Master P, music mogul, has been able to sell millions of albums, but the rapper’s presence on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” has caused a firestorm of controversy because of his continued inclusion on the show.
The rapper, who admitted to limited dance skills, explained his position on “The View” daytime talk show on Monday (Jan. 23).
“I never danced before in my life. I’m having fun, I’m still on the show and America likes what’s going on,” P explained.
But the New Orleans native also acknowledged his detractors.
“This is America, everybody is going to have an opinion. Everybody is gonna love you, everybody is gonna hate you. I’m just a country boy trying to dance. I’ve never danced a day in my life.”
The judges have berated Master P for his dancing and his refusal to conform to dance standards, but the rapper continues to be voted via the online poll component to the show.
Latoya West, who hosts a reality series TV blog at about.com, theorized that Master P’s fans are keeping the rapper in the running.
“The platinum-selling rapper has countless fans out there who may be calling in to save him. I’m pretty sure he has more fans than last week’s eliminee, Giselle “Who is she?” Fernandez. Dancing With the Stars may be more about popularity than Paso Dobles.”
While P said his whole family could dance, he said they too were perplexed at his dance floor maneuvers.
“They are like, ‘Dad, what are you doing?” he admitted. “Dancing” Judge Len Goodman told Master P. “It’s time that you and this show parted.”
But, Goodman may have underestimated the voting power of Master P’s wide fan base and those galvanized by the negativity towards the rapper.
Members of AllHipHop.com’s Ill Community defended the rapper’s efforts on the message board.
IC member Da 404 Soulja posted, “First off, I just want to give big ups to P and all the people that voted for him. If Master P ends up winning this, the White people are gonna start a riot and get P killed. I want to see P win this s**t!”
Master P’s supporters have even launched http://keep-p-dancing.com, a website dedicated to keeping the rapper on “Dancing With the Stars.”
Fans of “Dancing With the Stars” that posted on ABC’s web site weren’t as enthused at Master P’s endurance on the show.
“P has less rhythm than any White person that ever stepped on a dance floor and the show is supposing to be about dancing,” one ABC poster said. “The joke is in all the people who continue to watch and support this competition that allows dancing to be judged by popularity and not talent. It’s a talent contest. I suggest we all just turn off ‘Dancing With The Stars” and maybe they will come up with a better judging system.”
Master P responded to his detractors with positivity and a higher calling.
“I wanna show kids, ‘Do something else wit your life, you don’t gotta [succumb to the streets]. I’ve never danced before. I grew up in the ghetto. I just want to show kids they can try something new. Most kids in these communities live until they’re 18 or 19. If I made it out, they can make it out. I want to show them some change.”
“Dancing With the Stars” airs on Thursday nights at 8 pm EST on ABC voting results air on Friday nights at 8 pm.