'...The Black PimP is an icon in the hoods across the country'
Rosebudd with Bob Jablonskee
His name rings bells and brings a smile to the coldest kat in the room. He has lived a life both admired and demonized... With an infectious laugh and mind of a brainiac, Rosebudd has gained his fame by traversing the both a rich and treacherous terrain of the streets and PimPin'. With his feature role in the highly anticipated film/documentary KINGS (Summer 2015) and his upcoming one-man-stage-show, Rosebudd took a moment to chop it up with business mogul, consultant and writer, Bob Jablonskee.
BJ: What is a 'PimP'? What are the requirements to be a 'PimP' in your view?
RB: Most people think
of a PimP as being a parasite, because of the way they see that life. If
you were a person who wanted to really know the truth you would have to look at
who defined the word PimP. Did you know in other countries the PimP is
respected? Not until this country made the PimP part of 'trafficking' did
any country other than the United States hate PimPs. In foreign lands the PimP
is a national. In China the PimP is Chinese, in Paris he is French, in Germany
he is a German. Only in America is the PimP considered not to be a
national. After slavery was over, the PimP was the first black person to stand
up to white people and use their restaurants. The movie Cotton Club shows you that.
The PimP was the first person to go into the Cotton Club, which was in Harlem,
he was the first black person to go in the front door. This is why the
black PimP is an icon in the hoods across the country.
BJ: The term 'bitch' can be a lightning rod - turning people on and off. What is the difference between a 'woman' and a 'bitch'? How do you recognized the difference at the 'Drop Of A Dime'?
RB: You guys are so
damn funny with these silly questions. If I was upset at a woman I might call
her a bitch, just as if I was going to fuck the shit out of her, I might call
her bitch, just as when I am in the most loving mood I can be in, I might call
her bitch. There is no difference, because a bitch or woman are the same
thing. When I say it to my ho, she gets sexually excited, because she is in a
lifestyle that uses that term in a sense of endearment. It doesn't matter
what you think it is or means, it only matters to us what we mean when we say
it. Everything about PimPs in the United States is based on the fact that
the black PimP was the only black person to stand up to white supremacy in a
way that urked white people. PimPs said, "Fuck you!!"
BJ: How does a PimP define success? What tools do you use to measure success?
RB: Success to a PimP
is being recognized in every circle in the country that have PimPs. Success is
money, and shit, possessions and all, but to a real PimP, he has reached the
top when he goes to New York and is known by his peers, when he goes to
Minnesota and is known by his peers, when he goes to Hollywood and is known by
his peers. We do not equate success with what squares equate it with. If we
thought light that, how could we be PimPs? Today, the media has everyone
thinking they can be PimPs, they even have people thinking there is a such
thing as corporate PimPin. This is all nonsense. Just like they said 'rap was
crazy and would not last', they ended up selling cars and potato chips with it
. . . they are doing the same thing with the word PimP. PimP my Ride, PimP my
House Out.
BJ: In the business world, the concept of Risk vs. Reward is a mandatory principle to consider... As a PimP, what are three risks and rewards that you consider vital in life?
RB: There is only one risk
worth taking and that is the risk you think is necessary to get where you are
trying to go and the reward if you make it is, that field of endeavor will take
care of you in the end. Be true to the Game and the Game will be true to
you. I am living witness to this fact and I can attest to being treated
like royalty to this day, because I PimPed my black ass off, had hella hos and
never made any kind of deal to have any one of them. Macaroni and the cheese,
Swiss cheese if you please, because everywhere you look you see hos hos hos.
BJ: Talk about Loyalty and Betrayal. How have each impacted your life? What signs should one look for to quickly identify Loyal vs. Disloyal people?
RB: In the streets,
everyone's loyalty is to themselves. If a person follows your instructions to
the letter for many years and never does anything out of pocket, how would you
feel when you stick the key in her door and she and all of her shit is gone?
PimPs live with that reality everyday. No woman is promised to you and when she
is gone, you better have gotten paid. We believe most women come, going and if
she stays, she has to pay. My loyalty is to me, just as her loyalty is to her.
This Game is lonely if you play it correctly, no matter how many hos you have.
KINGS (Summer 2015) Official Trailer - Extended (KhanMecca Films)
Bob Jablonskee is a business manager, writer and philosopher based in New York.
J$G.