When big-name musicians make a foray into industries that aren’t musical, there’s generally a bit of luxury involved in the process. Frank Ocean’s recently-announced Homer is one example of this, but so is Metallica’s foray into the world of whiskey. Upon hearing that Master P (aka Percy Miller) is the owner of a food business, you’d probably assume that it also falls on the high end of things — after all, the man has sold millions of records over the years, along with stints an actor and a professional basketball player. Instead, though, he’s adopted a very different business model.
In an interview with Eric Easter at The Washington Post, Miller discussed the latest project from P. Miller Enterprises, which offers “chips, ramen, flour, rice, breakfast cereal, frying mix and other pantry staples.” Easter brings up the fact that this is an unexpected path for a star to take, to which Miller offers a knowing response — essentially, he’s seeing an opportunity for economic and social change. “As a kid I grew up buying and eating these products, the snack foods, and none of us ever owned them,” he told the Post.
“You look at Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben — these are pure mockeries of us,” he said later in the interview. “Our grandparents made us buy these products because we thought it was Black-owned.”
That isn’t to say that Miller isn’t taking cues from luxury brands elsewhere. He cites Louis Vuitton as one inspiration for taking the long view when it comes to his business. “I was just studying Louis Vuitton, how his family went through so much hardship, but they were able to pass the brand down from generation to generation,” he said. “Why can’t we do it, and be able to give opportunity, employment and executive positions to people who look like us?”
He emphasizes several times in the interview that this venture is “not a sexy business.” But then again, plenty of successful businesses aren’t remotely sexy. And this particular venture seems to line up well with Miller’s longstanding interest in nutrition and addressing hunger. Sometimes, things that don’t seem like obvious pairings turn out to click perfectly in the end.
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