The Notorious P Man Sam AKA Sam Silvasteen

The Notorious P Man Sam AKA Sam Silvasteen
by Faisal X Tavernier

Sam Ferguson is like the phantom of Miami’s Hip Hop opera. His perspective is crucial to understanding Miami and its superb yet stunted Hip Hop history.

Sam Fergusonis like the phantom of Miami’s Hip Hop opera. His perspective is crucial to understanding Miami and its superb yet stunted Hip Hop history. Sam pre-dates the Luke (2 Live Crew) era, which is where most people start when talkin’ about Miami rap/HipHop.

Luke rose to music dominance when all the dope boys and big money makers who financed the independent record movement were getting life sentences, long prison bids or buried in pine boxes. In the 80s and 90s, tons of cocaine rained through the port of Miami and the pursuit for pretty things and bloody money had every Tom, Dick and Tyrone trying to get their beaks wet. Superbly displayed by SuperBowl XLI festivities, Miami has become Hip Hop’s Fantasy Island, but most people, especially Miami folks, don’t understand how it got that way.

There was one brother who knows the story all too well. He navigated through several societies, claiming equal respect in them all. That man was notoriously known as P Man Sam (Ferguson.) Today he goes by the name Sam Silvasteen. He’s a walking time capsule of Miami’s past, present and future with an encyclopedia of knowledge and experience encrypted in his silver-patched dome.

As one of How Can I Be Down’s (HCIBD’s) key sponsors and a strategic ally in the HipHop Weekly publication with the Source founders, Sam is also the CEO of Miami’s newest OG label, Off Da Chain Records. Why OG? Well, their crew has nearly a century worth of music business experience between them. The first artist out the gate is One Monzta who garnered lots of local love with the group Polo Dynasty a few years ago. The first single Mr. Get Right is currently spinning on SoFla radio stations and gaining momentum. Monzta also happens to be the street conscious younger brother of Miami’s potty mouthed-"man eater"-material girl Trina. The master producer behind their boards is Ugly (for real, that’s his name.) Ugly produced that Ballin’ Boy smash hit for No Good that still blazes in NBA arenas and video game consoles today. Ugly also toured and produced for years with Luke (Campbell.) Also in Sam’s Camp is the dreadlocked Kayela Fleming whose been pushing music boundaries in Miami since Young and Restless were singing Poison Ivy. She’s concurrently is also organizing the return of the Hoodstock Music Fest with recently released (from the joint) DJ Raw.

But the Big OG in the Off Da Chain family is none other than the infamous (P Man) Sam Ferguson aka Sam Silvasteen."My label is called Off Da Chain, that means we free," affirms Mr. Silvasteen.

Sam, like an old school "goodfella" got married early (at 19) to the beautiful Daisy and began a real-life Bonnie and Clyde marriage that produced 3 children and ended with divorce in february of 2006 after 23 years. "I did good for my first shot out," he says. "My life was funny. I come from a big family, but I grew up in a foster home. That’s probably why I got a more caring spirit," says Sam.

Sam was birthed in Miami’s Mount Sinai Hospital in the 60s to Juvenile Detention Center Superintendent Katherine Ferguson. It would be real hard to find a person who better exemplifies Miami’s uncanny renegade spirit. Or, someone with a firmer belief in the talent that brews in Miami. "They just need to be guided," Sam says. "I watch our music now and gotta wait for the kids who grow up thinkin’ that they know something. But really what they know comes from TV and what guys from out of town are telling them. Everybody thinks they’re a leader here," he says cynically. "We need more followers."

Filled with every ingredient to make a big picture classic, Mr. Silvasteen’s biography unfurls starring a "who’s who" of Miami entertainment, business and political figures and laced with prison terms and obituaries.

At EKG Records, P Man built a budding empire that Interscope’s Jimmy Iovine was courting to use it as a Southern beachhead. Dr. Dre wanted the Tupac-sounding Black Haze but talks broke down and Sam’s partner, construction baron Evans Thermilus[notoriously known for his involvement in the commissioner Art Teele (RIP) scandal] decided to pull out of the music business.  "EKG wasted two years of my life. I built the brand up pretty good and then Evans came to me and said he was getting out of the music game just before we put out the artists" said Silvateen.

Sam the philosopher has a keen insight into the condition of the human mind and his avid reading and people-studying has shaped thorough theories that he candidly articulates with honest chutzpa.

Sam’s sphere of influence spreads out into many circles. As a good friend of the late and defamed Commissioner Arthur Teele who dramatically walked into the Miami Herald Lobby on July 27^th, 2005 and suicidally blasted himself in the head after shouting his famous last words"Katherine Harris, That Bitch!"

"Art was my man," Sam  says. "I think he killed himself to protect his pension. Art said he couldn’t win the case and he was facing 20 years (federal time.) If he got convicted, he loses his pension." said Sam. "And, I don’t think he was a homosexual," he added with a noticeable irritation in his voice. "If you said an alcoholic, I might agree. But a homosexual? After he died, the "punk" (homosexual who claimed to have a relationship with Teele) said he talked to Art from Metro West two days before the suicide," Sam points out. "That phone call should be recorded. Please let us hear it because you’re making the most respected Black commissioner ever in Miami into a homosexual without any validation. That just shows you the power of Katherine Harris," Sam says. "That’s why her name was the last name he said before he killed himself, "Katherine Harris, that b*tch!""

[Katherine Harris presided as Florida’s Secretary of State during the 2000 elections where she controversially handed the Florida ballot victory to George W. Bush to defeat Al Gore for the presidency. She was appointed by Gov. Jeb Bush. She later was rewarded with a Republican Congressional seat and subsequently lost a 2006 run for a Senator’s seat amidst election money scandals and Gov. Jeb Bush’s withdrawal of support for her.  Now back to our regularly scheduled program.]

Sam recalls a chance meeting between him and his good friend ousted Source Magazine owner and Hiphop entrepreneur Benzinowhen Commissioner Teele walked up. "Benzino and them wanted to bring the Source Awards here," said Sam. "The city of Miami Beach didn’t want it. Me and Benzino were sitting downstairs talkin’.Art had a place upstairs from me and came walkin’ up. I said "Art I need you to help my friends." Art said alright come on up to my place (The Venetian 33^rd Floor.) From that situation, Art went and amended two laws, brought The Source Awards here in a matter of months and made it work." In Sam’s view, "People harp on the bad things you do. You can do 200 good things and one bad and I promise, they’ll only remember the bad. People are too busy wanting you to think good about them and somehow if you know something bad about someone else that makes them good," he says with a humble chuckle.

Sam was first baptized in the entertainment business at age 14 with the Space Invasion DJs which later merged to become Space Funk DJs. "A dude named Muhammad that we called Heavy Face is the one who taught me business. Face was a substitute professor at Miami Dade. He turned DJing into a business," Sam recalls. "We built the store Space Age at the North Side shopping center and started the "one stops" before anybody else was doing it."

But it was in the early 80s with the Triple M DJs and the Bass Station Teen Disco (Rock It Baby) that Sam’s star began to emblazon Miami. "Triple M was built off of street money," he says. "Eric G (Griffin) got himself involved cause he was the producer of Triple M Bass (Miami classic) and wanted to be a part of the Worse Em Crew. I think I was the brains that had the experience. Norberto (Candy Man) and me was makin’ the money by that time. We was strong! There really was no competition," Sam recalls. "We was able to buy what we wanted; do what we wanted. The group that made the most money was Space Funk.Triple M was more like "hype." We just had our own money and we was showin’ out. Triple M was short for Miami Money Makers. We was the ones that started the Rolexx," says Sam. "Before it was Rolexx, it was called Reflections, but we started it and called it the Rolexx cause we all wore platinum Rolies," he reminisces with a boyish grin.

But in a flash, the much wiser Sam Silvasteen looks back on that era with dismay. "One thing I really don’t like that I did down here was involve myself in that strip club thing. The strip club done hurt us. That’s why we don’t have no businesses. Nigg*s is takin’ they money and "makin’ it rain" (throwing it out.)  You heard the song right? That’s ridiculous! The strip club makes a lot of money for the owners, but we didn’t realize what it does to the community,"says Sam.

Looking back he says, "I watched the death of my friends, The whole Worse Em crew, Triple M Bass," says Sam. His comrades Tony, Eric and Norberto were all murdered ruthlessly in cold-blood. "I’m the only one left. Eric got killed in his studio in St. Louis. A guy put the chord around his neck and beat him with the iron in front of his son. That’s a terrible thing! Don’t you agree," Sam solemnly asks.

His deep roots in this entertainment business and the street world made him a first-hand witness of the rise and fall of the Rick Brownlees, the Bo Diddleys and some of Miami’s other notorious street legends and hustlers. Sam credits his former partner Alex (RIP) of Xela Records for getting him back into the music business. Alex was gunned down in that infamous murder scene that unfolded at Alonzo Mourning’s barber shop CUTZ on Biscayne boulevard. "Alex came to me with an undisclosed amount of money and a car and was like "I need you to come do music." From there, it kinda gave me my drive again after losing my Mom, my son and the EKG situation. When I got to Xela, about 3 weeks later, that situation happened. So I said that when I get back in, it’s gonna be for myself."

In Miami, crime and the music business are in the same pot together Sam says. "Music is just our way out. Drugs is gonna exist and if you leave anything dangling and don’t jump out with both feet, guys down here are gonna pull you back in. The Brownlees and guys like that were hustlers. They were hard core at what they did. They did it and tried to be the best at it. I take my hat off to them for that. What they accomplished out of it, that’s for them to know, but as far as crime goes, I think it’s a lot easier now. Man, Channel 7 News (WSVN) got popular in the 80s covering crime."

Because of episodes like that and the legendary police fights, Sam’s street credibility and respectability loom as grand and mythical as Sasquatch. "I’m a person that understands the law and if you tell me something that’s not true, I’m gonna stand up for myself. I guess I made fightin’ the police famous down here but I didn’t do it intentionally. They be wantin’ you to lay down on a hot ground. I don’t do that! One time I was in an all white outfit and they wanted me to kneel down in the wet grass, I told em "officer I can’t do that." One little cop tried to grab my leg and that was a mistake," said Silvasteen with noticeable irritation as he recalled the event in his mind.

His history has stereotyped him as this Suge Knight gangster-type dude. When asked if that portrayal of him is accurate, Sam says "Nah! I met Suge. I think Suge is a dumb criminal. I’m not dumb! First of all, if somebody is alienating my artist, I won’t be the one kickin’ him; especially if I got $300 million. That’s why I say no," he says with respect. "The only thing that makes Suge and I resemble is our stature and that’s not even accurate cause he’s short. I think it comes from people assuming the approach is "if you don’t do it, this is going to happen." Okay fine, I be meaning that though. I’m just big and I mean what I say. If I was small, I would still mean what I say. I don’t think they would call me Suge then. I just don’t think that for a man with $300 million, he be thinkin’ smart. That’s just my opinion and he don’t have to do nothin’ to make me happy."

Dealing with everyone in Miami from Luke to Peter Thomas (longtime HipHop/Reggae Entrepreneur, Restauranteur and Cultural Ambassador,) Sam sees the biggest obstacle in Miami’s collective progress linked to the lack of leadership and the self serving attitude that seems to corrupt the hearts of men.

"We lost our edge because of crime and music. We were swept-up in the 80s. There were a lot of labels financed through crime ventures. Once the government came down and swept Miami (with the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) act) the way they did, they left a gap of knowledge with the youth," Sam reflects. People need to stay focused on accomplishin’ sh*t out here. We used to have businesses in the 80s. Tell me 5 Black businesses out here now. I had 7 businesses myself. Bo Diddley had about 10. Those guys were business-minded and the youth that came up after them was business minded, but when you take the head away the body dies," he says. "When I went away to prison, whoever was involved with me had to get their knowledge from somewhere else. There were guys who were doing excellent down here in the music businesses: Sherman Neely and Pretty Tony (crown prince of dance and freestyle music and the Music Specialist Label; It's Automatic,Jam the Box, Fix It in the Mix, When I Hear Music) both of them went to prison. "Independents" came up from here. Miami had that attitude before Atlanta and New York. That’s how I feel we lost our edge. All the financers (and mentors) were gone. People used to say when you go to Miami, all you’re gonna hear is Bass. But, that was our music. It was our infrastructure. We manufactured our artists and continued to eat. Labels were coming down here but didn’t understand the music, so we signed each other to record deals. If I didn’t go away (to prison), this conversation would probably be much harder to get to today," says Sam.

Optimistically he adds, "we’re getting back to that stage again. Before when you would only hear Trick and Trina, now you’re hearing Trick, Pitbull, Trina, Rick Ross, Jackie O. That means our structure is tightening up. I just wish my town (Miami) was headin’ in a better direction. I wish people would stop being self-serving. Like (DJ) Khaled, he’s in a community position. I think he needs to understand that. That’s not a spot to be self-serving. That’s a slot to analyze this town and help to improve our music infrastructure. His slot is not for us to overhear about Fat Joe and Lil Wayne. The $19 million that WEDR makes a year comes from Miami. We need to know where the talent is at in Miami cause that’s the radio station you’re on. If he can do that, then he can say that he "rep" this town. I don’t dislike him, I just think that he’s an opportunist. He’s in a situation and wants to capitalize off it and that’s cool. But when you say you rep this city, then look around and rep what’s around here. This is the city that’s gonna take care of you. It pays your bills now! You could be the group up there today and it’s somebody else tomorrow. You just gotta be humble enough to let it happen. Just cause Rick Ross is sellin’ today doesn’t mean somebody else won’t be sellin’ tomorrow." After seeing that cycle time and again Sam says,"I can still smile and be happy for anybody basking in the sunlight. Look how they just put Ross in that "movement." 6 months ago Ross was an outsider. He was over here with us. So now all of a sudden, he’s in there with yall. What kind of sh*t is that. That’s some crazy sh*t right? It goes to show you the power of the slot. I try to explain that to him (Khaled,)" said Sam Silvasteen.

[Yo, you know Faisal’s got eyes and ears everywhere right? Well, since this article first appeared in November of 2006, I got word from a bird that DJ Khaled called for a sit down with Sam Silvasteen at the 99 Jamz studios to discuss this piece and the previous comments. I wasn’t there, but I confirmed that it did happen with some reliable sources. We heard they resolved to work to do more to strengthen Miami’s music scene. Time will tell! Remember, the pen is mightier than the AK!]

Sam, who is rarely spotted in front of a camera made a split second cameo in DJ Khaled’s Born N Raised video.  I saw your little cameo in the DJ Khaled video we said. "Yeah, only because I was born and raised here and I like the song," Sam says. "When you get a chance to get rotated so all of the people who ain’t seen you and don’t know what you lookin’ like; people out of town, you take it so they see "oh that’s Sam, he still hangin’ in there." That’s why I did that. No other motives."

Sam’s life journey has taken him to the heights of glitz and glamour and through the wretchedness of the penal system. "I’ve been through a lot for 40 years old," he says. "I’ve been stabbed, shot. I’ve been broke. I’ve been rich. I’ve been a club owner, I’ve had #1 records. My life has been a whirlwind. I was married for 20-something years. That’s a lot of knowledge to have at 40," he reflects. "I know people who are still working on their first accomplishment and they’re 50. That just lets me know that God has a bigger plan for me and the knowledge that I needed, I needed to grab it fast."

On a quest to show the new generation what can be accomplished, Sam is ready to lead by example. "There’s strength in numbers," he says. We a small town but in some kind of way Miami’s voice gets magnified times 10. The (dope, street, hustle) game is just temporary. Clean your face and try to live right just so you can have a good funeral. At the end of the day, that’s it. You wanna be hard? Learn to say "no" when you would usually say "yes." That’s hard," Sam posited with a quiet laugh.

With two new babies (5 months and one almost 2,) a new love, a whole heap of experiences and scars galore from trudging through unforgiving Miami, I ask him who is Sam Silvasteen,  "It’s hard to pinpoint my total character. That’s difficult because I have a lot of aspirations beyond what people perceive me as. In an overview, I think it’s somebody that cares! That’s what I want to be known for. The only way to make changes out here is if you care," and he adds with a smile, "we are like the Jews of this rap thing. We’re all about gettin’ our money!"

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Watch video and read article of Sam Ferguson's Death. P-Man Sam AKA Sam Silvasteen Shot and Killed.