When Master P calls, you answer. And when he calls with a cause, the message is received expeditiously. Legendary music mogul Percy “Master P” Miller called AllHipHop with an urgent message.
Fate Vincent Winslow was a man born in Percy “Master P” Miller’s native Louisiana, but found himself sentenced to life in prison for $20 worth of marijuana. Now, Master P and The Ice Cream Shop intend to celebrate the life of Winslow and turn 5/20 into a national holiday. See, Fate Vincent Winslow died in May 2021, mere months after being released early from incarceration in 2020.
Somberly, Master P reached out to AllHipHop in the evening hours to speak on the new movement and the cause.
“One of the guys (Mr. Winslow) that I had doing this Cannabis Freedom Day [with]…the guy got killed a couple days ago. We gonna really celebrate him. He was in prison since 2008 for having a $20 bag of weed on him. He just got out in December and he got killed the other day. I want to bring awareness, you know, helping prisoners when they get out. There’s so many of us locked down from marijuana when its legal in 34 states,” P told AllHipHop. “This is what I am trying to do.”
“We are doing this for people in these states that’s still incarcerated for marijuana,” P continued. “And then we’re celebrating by making 5/20 another holiday.”
“We have to make sure that this injustice doesn’t happen to more people. We need to increase awareness, help educate our culture and help prepare the imprisoned for freedom,” P said in a press statement. “Anyone who is incarcerated for a small amount of cannabis and is fighting this injustice still, we want to help them gain their freedom back.”
But, the difference between 4/20 and 5/20 is the latter points directly towards the millennial generation. 5/20
(pronounced five-twenty) is slang for exotic marijuana, particularly around 5:20pm and the date May 20th. “Everybody’s smoking exotic on 5/20,” the New Orleans-bred mogul said.
P also said that he was in celebratory mode for one of his Brothers-in-Hip-Hop, Busta Rhymes. “May 20th is also Busta Rhymes’ birthday so we gonna do some things together too.”
As the The CMO of The Ice Cream Shop, Master P says in a press statement, “Cannabis legalization has become more and more widespread, over 60,000 cannabis-related convictions have been reduced or fully dismissed in California, where cannabis is legal. As of 2021, 34 states have decriminalized cannabis, eliminating the risk of jail time for possession of small amounts. In states where cannabis is still illegal, a person arrested for cannabis can end up with a permanent criminal record, which can strip them of various essential opportunities like employment, housing, financial aid and even child custody.”
The impresario is determined to make 5/20 a new holiday with a purpose, smoking exotic cannabis,
celebrating freedom and inspiring legislative and judicial change.
To stamp the occasion, The Ice Cream Shop and Master P plan to drop a documentary next year called “5.20 Cannabis
Freedom Day.”