“We want to separate hip-hop culture from pimp culture, which mirrors the exploitation and domination of colonialism, slavery and racial capitalism.”
Maddy Clifford, artist and co-host of ‘What’s Pimpin’?’
“What’s Pimpin’?” You could write an essay about it, or you could make hip hop. A new video series from KQED does both, enlisting MCs RyanNicole, Madlines, and Coco Peila to explore and expose the stark reality of pimp culture and trafficking in the Bay Area—and its prevalence in hip hop culture.
“It’s a wicked smile with some dimples.” It’s money, power, pussy, and more whipped into a seductive, capitalist-damned beast of a thing, and every facet of it comes into clear relief on the trio’s new track dropped today. Bars fast and bullshit-free fly at top speed until the hook arrives to lay it all out in black and white:
