Master P on Rapper-White House Invitation Controversy: Common Grew Up, Deserves a Second Chance

This is a rush transcript from "On the Record," May 11, 2011. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

MARTHA MACCALLUM, "ON THE RECORD" GUEST HOST: All right, well, you just heard Governor Palin. She did not agree with the White House decision to invite the rapper Common to poetry night. Should some of his controversial lyrics have kept him away from the White House? Our next guest is a multi-platinum hip-hop artist and producer. Master P joins us. Thank you very much for being here tonight. We appreciate you weighing in on this.

MASTER P, HIP-HOP ARTIST: Thank you. I'm glad to be here.

MACCALLUM: So tell me, did you watch tonight? And you know, what do you make of this controversy and the things that you just heard Sarah Palin say about all this?

MASTER P: Well, you know, I think Sarah Palin definitely has her opinion, but I think in the real world, people do deserve a second chance. I think that Common is a person that grew up. I mean, he had controversial lyrics, he had profanity in his songs, the same way I had in my past. And I think as a child -- look, everybody goes through something in life. And I think people deserve a second chance.

I mean, when I look at her life, nobody's perfect. I look at my life, nobody's perfect. I believe that God is the only person that can judge us. And I also look at that people do make mistakes, and you give them a second chance. I mean, her daughter [Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol] made a mistake at an early age. People still accepted her. And I just think that me, my family, I shouldn't -- we shouldn't judge people by what they do in the beginning of their life. I think that -- I deal with a foundation called Urban Born. We try to help kids on the streets to change their life.

And I think making statements like that will make kids give up. You know, I'm starting right now my own network, which is BBTV now. [Others seem to be] saying, you know, I had profanity in my songs, so I shouldn't go to companies like Comcast, I shouldn't go to other companies to try to further my goals and believe in myself.

MACCALLUM: Well, let me ask you something. You're very successful. And you know, I'm not -- has he [Common] apologized for the comments, you know, about "burn Bush"?

MASTER P: Yes, well, I...

MACCALLUM: Has he apologized for saying that he thinks that, you know, black men should not marry white women? Some of those comments are fairly recent, you know, and it raises a question, you know -- I think he has every right to say whatever he wants to say or sing whatever he wants to sing. It raises the...

MASTER P: Yes, but I...

MACCALLUM: ... question, though, is this -- is this appropriate for the people's house, for the White House, for the president's invitation?

MASTER P: Yes, you know what? I think a lot of things are not appropriate. But I think even people in the White House made mistakes. I think that this is a guy -- this is America. You know, we speak our mind. But you know, sometimes people might not ever apologize for some of the things and might not feel like things that they said really affected (INAUDIBLE) because it's like a job. When you look at Arnold Schwarzenegger, he played in movies and he did a lot of killings in these movies. He was able to get a government job.

And I think that even as African-Americans, Asians, Latinos, Caucasians -- I think that Martin Luther King said it right. I mean, we all have dreams, one day we all come together. And I think that's what's happening right now. People are coming together, but I think people do need to be more careful about the things they say.

I have went to the White House and apologized to the people for the music that I made, but that don't make me better. That don't make nobody else. I think that we should do something positive for this generation. Hopefully, we can save the next generation.

So I just think that everybody deserves a second chance. I just think that's what the government is about, giving people second chance because that's the only way we could cure this disease, which is a lack of education in our country right now.

MACCALLUM: All right. It's good to hear your thoughts on it, very controversial and a lot of things in there have people upset. You feel that he deserves a second chance. I'm not sure that he's, you know, apologized for some of these lyrics in -- you know, before he appeared at the White House tonight. But Master P, we thank you very much. Good having you here tonight.

MASTER P: I thank -- I thank you, too.

MACCALLUM: Thank you. Good to have you here.