Dr. Percy “Master P” Miller will deliver the keynote address at Grambling State University’s Dec. 13 commencement ceremony.
Miller, a celebrated figure in hip-hop who helped put Louisiana and the rest of the South on at a time when many left the “third coast” out of the conversation, is also a respected businessman and community advocate.
According to Grambling State University’s press release, Miller has served as the ambassador for entertainment in the city of New Orleans, was appointed the Youth Ambassador for the NAACP, and is the winner of several
community service awards, including two NAACP Awards for Community Service, the Social Justice Entertainer of the Year Award, given in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as well as Certificates of Appreciation from the California State Assembly for advocacy for civil, social, and economic rights.Although Miller is best known as the founder of No Limit Records, which has sold more than 100 million records as an independent recording label, he also holds honorary doctorate degrees from Lincoln University and has received the key to multiple cities for his philanthropic work, including Memphis, Los Angeles, and Louisville.
Miller has made it a point to stress the importance of education to his children.
“You know what’s different about my family with me as a parent? I’m not pushing my kids to be entertainers. I’m pushing them to go to college,” Master P told The Wall Street Journal in 2018. “Now, if you’re good at entertainment, we’re gonna help you explore that, but it’s education first in my household…If you’re an entertainer, then you need something to fall back on.”
Miller’s escape from the Calliope Projects and poverty has become a part of his story.
Miller told Forbes in 2015 that his impoverished childhood pushed him to “break the negative cycle and pass that on to my kids”
He added, “They need to understand economics, they need to understand integrity, and they need to understand being humble. They need to understand their character is really all they can take with them—if you give your word, you have to keep it.
“I teach my kids that you’ve got to have something else that makes you hungry for success because you don’t have to overcome poverty. You must do something that you love, that is true to you, and you know you’re not compromising what you’re worth.”
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