Robert Beck, better known as Iceberg Slim, was an American former pimp who later became a writer. Beck's novels were adapted into films.
Antonio Fargas is an American actor known for his roles in 1970s blaxploitation and comedy movies, as well as his portrayal as Huggy Bear in the 1970s TV series Starsky & Hutch.
Dolemite is a 1975 American blaxploitation crime comedy film and is also the name of its principal character, played by Rudy Ray Moore, who co-wrote the film and its soundtrack. Moore, who started his career as a stand-up comedian in the late 1960s, heard a rhymed toast about an urban hero named Dolemite from a regular at the record store where he worked, and decided to adopt the persona as an alter ego in his act.
Don "Magic" Juan, is an American preacher, hip hop personality, actor, fashion designer and former pimp, from Chicago. He is also the founder of the Players Ball, an annual celebration of his former "pimp" lifestyle.
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka is a 1988 American blaxploitation parody film written, directed by and starring Keenen Ivory Wayans in his directorial debut. Featured in the film are several noteworthy African-American actors who were part of the genre of blaxploitation: Jim Brown, Bernie Casey, Antonio Fargas and Isaac Hayes. It co-stars John Vernon, Kadeem Hardison, Ja'net Dubois, John Witherspoon, Damon Wayans, Clarence Williams III and Chris Rock, and acts as the film debuts of comedian Robin Harris and brothers Shawn and Marlon Wayans.
American Pimp is a 1999 documentary that examines the pimp subculture in the United States. It was directed by the Hughes Brothers, the filmmakers behind Menace II Society and Dead Presidents.
William McKinley Hutchison, better known as Willie Hutch, was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s.
A pimpmobile is a large luxury vehicle, usually a 1960s, 1970s or 1980s-model Lincoln, Cadillac, Buick or Chrysler vehicle, that has been customized in a garish, extravagant and kitsch or campy style. The style is largely an American phenomenon.
Calvin Lockhart was a Bahamian–American stage and film actor. Lockhart was perhaps best known for his roles as Reverend Deke O'Malley in the 1970 film Cotton Comes to Harlem and Biggie Smalls in the 1975 Warner Bros. film Let's Do It Again.
The Players Ball is an annual gathering of pimps, held in Chicago, Illinois. Other Players Balls take place across the country, most notably in Miami and Atlanta. Presently, there are "Players Ball" events in Las Vegas and Memphis, Tennessee. On December 16-18th 2011, a Players Ball was hosted in Hollywood, California.
Todd Boyd, aka "Notorious Ph.D.", is the Katherine and Frank Price Endowed Chair for the Study of Race & Popular Culture and Professor of Cinema and Media Studies in the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Boyd is a media commentator, author, producer, consultant and scholar. He is considered an expert on American popular culture and is known for his pioneering work on cinema, media, hip hop culture, fashion, art and sports. Boyd received his PhD in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa in 1991 and began his professorial career at USC in the fall of 1992.
Shorty the Pimp is the seventh studio album by American rapper Too Short, released on July 14, 1992, by Jive Records. Five songs were produced by Ant Banks, four by Too Short himself and one song by D'wayne Wiggins.
Maxwell Julien Banks, better known by his stage name Max Julien, was an American actor, sculptor, and clothes designer best known for his role as Goldie in the 1973 blaxploitation film The Mack.
Carolyn Ann Stewart, known professionally as Carol Speed, was an American actress, singer-songwriter and author. Speed was best known for her roles in films during the 1970s blaxploitation era, most notably starring as Abby Williams in the American International Pictures 1974 blaxploitation horror film Abby (1974).
Blaxploitation is an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation film that emerged in the United States during the early 1970s, when the combined momentum of the civil rights movement, the Black power movement, and the Black Panthers spurred black artists to reclaim power over their image, and institutions like UCLA to provide financial assistance for students of color to study filmmaking. This combined with Hollywood adopting a less restrictive rating system in 1968. The term, a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation", was coined in August 1972 by Junius Griffin, the president of the Beverly Hills–Hollywood NAACP branch. He claimed the genre was "proliferating offenses" to the black community in its perpetuation of stereotypes often involved in crime. After the race films of the 1940s and 1960s, the genre emerged as one of the first in which black characters and communities were protagonists, rather than sidekicks, supportive characters, or victims of brutality. The genre's inception coincides with the rethinking of race relations in the 1970s.
The Sisters Love was an American R&B and funk ensemble active in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
"In and Out" is a song written and produced by Willie Hutch. It was released as a single in 1982 by Motown Records. Its B-side was a song called "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" which was featured in the 1973 blaxploitation film The Mack. The single itself peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Dance chart, number 55 on the Black Singles chart and number 51 on the British pop chart.
Can You Dig It? is a 2009 compilation album of film music released by Soul Jazz Records. The album consists primarily of funk and soul music that is taken from 1970s blaxploitation films of the 1970s ranging from the films theme songs to instrumental passages.
Foxy Brown is the second soundtrack and the fifth studio album by American soul musician Willie Hutch, for the film of the same name. It was released in 1974 via Motown Records.
The Mack is the first soundtrack and fourth album by singer Willie Hutch released on the Motown label. It is the soundtrack of the 1973 film The Mack.
