Iceberg Slim
Encyclopedia
Iceberg Slim aka Robert Beck (August 4, 1918 – April 28, 1992) was a reformed pimp
and American author of urban fiction
.
on August 4, 1918, he spent his childhood in Milwaukee and Rockford, Illinois
until he returned to Chicago. His mother left his father to run a beauty shop and worked as a domestic to support them both.
Reviews of Pimp were mixed; it was quickly categorized as being typical of the black "revolutionary" literature then being created. However, Beck's vision was considerably bleaker than most other black writers of the time. His work tended to be based on his personal experiences in the criminal underworld, and revealed a world of seemingly bottomless brutality and viciousness. His was the first insider look into the world of black pimps, to be followed by a half-dozen pimp memoirs by other writers. Of his literary contribution, a Washington Post critic claimed, "Iceberg Slim may have done for the pimp what Jean Genet
did for the homosexual and thief: articulate the thoughts and feelings of someone who's been there."
Pimp sold very well, mainly among black audiences. By 1973, it was reprinted 19 times and sold nearly 2 million copies. Pimp was eventually translated into German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish and Greek. Nevertheless, the book's audience remained predominantly black.
He wrote seven more novels. Beck has sold over six million books prior to his death in 1992, making him one of the best-selling African-American writers (after Alex Haley
). All his books were published exclusively as paperback
s. Iceberg Slim also released an album
of poetry called Reflections in the early 1970s.
Pimp was followed by Trick Baby, Naked Soul of Iceberg Slim, Mama Black Widow, Long White Con, Airtight Willie & Me, and Death Wish: A Story of the Mafia.
movie of the same name, directed by Larry Yust.
A movie adaptation of Pimp has been planned for a long time. There were announcements of a movie directed by Bill Duke
and starring Ice Cube
; that project was put on hold. In 2004 rapper Pras
acquired the rights to produce a movie based on the book.
Mama Black Widow is in development and is presently seeking a director. It was adapted by Will De Los Santos. Reports have suggested that the film would feature Kerry Washington
, Anthony Anderson
, Rihanna
, Mos Def
, and Macy Gray
.
erupted.
artists and rappers such as Ice-T
and Ice Cube
and Pittsburgh Slim
, who adopted their names in part from reading the author. Iceberg Slim's last book, Doom Fox, which was written in 1978 but not published until 1998, contains an introduction written by Ice-T. Ice-T's third album, The Iceberg, was another major homage. Most of the currently popular references to pimp culture, for example in the work of Too Short and Snoop Dogg
, ultimately can be traced back to Iceberg Slim. Rapper Jay-Z
also refers to himself as "Iceberg Slim" whenever discussing his adventures with women.
The Eddie Murphy
character "Velvet Jones", played on Saturday Night Live
, was a spoof of Iceberg Silm's character.
Comedian Dave Chappelle
often talks about Iceberg and "The Game" during his stand-up routines. According to him, Iceberg got his name by keeping "ice-cold" in a shoot-out where he stayed at the bar drinking his drink even though a bullet pierced his hat, a story told at the end of chapter 13 in Slim's Pimp. On his 2006-07 summer tour, Chappelle told a tale of Iceberg, learning of him from Maya Angelou
, and relates it to why he left $50 million at Comedy Central
and secretly went to Africa.
At the conclusion of Chappelle's stand up routine he compares how Slim used to blackmail his hookers, thereby forcing them to stay loyal to him. Chappelle would close his show with the saying, like Slim used to say "Don't ever leave me."
Pimp
A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...
and American author of urban fiction
Urban fiction
Urban fiction, also known as Street lit, is a literary genre set, as the name implies, in a city landscape; however, the genre is as much defined by the race and culture of its characters as the urban setting. The tone for urban fiction is usually dark, focusing on the underside...
.
Early life
Born Robert Lee Maupin, in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
on August 4, 1918, he spent his childhood in Milwaukee and Rockford, Illinois
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
until he returned to Chicago. His mother left his father to run a beauty shop and worked as a domestic to support them both.
Pimping
Taking "Iceberg Slim" as an assumed name, Robert started pimping at 18, and continued until age 42, when he decided against it in 1960, after a final 10-month prison stretch in solitary confinement. At that point, he decided to write about his past instead. Slim moved to California in the 1960s to pursue writing under the Iceberg Slim pen-name, but in normal life, changed his name to Robert Beck, taking the last name of the man his mother was married to at the time.Writing
In 1969, his first autobiographical novel was Pimp: The Story of My Life, published by Holloway House.Reviews of Pimp were mixed; it was quickly categorized as being typical of the black "revolutionary" literature then being created. However, Beck's vision was considerably bleaker than most other black writers of the time. His work tended to be based on his personal experiences in the criminal underworld, and revealed a world of seemingly bottomless brutality and viciousness. His was the first insider look into the world of black pimps, to be followed by a half-dozen pimp memoirs by other writers. Of his literary contribution, a Washington Post critic claimed, "Iceberg Slim may have done for the pimp what Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
did for the homosexual and thief: articulate the thoughts and feelings of someone who's been there."
Pimp sold very well, mainly among black audiences. By 1973, it was reprinted 19 times and sold nearly 2 million copies. Pimp was eventually translated into German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish and Greek. Nevertheless, the book's audience remained predominantly black.
He wrote seven more novels. Beck has sold over six million books prior to his death in 1992, making him one of the best-selling African-American writers (after Alex Haley
Alex Haley
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an African-American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the coauthor of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.-Early life:...
). All his books were published exclusively as paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
s. Iceberg Slim also released an album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
of poetry called Reflections in the early 1970s.
Pimp was followed by Trick Baby, Naked Soul of Iceberg Slim, Mama Black Widow, Long White Con, Airtight Willie & Me, and Death Wish: A Story of the Mafia.
Recordings
- Reflections (first press 1976, ALA Records); producer: David Drozen; executive producer: Louis Drozen; music: Red Halloway Quartet; photography: Robert Wotherspoon
- Reflections (reissue 1994, Infinite Zero/American Recordings/Warner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. RecordsWarner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
) - Reflections (reissue 2008, Uproar Entertainment)
Film adaptations
In 1973 one of his reality novels, Trick Baby, was adapted as a blaxploitationBlaxploitation
Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...
movie of the same name, directed by Larry Yust.
A movie adaptation of Pimp has been planned for a long time. There were announcements of a movie directed by Bill Duke
Bill Duke
William Henry "Bill" Duke, Jr. is an American actor and film director with over 30 years of experience. Known for his physically imposing frame, Duke's work frequently dwells within the action/crime and drama genres but also includes comedy.-Early life:Duke was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the...
and starring Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
; that project was put on hold. In 2004 rapper Pras
Pras
Prakazrel Samuel Michel, known as Pras, is a Grammy Award-winning Haitian-American rapper, actor, film producer, and member of the hip hop trio The Fugees.-Early life:...
acquired the rights to produce a movie based on the book.
Mama Black Widow is in development and is presently seeking a director. It was adapted by Will De Los Santos. Reports have suggested that the film would feature Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington
Kerry Washington is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ray Charles's wife, Della Bea Robinson, in the film Ray , as Idi Amin's wife Kay in The Last King of Scotland, and as Alicia Masters, love interest of Ben Grimm, The Thing, in the live-action Fantastic Four films of 2005 and 2007...
, Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson
Anthony Anderson is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He has starred in his own sitcom All About the Andersons, as well as the Fox sitcom The Bernie Mac Show during the fifth and final season of the show. He is also known for his leading roles in television dramas such as K-Ville, The...
, Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
, Mos Def
Mos Def
Dante Terrell Smith is an American actor and Emcee known by the stage names Mos Def and Yasiin Bey. He started his hip hop career in a group called Urban Thermo Dynamics, after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. With Talib Kweli, he formed the duo Black Star, which...
, and Macy Gray
Macy Gray
Macy Gray is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, famed for her distinctive raspy voice, and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday and Betty Davis.Gray has released five studio albums, with her fifth studio album, The Sellout,...
.
Death
Robert Beck died of complications from diabetes on April 28, 1992, one day before the 1992 Los Angeles Riots1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots or South Central Riots, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest were sparked on April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white and one hispanic Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a...
erupted.
Influence
Iceberg Slim was an important influence on hip-hopHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
artists and rappers such as Ice-T
ICE-T
* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...
and Ice Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
and Pittsburgh Slim
Pittsburgh Slim
Sied Chahrour, better known by his stage name Slimmie Hendrix , is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In January 2011, he teamed up with Snowballers Entertainment, the record label founded by famed music video director Ray Kay and music producer Axident. His first single is expected...
, who adopted their names in part from reading the author. Iceberg Slim's last book, Doom Fox, which was written in 1978 but not published until 1998, contains an introduction written by Ice-T. Ice-T's third album, The Iceberg, was another major homage. Most of the currently popular references to pimp culture, for example in the work of Too Short and Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, ultimately can be traced back to Iceberg Slim. Rapper Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
also refers to himself as "Iceberg Slim" whenever discussing his adventures with women.
The Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
Edward Regan "Eddie" Murphy is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, singer, director, and musician....
character "Velvet Jones", played on Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, was a spoof of Iceberg Silm's character.
Comedian Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle
David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His...
often talks about Iceberg and "The Game" during his stand-up routines. According to him, Iceberg got his name by keeping "ice-cold" in a shoot-out where he stayed at the bar drinking his drink even though a bullet pierced his hat, a story told at the end of chapter 13 in Slim's Pimp. On his 2006-07 summer tour, Chappelle told a tale of Iceberg, learning of him from Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou is an American author and poet who has been called "America's most visible black female autobiographer" by scholar Joanne M. Braxton. She is best known for her series of six autobiographical volumes, which focus on her childhood and early adult experiences. The first and most highly...
, and relates it to why he left $50 million at Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
and secretly went to Africa.
At the conclusion of Chappelle's stand up routine he compares how Slim used to blackmail his hookers, thereby forcing them to stay loyal to him. Chappelle would close his show with the saying, like Slim used to say "Don't ever leave me."
See also
- Peter A. Muckley, Iceberg Slim: The Life as Art. Pittsburgh: Dorrance, 2005.
- African American literatureAfrican American literatureAfrican-American literature is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. The genre traces its origins to the works of such late 18th century writers as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano, reaching early high points with slave narratives and the Harlem...
- Donald GoinesDonald GoinesDonald Goines was an African American writer of urban fiction. His novels were deeply influenced by the work of Iceberg Slim.-Life:...
, a writer who was heavily influenced by Iceberg Slim and wrote in a similar style
External links
- Iceberg Slim biography and bibliography, from popsubculture.com
- http://www.icebergslim.info Iceberg Slim's Lost Interviews Publisher site.
- Robert Beck Grave Site
- "The Transcendence of Hate Over Repression", by John Swan
- "I Like Ice", a tribute by Josh Alan FriedmanJosh Alan FriedmanJosh Alan Friedman is an American musician, writer, editor and journalist. Widely known for his 1986 collection Tales of Times Square and his often-controversial comix collaborations with his brother, artist Drew Friedman, many of which are compiled in the books Any Similarity to Persons Living or...
- StreetFiction.org Urban Book Reviews and Author Interviews
- Trick Baby (1973)