Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp Page #6

With no money

to feed the kids,

No milk money,

no cigarette money,

No nothing, barely

getting by on the rent.

We don't have to live like-

'cause writers make money.

And I got

100 pages together.

And he took it

to bentley morriss.

- I can see him at the door

at this moment.

Just immaculate.

This extraordinary

human being

Of about- I think

about 6-3 in height

Came and said he's an author

And he'd like to leave

a manuscript.

The editor at the time

Was a chap by the name

of milton van sickle.

He read it,

brought it in to me,

And I said, wow.

It was such a revelation

To receive a book

with such intensity

And with such truthfulness.

- Bentley morriss

gave us a $5,000 advance.

And we were down to five.

You got $5.00,

Somebody gonna cut you

a check for 5 grand,

What are you gonna do?

Are you gonna give them

that portion of your work

And then promise them

That the rest of it will be

delivered within two months?

And that's what we did.

Certainly, him coming up

With the nom de plume

of iceberg slim

Was an extremely clever

writer's device

Because it tells you

right in the name,

Slim, okay,

he's good looking.

He's cat-like.

Iceberg:

He's cold, cold, cold,

And only the tip

of the iceberg showed,

Just what

he wanted you to see.

Most of it

was hidden from view.

He said, no, on the street,

they call me cavanaugh.

That was my name.

Cavanaugh.

- Everybody

was enthralled by the book,

And we figured, let's go.

- Pimpwas

the first real book

About the street life,

And the first

real black experience

Put into a book form.

- You had james baldwin,

for example,

Or ralph ellison,

very literate black writers

Who did not reflect

the nitty gritty

Of life on the street.

Iceberg slim

was the real thing.

If was insightful

in terms of

The life of the street

itself.

He'd take something

very gory or simple,

But he'd bring poetry

to it somehow.

- The delivery

is so poetic in nature

That you are

falling in love with the words

Even though that

they are word of violence

And words of turmoil

and terror.

It was so intriguing.

Here I am, a little girl,

a young girl,

And I'm reading this stuff

about pimps

And drugs and prostitution

And, you know, your imagination

just goes haywire.

- Just doesn't sound

like anything else

Or feel like anything else.

It's a snapshot

Of things you're never

gonna be able to see.

- You crack any page

on the book

And read out a paragraph

And it's the craziest sh*t

you've ever heard.

It's not just the game,

it's the pain of the game.

- He really tells you

where this pimp is from

And takes you

into everything

This pimp has gone through

And what has made this pimp.

It was raw.

To be able

to write about such things

In a way that captures

the essence

Of what has transpired

As well as giving these events

a certain literary flair

Is, I think,

what makes pimp stand out.

Unrelentingly brutal.

And iceberg slim's writing

is so vivid and so clear,

He makes it all inescapable.

The whole book's gripping.

You cannot put it down.

- The sh*t was so deep-

written in deep slang,

You know, a lot of people

even heard that

And didn't know what the f***

iceberg was talking about,

And that was the cool part

about it, you know.

- His publisher didn't

understand the damn book.

I said to him,

these terms that you use,

Catching, blowing, tricking,

B*tches, bottom woman.

I don't understand

what you're talking about.

So I asked bob

Would he endeavor

to compile

A section of glossary

In definition

of some of the phrases.

He said

he'd be delighted to.

- Chili pimp is defined

as a small time pimp,

Probably only has

one ho working for him

And he's new to the game.

The bottom b*tch

is the pimp's main woman

Who runs all the other hos.

Vic or a trick,

that's a mark or a victim.

Why a trick?

The trick pays for something

That a real man

gets for free.

That's the trick of it.

- And then when he did that

and I reread the book-

And I reread it

many, many, many times-

And I had the glossary

to refer to,

I felt I knew

what I was reading.

- He really laid out

the etiquette of the pimp,

The gentleman of leisure.

You know, how flamboyant

and how fly

Can this lifestyle be?

- There was obviously

a romantic element

That appealed

to a young black man

Of, gee, that'd be

a great life to have.

- The way he articulates

his words

And through his lifestyle,

It makes pimping seem fun.

It makes pimping seem like

It's the coolest sh*t

in the world.

But really it's not.

It's a tough sport.

- When you're

street poisoned,

A youngster reads the book

and he rationalizes.

You see, we must have

a rationale for stupidity.

Any time

we do something stupid,

We first got to

convince ourselves

That we got to do

that stupid thing.

So they rationalize.

Oh, this stud,

I'm hipper than this.

I won't get cracked,

you know.

I won't get caught.

I won't go to the joint.

I won't go to the penitentiary.

I won't use drugs.

I won't use heroin.

I won't get hooked.

I won't be a junkie.

I'll be cooler, you know.

Sure, the dude is righteous,

But I'm more righteous,

you know.

I'm more together

than this dude.

This dude is old, you know.

You see?

This is the rationale.

That's unfortunate.

In l.A., where I've been

living the last 10 years,

Just hordes of youngsters

approach me on the street,

And they try

to pick my brain

For the hidden treasures

They think are buried

inside my skull.

And I always

slap their wrist

Before they reach for it.

- He just wanted

young black people

To realize that your head

can help you

Get on a higher plane.

And he de-glamourized it.

He took all the glamour

out of that.

- We felt this was gonna be

an unusual book,

And so we pursued

unusual methods.

And there was a chap

by the name of joe pyne

On kttv

Who ran wild interviews

Of the most bizarre

and off-beat people,

But he had

an incredible audience.

And so we called kttv

And presented to them the

possibility of this author.

Would he like to do

an interview?

He put him on,

and all hell broke loose.

- This is not one of

the reverend's evil spirits.

Our guest masquerades

under the name of iceberg slim.

Many of you

remember his story

Of his days

as a procurer

Or if you will a pimp.

Now he leads

a respectable family life.

Iceberg slim

has gone straight.

For this reason, he continues

to hide his identity.

It really pained you

to go straight.

- Oh, yes. This is

a better bag, as they say.

- You don't miss

all that excitement, huh?

Oh, of course not.

I mean...

- You get to keep

your money now.

- That's right, and pimp

is a runaway best seller.

Is that right?

- They can't keep them

on the stands.

- We couldn't keep

the phones silent.

We didn't have time

to punch 911 if we had to

'cause calls were coming in.

Where can I buy the book?

When we got

that box of books

And he brought 'em home

with pimp,

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