Iceberg Slim, Notorious Pimp and Author of 7 Ground-Breaking Books

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THIS DOCUMENTARY examines the legendary life of Iceberg Slim, notorious pimp and author of 7 ground-breaking books. Insightful interviews with well-known artists, scholars, friends and family members combined with old photos, artifacts, and archival footage create a riveting tapestry as colorful as the subject himself. The film chronicles how Iceberg’s troubled childhood contributed to a life of crime on the streets. As the painful story unfolds, Iceberg Slim reinvents himself. His transformation from pimp to author makes him an inspiration to many well known and respected artists. The authentic, unfiltered, autobiographical work of Iceberg Slim is considered to be the genesis of Blaxploitation films and Gangster rap and it continues to influence artists today. Iceberg Slim (1918 -1992), born Robert Maupin, was the first THE STORY black author to write about the dynamics of inner-city street life, specifically his 35+ year involvement in pimping and crime. Born into abject poverty in Chicago near the end of the First World War, Iceberg’s early life was fraught with physical and mental abuse and a temptation and fascination with crime. As an infant he was physically abused by his father and as a toddler he was sexually molested by a baby sitter. At the early age of 6, Slim first became enamored with street life, “My mother had a beauty shop and she catered to a colony of black hookers and pimps. I wanted to become a pimp so I could have all those beautiful clothes, diamonds and women, that’s how i got street poisoned”. The young Iceberg also witnessed his mother destroy their happy home when she decided to run off with. a con man who physically abused Iceberg and made her an accomplice in his crimes then promptly dumped her. From an early age, Iceberg was constantly in trouble, by the time he was 20 years old he had already been arrested 11 different times for charges ranging from suspected rape when he was 14, to Juvenile Delinquency, immoral conduct, grand theft, as well as pimping. At 20, while locked up for grand theft, he incessantly fantasized about being a pimp and learned as much as he could about the “art form” while incarcerated. Released at 21 years old he “cops” his first whore and moves back to Chicago to pimp.

“A pimp is the loneliest bastard on Earth. He’s gotta know his whores. He can’t let them know him. He’s gotta be God at all times.” Iceberg Slim excerpt from the book PIMP

Publicity: Jim Dobson . (323) 896-6006 . [email protected] Over the next 20 years, Iceberg pimped non stop and had many ups and downs; he became addicted to drugs and had repeated run-ins with the law that resulted in a total of 7 years of incarceration. At 29, during his second to last incarceration, Slim was able to escape. He pimped for 13 more years before being recaptured in 1960 and placed in solitary conﬁnement at the Cook County House of Corrections. It was then that he ﬁnally decided to "square up." After his last release from jail, at the age of 42 Iceberg gave up his elicit lifestyle and moved to California to reconcile with his ailing mother. Tragically, she passed just 6 months after their reconciliation.

1. Iceberg Slim 2. Leavenworth 1945 intake photo: Inmate 61956 3. Young Iceberg & Partytime 4. Young Iceberg 1921 5. PIMP the Story of My Life 6. Iceberg 7. Iceberg & No Thumbs Helenv

After his mother died, Slim began documenting his first-hand knowledge of living as a pimp and hustler through a series of 7 ground breaking books. Without the benefit of formal training or an editor, Iceberg’s books are both gripping and brilliantly lyrical. Each one is different from the next and shows a unique and first hand perspective of inner city life. When published the books were the 1st of their kind and were widely popular in the black community. Holloway House, the publisher, estimates over 6 million copies have been sold to date. The books cultural impact is also impresive, before their printing there had not been any commercially creative expression of black street life. In the subsequent years after their release, hundreds of black crime books exploded onto the scene and their popularity soared. This was followed by Blaxploitation movies, and finally gangster rap, all of which could be considered the offspring of Iceberg Slim and his successors. The books also have had a tremendous impact on the creative community, as examples, Ice T adapted Iceberg’s name to create his own moniker and credits Iceberg as being the father of Gangster rap. Scores of rappers like Jay-Z reference Iceberg Slim in their lyrics and comedian Dave Chappelle, often talks about Iceberg in his stand-up routines.

“My shoes were hand made, would cost three times as much as a bankers shoes, but my shoes though perfectly ﬁtted would be worn in tension and fear for the next 35 years.” Iceberg Slim excerpt from the book PIMP

Publicity: Jim Dobson . (323) 896-6006 . [email protected] The crazy thing is, it took me 4 years to finish this movie. I hate that. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT It took me that long because of my work schedule. Managing Ice-T is more than a full time job. Anyway, to the beginning...I first learned of Iceberg Slim 28 years ago when I started working with Ice-T. He gave me a well worn copy of Iceberg Slim's first book, Pimp: The Story of my Life. He told me that he had been reading these books since he was in high school and that Iceberg aka Robert Beck was the biggest influence on his style, mannerism and his music. In fact, Ice got his name from Iceberg Slim because as a teenager he quoted the author so much. So I read the book and my mind was blown. Iceberg's writing was brutal and gritty and at the same time beautifully poetic and lyrical. Iceberg bared his soul and exposed himself to be a cross between Mark Twain and Hannibal Lecter...brilliant, captivating and very dangerous. The world he exposed me to in his book "Pimp" was cruel, tragic, oppressive, fascinating and it was also the reality of the inner cities across America. These revelations left me stunned and addicted to finding out more, so I rapidly consumed Iceberg's other 6 books...Trick Baby, The Long White Con, The Naked Soul of Iceberg Slim, Deathwish, Mama Black Widow, and Airtight Willie and me. These books game me insight on con games, black homosexuality, street politics, criminal psychology and much more. After finishing the last book, I realized that Iceberg’s writing had taken its toll on my outlook on life. I had become more suspicious and looked for the "game" in everything. Ice being older than me, had not so unwittingly educated me on what I needed to know if I was going to be his manager. And for the last 28 years, I have put it to good use. I have been the guy that has been there since the beginning making sure his rap career was handled correctly, transitioning with him through all of his many creative endeavors (rock musician, author, actor, public speaker and director). This has been a role I have thoroughly enjoyed and has defined me more than anything else. Then about 4 years ago, there was a subtle change. Ice and I were talking on the phone and I brought up the idea of doing a documentary on Iceberg Slim. We had no idea who would direct and how to do it so I reached out to our old friend, video producer David Naylor (Madonna, Britney Spears, and many others). Naylor was all for it and we started production on Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp. The day I decided I would direct came when I sat with Eric Mittleman (Associate Producer of Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp) and started to edit some of the interviews with him. He turned to me and out of nowhere said, "Dude, you’re a director." That shit knocked me out and from there I was the director. I did most of the research, organized the interviews, asked the questions, picked the music cues, and suffered through the edit with my invaluable and talented editor and producer, Bresnick. Financing 100% of the film also became my responsibility. In four years of doing this movie, the story crystalized in my head. Iceberg Slim was like most people dissatisfied with their life and was looking to replace what he thought was missing. Unfortunately, the trajectory of his world was tragically influenced by what he saw and experienced as a youth, repeated sexual and physical abuse as a toddler, his mother catering to pimps and prostitute at her beauty parlor and other traumas revealed in the film. Throughout Iceberg's life, he had conflicted relationships with women. His mother loved him but exposed him to pimps and dangerous men. He was sexually abused by his female baby sitter. His prostitutes gave him money and stature but he could never truly bond with them because the relationship demanded that he be God. His first wife was white and the catalyst to him writing books. Because of the times, he could not be open with their relationship without risking ridicule or worse. He constantly worried that his 3 beautiful daughters were going to be the source of retribution for his past crimes. Although this and his past gnawed at him, it was the fuel and inspiration for his books. It allowed him to expunge or confess who he was and what he saw and felt. His natural talent, which had no formal training, was the key to his transformation. It was also the inspiration for Ice-T and the millions of readers that have been rapt by his books. All of this played into what this movie explores and expresses. The most challenging part of making this film was how to treat his writing. The device we ended up using was taking the artwork from old pulp fiction novels and animating them to create a mood that punctuated Icebergs words. In the end, it was really effective and I guess in part, got us into the Toronto International Film Festival.

Publicity: Jim Dobson . (323) 896-6006 . [email protected] ICE-T - EXECUTIVE PRODUCER PRODUCTION Ice-T's artistic career has spanned many disciplines. In music he has sold millions of records as a rapper and with his hard rock band Body Count. As an author he has written 3 books, and as an actor he has starred in NBC’s highest rated drama, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit for 14 years. This year Ice started ﬁlming his 3rd season of Ice Loves Coco, his own reality show for E!, he voiced the character of Griffen for the game Gears of War, and produced and narrated the Emmy Nominated Planet Rock (2012). He also directed his ﬁrst documentary, The Art of Rap (2012) starring Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Kanye West, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and many others that premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. JORGE HINOJOSA - DIRECTOR & PRODUCER Jorge Hinojosa has been managing every facet of Ice-T's career for the last 28 years. In December 2010, Ice-T and Jorge formed FINAL LEVEL ENTERTAINMENT and created and produced a TV series for the A&E Network called The Peacemaker. The series focused on bring peace to gangs that were at war with each other. Their next project was the documentary The Art of Rap (2012) for which Jorge was the Executive Producer. Jorge is currently the Executive Producer of the E! TV series Ice Loves Coco and has also ghost written the follow up to Ice's recent novel, The Kings of Vice II. Jorge Hinojosa and Ice-T (2012)

“I started to read Iceberg Slim in high school, his whole persona made up my character, the way I had my hair permed, and my mannerisms. Everybody has an inﬂuential person in their life, and I just picked up this cat because I thought he was the coolest in the world.” Ice-T

. DANNY BRESNIK - EDITOR & PRODUCER Danny has worked as an editor for over a decade and most recently edited the feature documentaries Bustin’ Down the Door (2009), Bert Stern: Original Madman (2011), which premiered at Telluride and Jobriath A.D. (2011) which has played at over 30 film festivals. Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp (2012) is his first collaboration with director Jorge Hinojosa and Executive Producer Ice-T. JEFF SCHEFTEL - PRODUCER Jeff is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning filmmaker. He worked with Francis Coppola at his Zoetrope studio as a screenwriter and was one of the creator/producer/writers of the long-running CableAce award winning series Modern Marvels. He was also one of the original producer/writers for the Emmy-winning Biography series. Scheftel was also the Supervising Producer of the Sundance-winning TV JUNKIE, which was part of HBO’s TV Academy Governor’s Award-winning series on Addiction. Scheftel’s features Wel- come To Death Row, The Girls In The Band, The Last Survivor and Darius Goes West have been staples at festivals world-wide and have won numerous awards and accolades.

Publicity: Jim Dobson . (323) 896-6006 . [email protected] The score of the film is a combination of traditional score and rap SCORE instrumentals. By doing this, we unobtrusively keep the film contemporary and subtly familiar to the viewer. The on screen dialogue acts as lyrics to the score that together supports and punctuates the underling tone of each scene. The artists that have contributed multiple tracks to the film are DJ Shadow, The Cinematic Orchestra, and CunninLynguists.

“To this day, as the wrap gift for every movie I’ve ever done, I give out copies of Pimp to the whole cast and crew.” Chris Rock

CAST Snoop Dogg (Rapper) Henry Rollins (Artist, dist Iceberg LP) Chris Rock (Comedian) Ice -T (Rapper) Quincy Jones (Producer) Baby & Slim (Cash Money) Katt Williams (Comedian) Don Magic Juan (Pimp) Bentley Morriss (Publisher) Camille Mary Beck (Daughter) Diane Millman Beck (2nd wife) Betty Mae Beck (1st Wife) Larry Yust (Dir. of Trick Baby movie) Bellisa Misty Beck (Daughter) Dr. Seth Kadish (Psychologist) Red Holloway (Jazz Musician, played on LP) Herschel Weisman (Book retailer) Leon Kennedy (Actor / friend) Gary Phillips (Writer) Mathieu Bitton (Black Film expert) Emory Holmes II (Holloway House employee / writer) Odie Hawkins (Holloway House Writer) Bill Duke (Director) Markskillz (Journalist) Richard Milner (Writer) Dr. Justin Gifford (Prof. U of Nevada) Dr. Todd Boyd (Prof. at USC)

“Iceberg Slim’s writing is so vivid and so unrelentingly brutal, he makes it all inescapable. He is really a tremendous writer.” Henry Rollins

Publicity: Jim Dobson . (323) 896-6006 . [email protected] CREDITS

DIRECTED BY Jorge Hinojosa EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Ice-T and Jorge Hinojosa EDITED BY Danny Bresnik PRODUCED BY Danny Bresnik, Jeff Scheftel ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS Misty Beck, Erin Li, Eric Mittleman

CREW

MOTION GRAPHICS DIRECTOR Conor MacLeod Keenan ANIMATION DIRECTOR Carly White PRODUCTION DESIGN Kit Stolen MOTION GRAPHICS Conor MacLeod Keenan, Chris Hutchings, Barry Jackson ANIMATORS Grettel Batoon, Laura Yilmaz, Carly Veronica White, Kit Stolen MAIN TITLE DESIGN Mathieu Bitton CLEAN UP ARTIST Zach McGinnes, Paige Smith ILLUSTRATIONS Jason Boesch, Aaron Lam, Keron Grant DIRECTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY Kelly Jones ADDITIONAL CAMERA Paula Huidobro, Gonzalo Amat, Matthew Beals, Manaldo SOUND Kelly Jones, Suzan Jones RESEARCHERS Kate Coe, Eric Jerstad, Carolyn Criss TRANSCRIPTIONS Renee A. Kyle, Cory Garcia GRIPS Kelly Jones LEGAL CLEARANCES Sloss Law Ofﬁce, LLP. CLEARANCES Erin Li MUSIC SUPERVISION Jorge Hinojosa, Mike Turner ORIGINAL MUSIC BY CunninLynguists COLOR CORRECTION BY Nelson Mah DI FACILITY Chainsaw, Inc. SCANNING Dan Olson PHOTO RETOUCHING Joe Notaro POST PRODUCTION SOUND BY This Is Sound Design SUPERVISING SOUND EDITOR/RE-RECORDING MIXER Nathan Ruyle POST SOUND ASSISTANT Aaron Bartscht ACCOUNTING Kim Tauber, Freemark Financial LLP. BOOK PASSAGES READ BY Cary Hite CAST Ice-T Betty Beck Markskillz Chris Rock Misty Beck Bentley Morriss Quincy Jones Diane Beck Bishop Don Majic Juan Snoop Dogg Camille Beck Herschel Weisman Henry Rollins Odie Hawkins Mathieu Bitton Baby and Slim (Cash Money) Dr. Justin Gifford Larry Yust Kat Williams Dr. Seth Kadish Red Holloway Bill Duke Richard Milner Emory Holmes Leon Kennedy Gary Phillips

Publicity: Jim Dobson . (323) 896-6006 . [email protected] MUSIC SUPERVISION BY STATES OF SOUND “Stem / Long Stem (Transmission 2)” “Pusher Man” Performed by DJ Shadow Performed by CunninLynguists Courtesy of M Wax / A&M Records Ltd Written by Willis Polk II, Ryan Wisler Under license from Universal Music Enterprises Courtesy of A Piece Of Strange LLC

“The Set Up” “Death Is Silent” Performed by Obie Trice Performed by CunninLynguists Courtesy of Interscope Records Written by Willis Polk II, Ryan Wisler under license from Universal Music Enterprises “The Prodigal” “G Code” Performed by CunninLynguists Performed by Geto Boys Written by Willis Polk II, Ryan Wisler Written by Brad Jordan, Mike Dean Courtesy of A Piece Of Strange LLC Courtesy of RapAlot Records “Not Many” “Peace Is” Performed by Scribe Performed by Marley Carroll Written by M. Luafutu, P. Wadams Written by Marley Carroll Courtesy of Dirty Records / Frequency Media Group Courtesy of Melanaster Records “Caved In” “Triplicate / Something Happened That Day” Performed by CunninLynguists Performed by DJ Shadow Written by Willis Polk II, Ryan Wisler Courtesy of Universal-Island Records Ltd Courtesy of A Piece Of Strange LLC Under license from Universal Music Enterprises “All Things To All Men” “Chat Full” Performed by The Cinematic Orchestra Performed by We 3 Kings Written by, John Barry, Carolyn Leigh, Phill France Written by William Brandt, Walter Brandt Jason Swinscoe, Rodney Hylton Smith Keith Volpone, Jay Lazaroff, Craig Owens Courtesy of Ninja Tune LTD Courtesy of We 3 Kings Inc. “Necrology” “Balance” Performed by The Cinematic Orchestrta Performed by Hen Gee Written by Jason Swinscoe Written by Henry Garcia, Louis Harden, Andre Tayler Courtesy of Ninja Tune Ltd Courtesy of El Movement Entertainment “Unreal” “Darkness” Performed by UNKLE Performed by CunninLynguists Courtesy of Universal-Island Records Ltd Written by Willis Polk II, Ryan Wisler Under license from Universal Music Enterprises Courtesy of A Piece Of Strange LLC “Love And Happiness” “Stars Shine Brightest” Performed by Kero One Performed by CunninLynguists Written by Patrick Anthony Diaz, Mike B Kim Written by Willis Polk II, Ryan Wisler Courtesy of Audiosocket Courtesy of A Piece Of Strange LLC “Floor” “Fixed Income” Performed by Hen Gee Performed by DJ Shadow Written by Henry Garcia, Louis Harden, Andre Tayler Courtesy of Universal-Island Records Ltd. Courtesy of El Movement Entertainment Under licenses from Universal Music Enterprises

Publicity: Jim Dobson . (323) 896-6006 . [email protected] “Da Vinci Mode” “Yellow Lines” Performed by Simonex Performed by CunninLynguists Written by Simone Sello Written by Willis Polk II, Ryan Wisler Courtesy of Stack X Entertainment Courtesy of A Piece Of Strange LLC

“Core East” “Trillions” Performed by Hen Gee Performed by Simonex Written by Henry Garcia, Louis Harden, Andre Tayler Written by Simone Sello Courtesy of El Movement Entertainment Courtesy of Stack X Entertainment

"Know The Ledge” “Dreams” Performed by Erik B. & Rakim Performed by CunninLynguists Written by Eric Barrier. William Grifﬁn Written by Willis Polk II, Ryan Wisler Courtesy of Geffen Records Limited Courtesy of A Piece Of Strange LLC Under license from Universal Music enterprises “Entr'acte (Chapter 3)” “Crafty Beat” Performed by The Cinematic Orchestra Written by Vito Colapietro, Neely Dinkins Written by Jason Swinscoe, Larry Brown, Ilan Eshkeri Courtesy of Atom Factory Music Courtesy of Ninja Tune Ltd.

“It's Nuthin' (We Thuggin')” “Endless Passage” Performed by Sly Boogy Performed by Simonex Written by Timothy Dean Martin, Scott Storch Written by Simone Sello Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Courtesy of Stack X Entertainment

“Everyday” “It's A Man's World” Performed by The Cinematic Orchestra Performed by James Brown Written by Haazen, Jason Swinscoe, Phil France Written by James Brown, Betty Jean Newsome Courtesy of Ninja Tune Ltd. Courtesy of Universal Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises “Funk It” Performed by Will Rise Written by Will Rise Courtesy of Music Dealers

Moving Picture Archive Courtesy of Jeff Sheftel, PZS Productions THIRTEEN/WNET Excerpts from Iceberg Slim interview by Joe Pyne used with permission of the sole agent for the owner of the Joe Pyne Television Show, Films Around The World, Inc., New York, New York.

Still Photograph Courtesy of Associated Press, Grantham Bain Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Bentley Morriss, Bishop, Bronzeville, Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress., Chicago Daily Defender, Chicago Tribune, CORBIS, Bettmann, Underwood & Underwood, Weegee, Bob Adelman, Getty Images, Hulton Archive, Harry Benson Keystone, Three Lions – Stringer, Margaret Bourke-White, Masters Collection, Time Life Pictures, Garoge Marks, Retrofile RF, Jim Marshall Photography, LLC, Holloway House, Iceberg Slim, Ice-T, Jose More Photography LTD, Kenneth LaMaster Photographer, Rosemary Kaul. Copyright © 1992, Los Angeles Times. Reprinted with Permission. Photorapher, Kirk McKoy. Copyright © 1992, Los Anteles Times. Reprinted with Permission. Farm Security Administration - Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Frances Benjamin Johnston Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ds-01107. Stanley Kubrick, LOOK Magazine Photograph Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Stanley Kubrick, LOOK Magazine Photograph Collection, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, LC-USZ6-2346.

Publicity: Jim Dobson . (323) 896-6006 . [email protected] Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration - Ofﬁce of War Information Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-01562. Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration - Ofﬁce of War Information Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, LC-USF34-038814-D. Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Carl Van Vechten, Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress. Prints & Photographs Division, Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-116320. Magnum Photos, Wayne Miller, Milwaukee Historical Digital Collection Nebraska State Historical Society, NSHS RG2281-69. http://www.nebraskahistory.org/oversite/copyrite.htm

General Research & Reference Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations. Paul Penna, Onikwa Bill Wallace, Red Holloway Scurlock Studio Records, ca. 1905-1994, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Tomas Muscionico Photography Inc. University of Washington, Digital Collections. Photographer: Clifford Ellis. Milwaukee Public Library Wisconsin Historical Society, WHS-PH2744. Ice-T “O.G.” album cover photography by Glen Friedman reprinted with permission

SPECIAL THANKS David Naylor Jamal Chalabi Marcus Raboy Anzel Jennings Brittany Donovan Robert Kelley Peter Stuart Steve Barton Marc Gerald Lysandra Woods Molly Derse Jose Mellado Clare Hall Reed Jane Yoon Eric Shore and Fred Paul Natalie Wilson Doug Miller Chris Lakey Constance Schwartz Pace Rommel Fred Vasquez Stephen Pielocik Nasbah Hill Mark Provencher C. Park Stewart Andy Moerschell Darryl Cowherd Jane Park Anne Quin-Harkin Pat Woods Lynette Duensing Peter Afterman Michael Levy Kenneth LaMaster Megan Praska

Publicity: Jim Dobson . (323) 896-6006 . [email protected]