pimps don't pay taxes

If the oldest profession is prostitution, then the second oldest certainly has to be pimpin'. If you want to know what makes a pimp tick, or just how come they walk funny, here's a few films that will make any "lame square hip to the game."

The Mack (1973)--After a stint in the joint, Goldie decides he's tired of doing the dirty work for everyone else. Instead, he gets a bunch of hos to do his dirty work for him. But to be the number one "Mack," he has to battle it out with gangsters, pimps, dirty cops, and his reformist Black Panther brother. Can you dig? The first 30 seconds has Richard Pryor shooting an M-16, but it's not meant to be comedic.

Willie Dynamite (1974)--Before his role as "Gordon" on Sesame Street, Roscoe Orman worked a different kind of "street." As Willie Dynamite, he plays a take-no-shit mutha who practically invented the "pimp walk." Willie wants to be the #1 pimp, and that ambition brings the heat from cops, pimps, the district attorney, and his number one arch nemesis: the social worker. Will this danger make Dynamite explode, or just fizzle out?

American Pimp (1999)--After Menace II Society and Dead Presidents, the Hughes Brothers directed this street style documentary. It follows several pimps around the country and breaks down "the rules of the game." A very serious film that tries to answer the most difficult questions about pimping such as "why do contemporary pimps still wear wide brim hats?"

Pimps Up, Ho's Down (1999)--The premise for this documentary sounds great: follow around reformed pimp Bishop Magic Don Juan and rapper/actor Ice-T as they revisit the streets--and the game of pimpin'--as responsible citizens. With such a great idea, how come this movie is so tedious? Still, it's hard to beat those few sparkly moments with the always charismatic Ice-T. Know what I'm saying? MANU BERELLI