 flavors.

799
00:40:13,002 --> 00:40:15,271
The music was infectious.

800
00:40:15,305 --> 00:40:16,716
This is my comeback,
I can put out

801
00:40:16,740 --> 00:40:18,174
how many records
I wanna put out.

802
00:40:18,208 --> 00:40:19,568
That's how
a businessperson thinks.

803
00:40:20,677 --> 00:40:22,278
Our next level
will be multi-platinum.

804
00:40:22,312 --> 00:40:25,148
Suge Knight was not happy
to have Master P

805
00:40:25,181 --> 00:40:26,950
in his territory.

806
00:40:26,983 --> 00:40:28,685
You either with us
or you against us,

807
00:40:28,718 --> 00:40:29,758
but you not gonna stop us.

808
00:40:30,036 --> 00:40:33,538
Subtitles Diego Moraes(oakislandtk)
www.opensubtitles.org