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Master P's gifts stir questions: Churches, school debate taking cash
An entertainment mogul who built his fortune on gangsta rap has stepped foward to save his dying Roman Catholic elementary school, but not before throwing church officials into an ethical and moral debate over whether to take the gift.
Percy "Master P" Miller, who attended St. Monica Catholic Elementary School and now reigns as a multimillionaire gangsta rap impresario with interests in movies, clothing and professional sports, has quietly donated $500,00 to St. Monica and two nearby Catholic churches.
Church officials had decided earlier this month to close St. Monica's after 75 years, sending its 125 students to nearby Our Lady of Lourdes School. Distressed parents were searching for a last option when Judith Watson, St. Monica's school board president, said she called P for help.
P was in Toronto recently trying out for the NBA's Toronto Raptors when he learned of St. Monica's crisis.
"I graduated from St. Monica," P said in an interview March 17. "That school's been in my community all my life, that's the church that I'm committed to. When they told me what the situation was, I figured that this was a good opportunity to save some of the kids, to give them the opportunity that I had."
P gave the school $250,000, and pledged support for another two or three years - "until the school can get back on its feet," Watson said.
He said he sent $150,000 to Our Lady of Lourdes, and $100,000 to St. Matthias, two nearby churches with ties to P's family.
Miller, 28, emerged from the B.W. Cooper Housing Development in the early 1990s to become Master P, rap star, entertainment mogul and aspiring professional basketball player.
His company, No Limit, is the highest-grossing independent rap label in the nation. Last year, Forbes magazine ranked P tenth on its list of high-paid entertainers, ahead of Celine Dion and Garth Brooks, with an estimated income of $56 million.
But P's dpnation, made quietly two weeks ago, provoked days of dicussion among archdiocesan officials, who wondered whether the church could ethically accept the money given the raw language and violent content of much rap music.
Late week, Archbishop Francis Schulte signed off on a recommendation to accept the gifts, based on a conversation between P and Bishop Gregory Aymond. The focus of their talks was the $250,000 donation to St. Monica.
Aymon dais they did not know until March 17 of the other two gifts to Our Lady of Lourdes and St. Matthias.
"It became clear in the one-on-one conversation with Master P that he had discontinued his involvement in rap music last year," said Aymond.
That "conversation," as Ayomnd called it, was the critical element in the church's decision to accept the money because it represents a break from the sexuality and violence that church leaders find offensive and potentially harmful, he said.
He said he reviewed lyrics of "Ghetto Life," a cut from P's most recent album. "MP Da Last Don," in which the rapper reflects on his personla growth and desire to omve beyond the hustles of neighborhood life.
Not although P has said he will no longer record as a solo rap artist, his core business, the No Limit label, is still founded on rap music. Last week, No Limit released "Bossalinie," a new album by P's younger brother, Corey "C-Murder" Miller, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard pop album chart. And the company still includes a stable of other artist such as Mia X and Mystikal, who deal with typically raw subject matter.
Whatever officials' understanding of P's involvement with No Limit and its future, Aymond said he was impressed by P's generosity and sincerity.
"He kept saying 'I love my church. i want my kids to have opportunities I didn't have.'" Aymond said. "he said, "I want my church to accept my gift.'"
P also had other supporters in the discussions. The Rev. John Cisewski, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes and a friend of P's and the Miller family, called P "a wonderful person and a great individual. I think he's done wonders for the community. i think he's a great success story."
In any case, P said his music should not be a factor in the donation. He likened his rap persona to characters portrayed by action heroes in movies.
"When Steven Seagal is in a movie, after the movie is over, you let Steven Seagal go on living his life; you don't look at him like (his characters in the film)," P said. "To me, rap music is a job. I talk about stuff that happens in the community. Some of it is good, some of it is bad. I just paint the picture like a movie, from beginning to end.
"(But even if I was still doing rap solo projects, that shouldn't even matter. If somebody steps up to help make a way out for these kids, then that's something that the world should look at and say, 'You know what? He did a good thing.'"
Located a block from the B. W. Cooper development, St. Monica's school educates students who are overwhelmingly black and poor, coming from families paying tutions ranging from $1,400 to $1,700 per year, officals said.
But enrollments have been declining steadily, and for years the archdiocese subsidized the school with an annual donation of about $40,000, Aymond said.
Parents and friends of St. Monica's universally praised P's generosity, and and said they were distressed the archdiocese even considered not taking the gift.
"Whether the money's coming from rap, jazz, or poetry, what difference does it make? That's his profession," said Shaundra Williams-Dawson, the school's secretary. "So what's the big deal? Catholics have been playing bingo for years. And public school teachers get their salaries from casino taxes. If they looked at it that way, we'd all be in trouble."
"This school is a vital part of this community," said Marilyn Williams, a member of the parish council. "We can't let 75 years of history go down the drain."
