Master P was willing to do whatever it took to build a strong connection with Michael Jackson. So when 9/11 took place, and there were no planes to leave New York, he went to drastic measures in order to appease the King of Pop.
On an episode of Cam Newton’s Funky Friday podcast, the No Limit leader recalled attending MJ’s 30th anniversary concert in New York. The event took place mere days before 9/11, after which the airways were shut down. How would anyone leave in such a catastrophic state? With Master P’s amount of money, he just rented a bus. Rather than leave MJ in the dark, he referred him to the same service.
“I had to rent a bus to come back home ‘cause they wasn’t flying out no more,” Master P recalled. “I even showed Mike how to get them. Mike said, ‘Man, how you get a bus?’ Like, ‘Man, call this number up, and I hooked him up with the bus to get back home.’”
When it came time to clear a Jackson 5 record for Lil Romeo’s “My Baby”, the connection might have helped. But P ultimately looked at it like any other business dealing, noting that it cost “everything” to get the sample cleared.
Master P Helps Michael Jackson in Post 9/11 New York and Gets a Sample Cleared Afterward
An encounter in New York wasn’t the only connection the rapper born Percy Miller had to Michael Jackson. In the 90s, while building No Limit, he was trying to understand the inner workings of the music industry. Given the royalties the King of Pop purchased over the years and the business dealings he had, MJ was someone to model after. Consequently, he reached out to Jackson’s lawyer.
However, that information certainly wasn’t going to come cheap. Later in the conversation with Cam Newton, Master P recalled ponying up $25,000 just to speak to his attorney. Once money was out of the way, though, he learned how to talk to labels and get what he wants. “He told me the only deal you could get bigger than Michael is an 85/15 [distribution] deal,” he told Newton. “But you going to need $200,000 in marketing money.”
Master P has hands in a variety of other business opportunities. Most famously, he partnered with James Lindsay to create Rap Snacks. Rappers like Migos and Lil Baby would be the face of various potato chip products.
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