Master P Stands By His “Black Panther” Remarks, Discusses Black Artistic Ownership

Hip hop mogul Master P regularly drops knowledge on the importance of the ownership, especially as it pertains to black culture. During his press rounds for his latest film I Got The Hook Up 2, a movie that recently hit theaters last week, P dropped by The Breakfast Club and discussed a myriad of topics, including black filmmakers creating films both by and for the culture.

“You got to realize why it’s so important,” Master P said of black artists taking ownership of their work. “When we do a project like Black Panther, we didn’t benefit off that man. Like, black people was in the movie and we were happy and excited, but it wasn’t us.” The responses to P’s comment was divided, but in an interview with Rolling Out, P doubled down on his remarks.

“People don’t realize how important it is for us to own our own movies,” the No Limit Records CEO told the outlet. “A lot of these movies are made about our lifestyles and we don’t benefit at the end. Yeah, we create a lot of stories. But how can we put money back in the community? We only own 5 percent of of the production budget in Hollywood…With Black Panther, we were so excited to see Black faces in a movie of that magnitude. But after the movie made billions of dollars, how much came back to our community?”

P didn’t seem all that concerned with those that criticized Black Panther because he dared them to find a lie in comments. “I’ve been in the community 21 years giving back,” the philanthropist said. “So if we don’t make successful projects, how can we give back, because they’re not going to give back to us. They’re not going to give back to the community. We have to invest in us. So I was able to give 126 people speaking roles in this movie. And we’re up for the Guinness Book of World Records for the most speaking roles in a theatrical film. That means that we are giving people opportunities.”