Pimp: The Story of My Life by ICEBERG SLIM
Iceberg Slim was a pimp in Chicago
between 1938 and 1960. A lifetime in the pimp business. He lived
a life (partly) in luxury, with money, women and drugs, but he
also constantly had one foot behind bars, on violent streets
and among people trying to outsmart him.
As the master pimp Sweet Jones said: "A pimp is really a
whore who's turned the rules in the hooker business."
Slim was born in Indianapolis,
Indiana, then by the name Robert Beck. His mother was a washer
and used to work all days long. She had come from Chicago, with
Slim yet unborn, running from a violent and responsibleless man.
The book is an adornless tale
of Iceberg's life. He doesn't give himslef away for somethign
he's not. He doesn't describe himself as a very sympathic person,
and probably he weren't. But he gets away with it, because that
was his life. Interesting read from a book; probably less interesting
living.
The gangster rapper Ice-T was
inspired by Iceberg's writing, and has written the introduction
for severeal of Slim's novels. He calls Slim's writing the beginning
of what's usually is referred to as gangster rap. He himself
calls it reality rap, as well as Iceberg Slim was writing of
his reality. Naturally it doesn't apply to everyone's reality.
As he writes in the introduction to "Doom Fox".

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