To me, as a product of the suburbs, the “pimp” figure was a mystical one. The first time I’d heard of one was from 50 Cent’s “P.I.M.P.” off of one of the most often played albums on my Panasonic CD player (crosses self and looks to sky). Based on the lyrics and video, my naive mind formed the idea that pimps were really friendly, confident men who didn’t loan money to women, thus getting the classy ladies. Little did I know, but I was just scratching the surface. Multiple Blaxploitation films and embarrassing conversations later, I had the business of pimping down. But I had yet to meet a pimp and pick his brain. The pimp still wasn’t another human to me that I understood; he simply became a frowned upon businessman like the Watchtower folks. Enter, Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp.
The documentary chronicles Robert Lee Maupin’s life as he becomes Iceberg Slim and then later on, Robert Beck. It uses first hand accounts from both his wives, three of his four children, and Bentley Morriss (President of Holloway House Publishing, where Pimp: The Story of My Life* was first picked up). To get a better idea of Iceberg’s far reaching legacy, the film also interviews a slew of intellectuals (professors, psychologist, anthropologist) and celebrities (Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, Chris Rock, Quincy Jones, Katt Williams, Henry Rollins, Archbishop Don “Magic” Juan). Iceberg Slim, himself, is portrayed through prior interviews he had done. You can tell that the filmmakers wanted to not only point out the almost inescapable career choice of Slim, but how he also turned his misfortune of becoming “street poisoned” into a great boon later in his life. And along the way, you learn the ups and downs of getting to the top of the pimp game (spoiler alert: a lot of prison time, drugs, and discipline).
The first half focuses on his upbringing and entry into the pimp game at the age of 24. Due to the environment he grew up in and mentally bruising relationships with the women in his life, young Robert quickly learned to love the control he had over his future stable. Aside from his perfectly stylish image, his defining characteristic was how stolid he was at all times-the cocaine helped. He was more than good at penetrating the minds of women and retaining that psychological power over them.
The second half of the film shifts to the discovery of his incredible ability to tell stories about the pimp game and his life. It’s his salvation for the audience. You find out that an ailing mother and cathartic prison stints led him to his first wife and an honest living. After meeting Betty, Slim and she decided that the world needed to hear his stories based on the amount of crazy stories Slim could recount. The idea turned into a writing deal with Holloway House, which may or may not have pimped out Slim. From this deal, came the bible of the pimp game, Pimp: The Story of My Life, a series of books, a movie, and an audiobook. While Betty Beck purports that she had to fight to set things right, financially, with Bentley Morriss, Morriss claims nothing short of professional integrity on his part.
The editing for the film was creative but executed poorly at times. There are short bits of interviews with Chris Rock and Ice-T telling the audience about the impact Iceberg had on their lives that seem out of place. They would have served better by being placed with other anecdotes at the end of the film. Also, the parts with Betty Beck (Slim’s first wife) are often presented with two screens of her, side by side, each one taking turns being animated. It felt unsettling and unmotivated from the director. Although we do see an interaction between Iceberg and one of his “employees,” which was taken from another film, it would have been more comprehensive to find and interview other “employees” of his. The soundtrack was on point with appropriate Hip-Hop and Funk tracks.
At the end of it all, it’s really tough to hate Robert Beck. Although he became one of the most successful men at one of the most detested professions, he doesn’t encourage anyone to foolishly think the pimp life is one to aspire to attain. He did manage to translate his pain from the game into a way to support his family. But of course fate would have it that the publishing company may have pimped him. Either way, the world heard the voice of one man who only needed a pen and pad to find his true calling. And now you can witness it as well. The film will hit theaters nationally on July 19. For more information on the film and local showtimes, check out the film’s website.
*I haven’t read Pimp: The Story of My Life but I plan on reading it now.
Bryan Hahn (@notupstate)
