- [Mark] All right, Kenny Red. Kenny, where'd you grow up?
Where are you from originally? - -Kenny] Oakland, California. East Oakland, deep East Oakland. - [Mark] And tell me about your family. You had both your parents
growing up as a kid? - [Kenny] Yeah, well, my mother, my mother deceased, she passed, in 1979 when she was 37, and my real dad, he passed away too. You know what I'm saying? I mean, man, and we didn't
have much of a relationship but I mean, I knew about him. I'm a junior, you know what I'm saying? But yeah, that's where I come from. Deep East Oakland. The ghetto. - [Mark] But you lost your
mom at, how old were you? - I was 18. I just turned 18. - [Mark] And how was your childhood? - Rough. Trying to come up out together and fighting to get up
out together, you know? - [Mark] And you left home, and went out on your own at what age? - Well after, well, I had
been running the street, but after my mom passed though, I, um... got to running around and
you know what I'm saying? Trying to see where I'm
going to be and do what I'ma do, you know, and see what I was going to
try to be, you know, become. - [Mark] Where-where, had,
did you have role models around, that were kind
of showing you the game and stuff like that? - Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Well, my friend Master Charge, my friend master charge
taught me the game, how to hustle and my friend Gangster Brown gave me the game of the pimping. You know what I'm saying? I wanted to, I wanted
to be like both of them. So I just combined it into one. You know what I'm saying? So I came out one of the greatest pimps and
players that ever lived. You know what I'm saying? - [Mark] You have kids? - Yup. Eight of them, five girls, I mean five boys and three girls. - [Mark] And you were
around to raise them? - Yeah. I just have one that's graduated. I got one more to go. So seven to graduate. I got one more to go. - [Mark] And so you really
got going as a late teen? - Yeah. Well, I start,
well, I started pimping. I started pimping at 18
years old the first, well the first real prostitute
I had was 18 years old. - [Mark] How did that happen? - Um... - [Mark] A lot of the guys
tell me that the girls choose them? - Well, I mean, that's where, that's, I mean, that's how it go. But my, my, the girl that I had the girl I had came across
and everything, you know I was telling her how I'd go. And I started, I was hanging
out with some of my friends and my friend International Blue, show kind of gave me the
game show, how it go. And he knocked me for
the girl, took her up took her and took her off
to Las Vegas and everything. So he tricked me out of my bitch. I told him, I said you're the first one that
ever knocked me for a bitch But you guess what? It won't happen no more. (laughing) - [Mark] Is that part of the game is the just the, robbing Johns tricks of their money as well
as having sex for money? - Well, I mean, they, they,
they looking for something and the girls looking for
something, you know what I'm saying? So the chick might want,
the chick just trying to get her money quick as she can. You know what I'm saying? But I mean, so if he put
herself out there, where she can get it, she going
to get it, especially if she ain't got nothing
to do with, that's just like you finding some money
in front of your building. When are you going to look for
the person and give it back to them? Or are you going to keep
it and pay your bills? - [Mark] And the sex is
almost a distraction? - Yeah. - [Mark] So how many girls
would you have in your stable? Like when you first started? - Oh, when I first, when
I first came out, I ain't had nothing but one, and then, you know, start
graduating two, three, four, five. You know what I'm saying? It ain't the most, the
most females I done had at one time, it was
like eight, maybe nine. You know what I'm saying? Sometime you can't count, you can't count the fly by nights though. You know what I'm saying? The one that just came and go, you know - [Mark] And is there, I
think, do you use intimidation and force to get the girls to
come in or do you use like- - No, no, no, no, no, no. You
know the cold part about it? That's what they always say. Oh, he forced her, you know,
a lot of the square people that don't know about the
game, that's the first thing they say is, Oh, he forced her to do this. Or he making her do that. Oh, he manipulated. But they fail to realize most
of the chicks was already working already. You know what I'm saying? But ain't no way in the world
I'm going to take somebody and make them do something
because I'm not going to let nobody make me do something
that I don't want to do. You know what I'm saying? If this is what you was
doing, when you came you know what I'm saying? How can they be mad? You know? - [Mark] What races are your girls? - Black, white, candy stripe. Anybody but a dead body,
any soul but a shoe sole. - [Mark] Do you have sex with your girls? - Yeah, yeah-yeah. My, yeah, my women. You're,
a prostitute is like your wife, is your everything. You know what I'm saying? For a real pimp, these
other youngsters nowadays they tell, Oh no, I
don't have sex with her. She just worked for me
and all that, you know a bunch of bullshit. So they make it hard for a real pimp. - [Mark] And are, are drugs- are drugs, a part of the picture? - No, I mean, you know, a little
weed or something like that you know what I'm saying? - [Mark] And what happens if one of your girls gets a little out of line? - Oh, she got to get checks,
you know what I'm saying? You got to tell her, you know, respect. You know what I'm saying? Respect is big. I'd rather have my respect
before I have my money. - [Mark] The laws have changed a lot. To make your, your, what you're
doing much more dangerous right? - Yeah, A whole lot, a whole lot. They, they want to give
you Buck Rogers date for something that
somebody else want to do. You know what I'm saying? The game is not the same no more. It done changed a whole lot. - [Mark] So you've done prison time? - Yeah, yeah. - [Mark] What are the offenses? - Money laundering. I've been
charged for money laundering. and taking a minor across the
state lines is what they said. - [Mark] What are the personality
traits that pimp needs to, to succeed? - Well, you got to change, you
got to change with the time. You know what I'm saying? You got to have an understanding. It's not the olden days. It's the frozen days and the golden days you know what I'm saying? You got to, it's not compromising but you got to, you
know, it's about respect. - [Mark] And what qualities
do you look for in a, in a in a woman? - The best. You know what I'm saying? The best that they can satisfy a man. Like he, ain't never been
satisfied before, you know. - [Mark] What personality
trait do you have? That, that, that is the most
valuable for what you do? - Well, I have a whole lot of them but the number one is,
you know what I'm saying? I'm gonna treat you like
how I want to be treated. You know what I'm saying? And the Bible States
that treat people the way you want to be treated. So that's me. - [Mark] What's the
longest one of your girls has been with you? - The longest I ever have? Well, the longest I've
ever had a female would be in the game was like, maybe
about like five or six years. You know what I'm saying? It, you know that, you know,
I go, they come and go. - [Mark] Who's been your favorite? - Was none. Anybody who
walked through the door with the biggest bank roll
that was the favorite. (laughing) - [Mark] What are you
proudest of in your life? - Say it again? - [Mark] What are you proudest of? - What am I, what am I proudest of? I'm proud, I'm proud of
that, that I have eight kids and now, and that I'm a good dad. You know what I'm saying? And I have seven kids that graduated. I got one more to go, and
I've been in my kids' life. And I'm proud that I'm not a dope fiend and I'm not embarrassing to my kids. - [Mark] So do you think
the, the relationship that a prostitute has with
a pimp is similar to that, you know maybe she's looking
to replace the relationship she had with her father, or
didn't have with her father? - Well, it's, it's like somewhat but most of the time- - [Mark] They call you daddy? - Nah, nah, I never allowed, I never allowed my
females to call me daddy. You know what I'm saying? Because I feel like you
got your own dad, you know, I'm your man. You know what I'm saying? Nah, I didn't, I didn't
like them calling me dad. You know? Yeah. Call me Kenny Red. Yeah, the one and only. - [Mark] So you're, you're,
you're based in Las Vegas now? - Yeah. That's where I live in now. - [Mark] And the girls will work through the casinos or
online or how's it go down? - Well, I mean, well, well, how it go now. And you know, they,
they, they go everywhere. You know what I'm saying? But you know. - [Mark] They travel,
travel around the country? - Nah, nah, I haven't been,
I haven't been nowhere lately but I mean, but I have though,
you know what I'm saying? I'll be, I go, you know what
I'm saying, if I have to but other than that though,
I just, you know, just do me. I ride motorcycles, I got a hobby. I have fun. You know, I'm getting, I'm old now. - [Mark] (laughs) - You know, things ain't the same. - [Mark] And the, the girls
will make how much money in a night? - Well, it all depends. You know what I'm saying? It could be from- the sky's the limit you know what I'm saying? It could be for zero. It could be a million. It, the sky's the limit,
you know what I'm saying? You know, you never can say, you know I ain't never seen nobody
who would just tell them go get something and come home. I mean, at least not me. - [Mark] What's the
craziest thing you've seen in all your years of doing this? - The craziest thing, is when I was in Hollywood back in like 1981 and it was this good
pimp I forgot his name and his girl left him and you know kind of drove him crazy and everything. I was young in the game, kind of drove him crazy and everything. And we came and then I come
back like 10, 15 years later. And the man was still on
the same corner waiting on waiting on the chick to come back. Yeah. - [Mark] Well, how would
you feel if one of your sons or daughters decided to
follow in dad's footsteps? - Well, I've got a son
that's in prison now. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? For different allegations
that they said about him and everything. You know what I'm saying? And you know, when you... - [Mark] That sex
trafficking related stuff? - Yeah, yeah. All that. Yeah. The whole, the whole nine yards, they, they wanted to try to give him life. You know, he got like nine
years, you know what I'm saying? And, but if they really, if they wanted it you know what I'm saying? I mean, it's just like
being a, a football coach. You know what I'm saying? I mean, I, the coach trying
to make the players better. You see what I'm saying? So, I mean, that would be my thing. You know what I'm saying? I mean, I don't, I don't condone it but if that's what they gonna do, I mean what do I supposed to do? Especially if I come from
the streets, it ain't like that I've got a white
collar shirt on and a tie. You know what I'm saying? So I come from the streets,
so I had to give it to them. - [Mark] Yeah. The
neighborhood that you grew up in- - In Oakley. - [Mark] -being a doctor, a lawyer... - I didn't see no, where
I come from wasn't no doctors and lawyers. It was pimps, drug dealers,
gangsters, and killers. You know what I'm saying? And basically, basically
mostly all the pimps that's where they come from. That's what they see you coming out, out they door, you know? - [Mark] Yeah. That affects a young man's decision of what direction- - Believe, well, I mean
it's the fast money, you know what I'm saying? But you know, through
my years and everything one thing that I have learned that, there is no shortcut in life. Ain't no shortcut. Nowadays, you know, I try to give, you know when
I got to give you some game I'm gonna give it to you
and tell you the truth, how it really go, you
know, not just, oh, all the all the glory that's behind it. No, you got to know the ins and outs and the, the truth about it. You know? - [Mark] what did, what
did your, your parents say to you when you were a kid and you were making this career choice? Did they know? - No. No, because no, because
it, because this way it wasn't it wasn't- - [Mark] You lost your mom at 18 right? - Yeah. It wasn't my
career choice back then. I just wanted to, just to be a, you know just a young player, you
know what I'm saying? Be in the street have me a couple of girlfriends and you
know what I'm saying? Get me a job. I was thinking like a square back. You know what I'm saying? When I was young, you know? Yeah. - [Mark] And your kids know what you did, when they were earlier-younger? - Yeah. I never hid, I never
hid nothing from my kids. And I got eight of the
beautiful-ist kids, you know, never hid nothing from my kids. Well, I don't care what it was. You know. - [Mark] What, what do you
think the most misunderstood, most misunderstood thing about this world? The pimp-prostitute world, that
outsiders don't understand? - Because they always talking
about you manipulator, or you forcing somebody or you you got dope and all that kind of stuff. And I understand the way that they feel because that's the stuff that they see. Like the stuff they see
on Jerry Springer, all that's a bunch of bootleg
and all that kind of stuff. But, you know, they the first thing they think is a pimp, Oh she didn't get no money or
else I'ma beat her or else I'ma put her on drugs
or something like that. And it just don't go like
that, you know what I'm saying? I wouldn't condone that. You know what I'm saying? I couldn't even have no
friend that to do something like that to a woman or
associate or something like that. You know what I'm saying? But that's the first
thing they always say, Oh he beating her, or he giving her drugs. You know what I'm saying? Dragging her down the street. Or he making her go do something. Nah, you can't make,
nobody's go do nothing. They got people that, some of my friends I got a friend that's in jail gave him 174 years and had
a girl, had a few girls had one for nine years and everything. And she talked about, Oh,
he made me go out of town. He said, if I didn't do this,
he was gonna kill my family. And who-wop-de-wop, well
you could have been went to the police a long time ago. It didn't take nine years. You know? How can you make somebody
do something for nine years? And this is what these
people put out there and send a man to the penitentiary. If you notice, if you do your homework you will notice every
pimp that catch a case they always talking about he had an under age female,
every pimp, look it up. You see every pimp that get arrested. He always had under age female that he done took across the state line. Come on, man. They railroading people. You know, they, they know the truth. Should the politicians,
they buy pussy. You know. - [Mark] What's, what's the biggest change in the game since you started? Because the laws have
changed, the style has changed - Well, the biggest thing
to change is they make some the so-called pimps make some cold deals with the girls. Now, you know what I'm saying? They get to keep most of
the money, half of the money all of the money, you
know what I'm saying? They just happy to say, Oh, that's my that's my girl over there. Because she had a, a
prostitute that get money or she might be reputable or something. You know what I'm saying? Or she might get a, you know she'd go get the money and
give them some allowance. You know what I'm saying? It's just, it's not the way it was. You know what I'm saying? I had to have all the
money, not some of the money not half of the money, all the money. - [Mark] And what does the
girl get out of it? Protection? - No, no, it's not. I mean, it's not just protection but because the
prostitute, that's my woman you know what I'm saying? So I'm gonna make sure that she straight you know what I'm saying? But, but, if, if she go to New York if she go to New York somewhere
and go meet a trick, a John over there, a trick or
whatever, how can I protect her? If I, if I'm, if I'm in
California and she in New York I can't protect her from there. You see what I'm saying? I-so she had to learn
how to protect herself. Well, she, she got cars, clothes you know what I'm saying? The whole night, everything,
you know what I'm saying? It's not, it's just not,
it's just not, no, no. Just let me give her this or
something like that. Nowadays the way it is now, you got
to treat the prostitutes. Like, like, you know, like she, your wife you know what I'm saying? That's how it go. You know, it ain't, oh bitch get up and go to work or get dressed and
everything. A real prostitute you ain't got to tell her
she already know to get up and go get dressed and go get some money and
leave it on the dresser when she come in, you
know what I'm saying? Nowadays, nowadays these
cats they be out there, they be arguing and fighting. You know what I'm saying? It ain't a macaroni. They done, they done
turned it into domestic. You know what I'm saying? It's more domestic now, you know? Yeah. - [Mark] And that, that,
that this lifestyle and marriage probably don't
work well together, right? - No, no, no. I mean, no, no, no. I mean, well, if you've got if you've got that kind of
chick, you know what I'm saying? I mean, you know, and she cool and you know, and she, and and she'd been in the game,
you know what I'm saying? I mean, I mean, does she
pretty much know what's what you know what I'm saying? I mean, you know, I got some partners now you know what I'm saying? Oh, older than me. You know what I'm saying? I had chick like 30, 35 years,
you know what I'm saying? Hell, what else are you going to do? You know what I'm saying? So, I mean, I mean so that's what they
chose, but me, I'm still, me I'm still in the street. - [Mark] You're still active? I'm still, I'm still in the street. I plead the fifth, but
I'm still in the street. (laughing) - [Mark] All right Kenny, thank you so much for talking with me. - All right. - [Mark] And being so honest. - Okay. - [Mark] Thank you man. Bye. - [Kenny] Hold on man,
let me get my (inaudible). - [Mark] Yeah, no problem. (laughter) - [Kenny] Don't be out back
there making that noise, man!
