Iceberg Slim

Robert Beck (born Robert Lee Maupin; August 4, 1918 – April 28, 1992), better known as Iceberg Slim, was an American pimp who subsequently became an influential author among a primarily African-American readership. Beck's novels were adapted into movies, and the imagery and tone of Beck's fiction has been acknowledged as an influence by several rap musicians, including Ice T and Ice Cube, whose names are homages to Beck.

Early life

Robert Maupin was born in Chicago, Illinois. He spent his childhood in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Rockford, Illinois, until he returned to Chicago. When his mother was abandoned by his father, she established a beauty shop and worked as a domestic to support both of them in Milwaukee. In his autobiography, Maupin expressed gratitude that his mother didn't abandon him as well. She earned enough money working in her salon to give her son the privileges of a middle-class life such as a college education, which at that time was not an option for the average person.