New Orleans rap mogul Master P has introduced several new food products in an effort to compete with Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben’s and other trusted but embattled staples on grocery store shelves.
The 50-year-old entrepreneur, whose real name is Percy Miller, launched the “Uncle P’s” brand in March, with rice, beans, grits, pancake mix, syrup and oatmeal products that feature his unmistakable image on the packaging, clad in sunglasses.
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The products are already available around the country with a catchy marketing slogan on the box that says “There’s no limit to success.”
A percentage of the profits are being donated to youth and elderly programs and toward developing real estate and job opportunities in the Black community, according to reports.
“I’m grateful that I’m in a position to add some diversity in packaged foods,” Miller told CNN. “It’s not just about having the Uncle P products but also having a good cause behind it. I’m happy that I can make a difference in my communities.”
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Last year, Miller helped relaunch the Rap Snacks brand, which is sold at Walmart stores, and he also markets his own ramen noodle brand called Rap Noodles.
Through his food ventures, Miller said he hopes to inspire more support for Black-owned businesses amid the national cultural shift on racial justice and equality.
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“Right now we’re burning down our blocks and our communities while protesting injustice, but if we are able to own products and put money back in our community, we could buy those blocks back instead of burning them down,” he said.
In June, in the wake of George Floyd’s death, the Quaker Oats Company announced it was removing the name and image of Aunt Jemima from its brand after 131 years, calling the change necessary “to make progress toward racial equality.”
Many other American corporations have also made public statements in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and some, including Quaker, are abandoning symbols and business practices seen as insensitive to people of color.
Two other popular consumer products, Uncle Ben’s rice and Mrs. Butterworth’s syrup, immediately followed suit, announcing they, too, would phase out their longtime brand logos.
“When you look at Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben, a lot of those products are mockeries of African American people and couldn’t even feed our communities. With Uncle P, the more we make, the more we give. And the only way to give is by owning these products,” Miller said.
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