Romeo Miller: Master P's Son, His Own Man

Master P's Son, His Own Man

Percy Romeo Miller was born in New Orleans in 1989, the son of Percy "Master P" Miller — the Calliope Projects kid who built No Limit Records into a hip-hop empire. Growing up as the son of one of the wealthiest men in hip-hop could have gone a lot of ways. Romeo made it go the right way.

At five years old — five — Romeo wrote a rap for his father and signed to No Limit Records' Soulja Music Entertainment. His 2001 debut single "My Baby" peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. He was eleven. His self-titled debut album hit number six on the Billboard 200. Before he was old enough to drive, Romeo Miller was one of the best-selling young artists in the country.

Three more albums followed by 2004, but Romeo wasn't content to be just a rapper. He starred in his own Nickelodeon series, Romeo!, from 2002 to 2006. He appeared in films including Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection. He launched clothing lines. And in a move that proved he was more than just a celebrity kid, he walked on to the USC Trojans basketball team and played from 2008 to 2010.

Romeo changed his stage name from Lil' Romeo to simply Romeo as he grew up, shedding the diminutive the way he shed the expectations that come with being a famous rapper's son. He built his own identity — entertainer, actor, athlete, entrepreneur — while honoring the foundation his father laid.

The Miller family is one of New Orleans' most remarkable dynasties. Master P built the empire. Romeo proved that the next generation could sustain it — not by copying his father, but by finding his own path. Born in New Orleans, raised in the spotlight, and still standing. That's the Miller way.