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Though he still rocks that style sometimes today, the millennium Snoop is more apt to be pimped out ââ‚¬â€? smooth pink pinstriped suits, flashy shoes, wide-brimmed hat, and curled hair that falls to his shoulders You'd be hard-pressed to find a rap song these days without at least some passing reference to pimps "We built America but never got paid for it, yet we get treated the worse People get killed behind that Oakland native Too Short and Los Angeles pioneer Ice-T celebrated it in the early '80s Thanks largely to documentaries like HBO's "Pimps Up, Hos Down" and the Hughes brothers' "American Pimp," real and former pimps have become celebrities themselves, appearing in videos, even rapping on songs " Such popularity is due partly to a generation of rappers who grew up watching the glorification of pimps in blaxploitation flicks such as "Dolemite," "Superfly" and "The Mack Snoop says pimp culture showed him how to carry himself with style and pride "Now people are seeing it for what it is Biggs," right down to his elaborate cane He's Snoop's "spiritual adviser," part of Snoop's posse and even travels on the road with him sometimes P And the way some rappers see it, pimping is just an extension of the American way, from the days of slavery onward "Those are qualities that you get from a pimp that everybody's not really understanding "(It's about) the freedom of the females and the thought of a female getting you money "It's just like gang-banging and doing drugs," says the singer Monica "I'd rather be a pimp than a gang-banger, because I grew up being a gang-banger, and I tell you, you live longer being a pimp I I " Sharply dressed, dripping with money, in control and draped with ladies, pimps were portrayed as the ultimate hustlers "(It's) the jewelry, the style of dressing, the cars, the houses ââ‚¬â€? to be able to feel like you're doing it your way, nobody tell you what to do Brooklyn's Big Daddy Kane talked about it in the late '80s gangsta Cripââ‚¬â€? baggy jeans, blue flannel shirts and sneakers "We've been pimped since we were ripped from the underbelly of Africa," says Banner When he first emerged a decade ago, his style was L I rapped: "Pimpin' ain't easy but it sure is fun M "If you want to talk about really pimping, you've got to talk about a being a government official They hear it on records and see it on TV and they glorify, and it's totally backwards "It's cool to look good, it's cool to have girls on your arm, and get money from them, and that's a good feeling, you dig? There ain't nothing wrong with it," he told The Associated Press in a recent interview G Recently, though, pimp appeal is peaking "Now that I say I don't want to pimp no more, everybody wants to be a pimp!" 50 Cent's "P 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg strut in full pimp regalia, surrounded by a bevy of beauties, in their new video "P M "I wanted to look good and feel good about myself," he says " Chris Rock was appalled by "Lil' Pimp," a cartoon movie in the works about a child pimp "We're teaching people how to hustle and how to look good," he said "I think it's one of those things that people have started to glorify, and really don't give the real situation of what really happens, the real outcomes That's where I get corny I always believed in it," he says You can move and groove like you want to," he says Although he's given up the pimp business for preaching ââ‚¬â€? he's an ordained minister ââ‚¬â€? he's still a proud playa who sticks up mightily for his former profession " Yet the self-proclaimed king of pimps, Bishop Don Magic Juan, would disagree with the sentiment that pimping is a bad thing Bishop tries to import his pimp philosophy to today's hip-hop generation as much as he can " Not surprisingly, women don't seem to fare too well in the rap pimp world, objectified as booty-shaking nymphets that can be easily replaced or dismissed, as 50 Cent profanely describes in "P No other major rapper embodies pimp style more than Snoop Then there's the ghetto-fabulous pimp fashion ââ‚¬â€? the canes, the gold-encrusted chalices, the hats, and the fancy threads Now, everyone wants to be a pimp "When I started seeing those movies in the '70s, like 'The Mack' and 'Superfly,' that helped me to more of less pick who I wanted to be in life, how I wanted to live my life, how I wanted to represent me," said Snoop Like much of rap music, almost all pimp lyrics are just talk " Rappers like Lil' Jon bounce through their videos holding jewel-encrusted chalices popularized by pimps "I stayed pimped out for 30 years ââ‚¬â€? I ain't never let the game down Even old-school soul veteran Ronald Isley personifies the pimp style with his alter-ego, "Mr "I want to meet the white executive who said, 'Yes! Lil' Pimp!'" The pimp game has been rapped about for more than 20 years A I "Rappers just always want to be something bad," said producer-rapper Jermaine Dupri, who's touted himself as a "young pimp" in his own lyrics In the '90s, The Notorious B "People still go to jail for that for long periods of time None more so than Bishop Don Magic Juan, who's even currently in talks to star in his own reality series "It's been portrayed negatively through movies and television," says Juan, who despite his new profession has not forsaken his pimp wardrobe " "(People) just think it's, take money from a girl and slap her and send her to the corner, but nah, it's other things about this pimpin' that you really don't even know," he adds Not that all these rappers are actually selling sex So the unfair part is our audiences don't get to see the real side of it " Even the seemingly innocuous rap greeting "Chuuch" has pimp origins P " But the Bishop says anyone, including a woman, can be a pimp, as long as he or she embodies the pimp attitude " Snoop Dogg ââ‚¬â€? perhaps the biggest pimp purveyor in today's rap game ââ‚¬â€? agrees " And one of Jay-Z's most popular songs remains the 2000 anthem "Big Pimpin' My daughter will not be at the kid pimp movie," says the comedian, whose movie "Pootie Tang" was akin to a pimp fashion show He admits he never thought he'd see the day when a former pimp like himself would be a celebrated figure P " Yet others point out that pimping is actually the business of procuring women and girls as prostitutes for profit Modeling yourself after figures most people consider among the degenerates of society might not seem like the most respectable path to follow ââ‚¬â€? but no one ever accused rappers of wanting to be respectable "Just the same way rappers want to be gangstas, rappers want to be pimps " But the Bishop is aghast at such talk, instead describing pimping as a world of opportunity "That's where I draw the line Pimps: The new 'gangstas' of rap Jul 23, 2:29 PM EST Ten years ago, it seemed as if every rapper wanted to be a gangsta So pimping has always been a part of our society, so to feel that we're finally the pimps, why not embrace that?" But not everyone sees rap's love affair with pimps as something that should be embraced Drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson of The Roots says rappers acting like pimps is really no more than "playing dress-up," trying to posture for power He has bestowed his "famous playas" club card, along with the chalice, on female celebrities such as Lil' Kim, Pamela Anderson and Mariah Carey ââ‚¬â€? sexy, powerful women who are in control " is a Top 10 hit on the Billboard chart; rapper David Banner idolizes the lifestyle on "Like a Pimp"; and rapper Nelly pays tribute with his hit song "Pimp Juice "The only type of people that give you the illusion of control are those who are really not in control," he says ruefully M