Master P does have his limits, at least in court.
The founder of No Limit Records and his kid brother, hip-hopster Silkk the Shocker, pleaded no contest Monday to illegal gun charges, the Los Angeles District Attorney's office confirmed.
The sibs were each facing one felony count of carrying unlicensed, loaded handguns, but P (aka Percy Miller), 38, pleaded down to a misdemeanor charge. A Superior Court judge sentenced him to 40 hours of community service and a fine of $700. Silkk (aka Vyshonn Miller), 30, who pleaded no contest to a felony charge, received the same punishment as his brother, as well as three years' probation.
Master P, who was not in court Monday, and Silkk were facing three years in state prison if convicted.
The pleas came on the same day the rappers' trial was set to begin.
The Miller brothers were arrested Jan. 27, 2005 near UCLA after police pulled them over for having no license plate. Officers said they spotted two guns in the car; one wedged under Silkk's seat, the other sitting atop P's seat. The Millers spent a few hours in custody and were each released on a $35,000 bond. In March 2005, they pleaded not guilty to weapons possession charges.
According to the district attorney's office, the Millers had borrowed the Chrysler 300M and the guns were traced to Silkk's buddy, the leaser of the car and the weapons' registered owner.
Meanwhile, P has not been sitting around waiting for the gavel to bang. The "Only God Can Judge Me" rapper has been busy hoofing it up on Dancing with the Stars this year. He was serving as a last-minute replacement for his son, rapper-actor Romeo. P found the time to perform some pretty ungraceful steps on the ABC hit's Feb. 26 live finale, a day before he was due in court (where he and Silkk were ordered to stand trial).
Master P also produced the Romeo-starring comedy Uncle P, which New Line Cinema is planning to release this summer.
Silkk, once one of No Limit's most buzzed-about rappers, released The Best of Silkk the Shocker in 2005, featuring a few performance collaborations with his big bro, including "It's Time to Ride" and "I'm a Soldier."
The Miller boys are off the hook just in time to turn their attention to middle brother Corey--aka C-Murder, and now C-Miller--whose second-degree murder conviction was overturned Friday by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The felon/recording artist (who released The Truest $#!@ I Ever Said from jail last year) was facing life in prison without parole after being convicted in 2003 of killing a 16-year-old boy outside of a club.
The high court ordered a new trial for C-Miller, 35, after ruling that the jury at his trial should have been informed that some of the prosecution's witnesses had criminal backgrounds.