- I got into the ism, man, when I was 14, 15 years old. You know, young, you know. I grew up around your standard pimps and drug dealers and
prostitutes and crack heads and you know, your everyday model of fucked up society, you know. - [Mark] All right, Sharp. Sharp, where are you from? Where'd you grow up? - I was born in Detroit, Michigan. I moved to the West Coast,
Las Vegas when I was two. I never saw the Midwest
ever again after that. Grew up in Las Vegas a bit. Went to school, you know,
typical American fucked up dream. You know, same shit, different day. You know, average shit. Then I started going to San Diego, man, real heavy when I was about 12, 13. With lot of my friends, man.
We used to always go, you know. Family members or whatnot, a
lot of friends and, you know, shit like that. You know, that's always been my thang. - [Mark] How was your family?
- Huh? - [Mark] How was your family? - How was my family? - [Mark] You had both your parents. - Nah, man. I think that's what... I think that's, you know, that's what really go on
in today's world, man, is, you know, you don't always have both of your parents, you know. And you can't really blame them you know, for not being there. So you know, I just keep
it moving in my life, man. You know, I never really had my mom. My mom was there, she met
a boyfriend, she ran out, she was gone. Went and had another baby and you know, and that was all they ever
rode for that white horse. - [Mark] When did you first
start working as a pimp? - Say that again. - [Mark] When did you
start working as a pimp? - I got into the ism, man,
when I was 14, 15 years old. You know, young, you know. I grew up around your standard pimps and drug dealers and prostitutes and crack heads and you know, your everyday model of
fucked up society, you know. So I always wanted
something different, man. You know, I was a kid... Every kid had a dream, you know. You wanna be a baseball player, football player or a doctor, you know. Always wanna be some shit like that. Who hasn't, man? You wanna grow up and be
anything you wanna be. Well, you know, by the time
I hit probably about 12 or 13 I started noticing, man, that that dream was gonna fade real quick
because of my surroundings. You know, not having
certain opportunities. You know what I'm saying? Like, you know, other kids might've been as fortunate, you know. But I still wanted the money, man. I still felt rich, you know. Even though I'm living in
a fucked up environment, I'm living around shit that, you know, hey, nobody's really that fortunate, man. We're all in the same boat
trying to get out, you know. All a bunch of crabs in a
bucket trying to crawl out, man, and get out, you know. And I always felt different
than everybody else, man. You know, I did different things. I moved different, you know. I didn't wanna do what
everybody else was doing. You know, I kind of stayed
to myself, you know. I messed with a lot of
broads when I was coming up. You know, I always had a bunch of females, you know, as friends as a kid. You know, young. You know, from first grade on up. I been having girlfriends. I was never scared of girls. I was never a boy like that
to where I'd, you know, "Ew, get away from me." No, man, none of that. You know, I've always loved
them and shit, and they love me. - [Mark] Do you have sisters?
- Hmm? - [Mark] Do you have sisters? - I had a couple, but I don't know 'em. - [Mark] Okay. I mean, did you feel you were destined for something greater than
everyone else around you? - Yeah, and that's why I think, you know, I picked up what I picked up, shit, man, the game found me, you know. I didn't find the game. The game found me, man. It's not for everybody, you know. And there's definitely no gray areas. Like, this Skid Row has a
bunch of them, you know. It's not none of that, man. - [Mark] How did it begin
for you? How did it start? Your first girl. - I was a kid, man. I was young. Shit, my first girl, man,
shit, she 26 years old. 14, 15 years old, man. For real, turned me on, showed me the way. You ain't gotta be broke no more. You ain't gotta hurt no more, you know. Already coming from hurtful
environments, you know. And I always had a older mentality. I grew up fast. I grew up around, you know, older people. Like, all my friends when I was young were already well in their thirties. Know what I'm saying? Headed into their thirties, well into their forties, you know. That's why now me being
in my thirties, you know, all my friends is fifties and sixties. You know, I don't really have too many young friends, you know. Few but not a lot. You know, that's how I came into it. Man was, you had to grow up fast. You had to move fast. I didn't choose that
shit, that shit chose me. You know, I didn't ask
for none of it, man. It's just life. Life has a calling for everybody. It's mine, I guess. - [Mark] Yeah and the
pimping game has changed. The style used to be flashier
and guys had more style. - Yeah, man. - [Mark] You seem to
be cut from that cloth. - Yeah, man. Listen, I come from the old
school game with the ism, man, when you had to put a
capital P on it, man. You dig? You had to put a capital P on it now. Man, let me tell you something, man. You got people out today that wanna do it for a weekend. Wanna be in the streets or in a life, in a lifestyle, any type of lifestyle. Men wanna do it for a weekend,
but then wanna go back on Monday, acting like
everything has changed. It's not like that for everybody. Some people still gotta keep the lights on the same way they turned them on. You know? - [Mark] Yeah. - [Sharp] Shit. - [Mark] A lot of pimps I've
interviewed that seem to be... They seem to be like, just drug dealers- - [Sharp] Some are imposters, man. - [Mark] Yeah. - [Sharp] Imposters. - [Mark] I've seen some of that and- - [Sharp] Never seen these
guys in my entire fucking life. None of them. Except for maybe one or
two nerds just of knowing. - [Mark] So you're out of Las Vegas? - [Sharp] San Diego. Yeah, but I live in Las Vegas. - [Mark] You live in Vegas.
- [Sharp] Yeah, listen, man. Las Vegas and San Diego are both my home. I'm a Sandy Vegany. 'Cause I go back and
(indistinct) my homes, man. It's always been my homes. I can't really claim San Diego too much. I can't really claim Las Vegas too much. They're both my homes. Can't help how I grew up
or where I grew up, man. I was everywhere. The whole West Coast is my home. You know, I can't really say, "Hey, I was born and raised here." Shit, I was took in and out of the place. I was born at that too. So I can't really cloud on... I got robbed of that title. Can't really say that. Like, you know, I can't say,
"Oh man, I was born and raised right here, man." No, man, I was raised everywhere. I was everywhere. Maybe it's why I'm everywhere today. - [Mark] How many girls do
you have in your stable? - I won't talk about that. - [Mark] You ever been arrested? - Yeah. Had a couple of money
laundering charges back in 2014. You know, I did what I needed to do to get away from it, you know? I don't have any more problems. It's all behind me. You know, I wouldn't even
be here today if it wasn't. I wouldn't even wanna
tell my side of the story or nothing if it wasn't. - [Mark] What's the arrangement you have with the girls that you handle? What part of the money? - My arrangements is my arrangements. You know what I'm saying? I take care of my business. They take care of business. We all take care of business. It's a happy life last time I checked. - [Mark] (chuckles) Do
you have kids of your own? - I got kids. - [Mark] And you raise them? - Yeah, I do the best that I can. - [Mark] Are you married? - No.
- [Mark] No? - No. Married to the game. (laughing) - [Mark] What are the qualities you think a pimp needs to be successful? - Ambition. You know? You have to understand that, man, it's all about progress. It's all about making progress. Not to prove to the next man this, not to prove to the next woman that. No, man, to prove to yourself. 'Cause it's the only you, man. It's a one man sport. There is no team. Motherfuckers run around
in money clicks and all this extra shit. "Look at me and look at us." That's not the game. It's not the game. You don't have to have the
strongest muscles in the world and you ain't got to run
around with a hundred guns. You know what you gotta have, man? This right here, man. Your mind, your body and your soul, Jack. And I've lived that, man, all my life. You know, most people,
man, you know, sell drugs and you know, did a lot of gang banging or you know, had people like
that that was around them. You know, I always wanted to
be the money-getting guys. I always seen them, man. The flashy cars, the
houses, man, you know, beautiful women, all the diamonds, the women looking beautiful, man. That's cold, Jack. That's the game. That's the way it's supposed to be, man. Not this gorilla and let's end up on your five o'clock TV set. - [Mark] What are the qualities
you look for in a female? - All she gotta do, man, is to have a good mind like myself. I don't look for nobody. I don't look for anybody
broken or need fixing. No, man. That's not the life, man. You have to understand
you got college coaches, daughters doing it all by themselves. I'm not around. I don't know any... I'm just what I know, what you see, man. It's a everyday life, man. People pick it up, man. It's a way of life. You know? It's a way of life, man. Not the way they try to portray it on TV. You know, crack heads and bunch of people running around that don't got no business being outside. No, man, that's the way they
portray it to you on TV. It's not the way of life, man. That's not the way that it goes. And it's sad, man, because
it's killing the game with these suckers running around thinking that they could
be a part of something that was never for them. Listen to me, I don't come in your kitchen telling you how to make a sandwich. I just eat the shit when you make it. Church. - [Mark] Do you think
women are looking for a replacement of their father figure when they're in a
relationship with a pimp? - No. I think all of us are
just searching for love that we ain't never had before. And I don't think it's
anything to do with your mother or your father. That's a different kind of love, man. That's a different kind of love. You know, that's sick, that's twisted. People try to throw that shit in there. You know, "Oh, you got daddy issues." That's sick. It's fucking sick. You know what I'm saying? That's not the name of the game, man. You know, we all looking for something that we ain't never had before. That's all that is man. Something we've never had. Something I've never had. Shit, something that you
probably still searching for. We're just trying to beat
everybody to it, man. That's it. We actually got smart. There's actually people out there, man, that actually understand. You know? Look how the ism gets
portrayed anymore, man. Look at it. Boyfriend and girlfriend, GFE, BFE, "Let's lay up." "Hey, I'll kill you if
you talk to my bitch." Man, fuck outta here, man. Go get married. You wanna be a square,
go get a square job. - [Mark] If you hadn't become a pimp, what other careers you think you may have? - Hm? - [Mark] If you hadn't become a pimp, what other careers you think
you may have excelled at? - I would have excelled
at a lot of things, but you know, I don't
wanna think about that. I like to think about the things that I did excel at, you know, and the things that I'm great at because shoulda, coulda, woulda,
the past is the past. What I could have been in the
past, what I could have... It's not about that. It's about what I am
right here, right now. Live and in the making. You know, that real shit. That tasty shit. - [Mark] You have sons or daughters? - You know, I got a couple of daughters. God (indistinct) God, you know, unfortunately
he gave me a couple of daughters that I might have
to deal with, you know? But I love them, man, and you know what? I wouldn't change it for the world. It's a piece of my life, man. You know, I had them
in the game, you know. I didn't go and stop or
do this and then do that. No, I had them in the game and you know, I try to be there for
them as much as I can. They come with me. I
take care of them, man. We live just as normal as your average Joe next door. You know? - [Mark] What would you say
if one of your girls one day decides she wants to work as a prostitute? - Say that again? - [Mark] If one of your daughters one day decides she wants to work as a prostitute. - I'll tell you right now, man. Do I want my daughter being a prostitute? No, I don't want my
daughter being a prostitute. I don't think any man wants their daughter being a prostitute, but you know what? This is life. I can't stop that. All I can do is just try to embed into her as much as I can that,
'Hey baby, this the path that you take in your life. You know? But if she goes and that's what she does, man, she grown, what can I say? What can I do, man? This is life. This is life we live in, man. I can't control it. You can't control it. Can you control life, and what's happening
outside this door right now? 'Cause I know I damn sure can't. This shit's rough. Let's look at what's going on. I wanna go out there and let's talk to everybody right now. Take the camera and tell them, "Hey man, come on, man. Let me do... Hey. Hey, I'm running this." No, 'cause everybody's
got their own lives, man. They own paths, man. I can't stop that, my
daughter being a prostitute. Do I want her to be one? Fuck no, but if that's
what she's gonna be, I'm gonna respect and (indistinct) Go get with something real. Don't play yourself short. It's just too many people that's outside right now, they outside this door, that's playing they self short right now. Right now, it's thousands of them. Thousands of them we can
go talk to right now, "Hey man, when you start
playing yourself short?" "Oh, it was the summer..." (chuckles) - [Mark] When you were four years old. - You know. (chuckles) When did you start playing yourself, man? - [Mark] They got it from their parents. - But I love the game, man. I love from what it used to be. I kinda got stuck in that, you know. There's probably a time in
your life that you got stuck in and you didn't wanna leave. Well, I got stuck in the purities and the realness of the ism. I don't know nothing else. - [Sharp] I wish I could
tell you that I did. I mean, I'm a smart guy. Book smart, you know. I made sure I tried to do
that somewhat, you know, throughout my life. If you asked me what I've been great at, you're looking at all of it. - [Mark] All right, Sharp. Thank you so much for sharing your story. - Thank you.
- [Mark] Appreciate it. - Sure.
- [Mark] Thanks man. - Yeah.
