Pimp: The Story of My Life – by Iceberg Slim

This book is not for the faint of heart. It is violent, raw, x-rated, and offensive. In fact, while I was reading this book, I was very careful to not let others see it. I didn’t want to hear people’s reaction when they saw that I was reading a book titled, “Pimp”.

I bought Iceberg Slim’s autobiography after watching Dave Chappelle’s 2017 Netflix stand up. He talked about the ruthless and capitalistic principles described in the book. Everything I read is something that was recommended to me, so if it was good enough for Dave Chappelle, it was good enough for me. Little did I know the book is quite famous and known by many.

The book is an autobiographical narrative of the life of Iceberg Slim. Iceberg Slim birth name was Robert Maupin. He was born in 1918 and died in 1992. You immediately know that the book is going to be raw when on the first page, Iceberg describes being molested. He was only 3 years old, and his babysitter would force him to perform oral sex on her while his mother was at work. His story continues chronologically and goes through his childhood which was mostly innocent.

The language in the book is street slang and requires a glossary which is in the back. I had trouble understanding a lot of the book, but as a followed Iceberg’s life story, I learned the street language and the pimping game. Honestly, the drugs, sex, violence, prison escapes all fascinated me and kept me turning the pages.

Throughout the book, Iceberg gets imprisoned five times. He describes the pure hatred and violence he faces by the white cops. As you read, you can really feel the hopelessness of being a black male in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. Also noteworthy is the fact that Slim learn how to be a criminal and a pimp while spending a year in the state penitentiary as a teenager. Prisons create more criminals than they rehabilitate.

So kind of a name is Iceberg Slim anyway? Well, his real name was Robert Maupin. He got the name Iceberg after a shootout in a barroom. Iceberg had been injecting cocaine all day long. One of the bullets from the shootout went through his hat and knocked it off his head. He was so high on cocaine that he didn’t move or even realize what had happened. His friend Top Hat told him that that was the coldest shit he had ever seen. Top Hat said that Robert was as cold as an Iceberg. So there’s the name. I read online that that story wasn’t actually true. I’m not sure, but I enjoyed the story nonetheless, and it wasn’t hard to believe compared to the book’s other graphic descriptions.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It was cool to read about Chicago in the ’30s and ’40s. The violent and ruthless descriptions of this underground world that I knew nothing about kept me engaged.

I think the overall fascination with the book is Iceberg’s explanation of pimping. Iceberg breaks down the psychological manipulation that he has to use to convince women to whore out their bodies and then bring the money back to him. It’s almost unbelievable, but it was really true. The professions of pimp and prostitute exist all around the world and have existed for a very long time.

So once again, this book is very x-rated and not for everyone. However, there is something to be said for the fact that it is an autobiography. It shines a light on a culture and time period in America which I knew nothing about. The book was actually very well written. I’m glad that I read it.