An [EMAIL] Conversation with writer DuVay Knox
Defining "Pimp Life," Being Your Own Audience, Iceberg Slim, American Fiction, and Advice For Young Black Writers
A [BLANK] Conversation With… is an interview series where guests engage in a three-day conversation via their preferred mode of text-based communication, with no commitments to the length or frequency of their responses.
Dear readers,
The interview you’re about to read with DuVay Knox — the self-described writer of Black pulp fiction, Black exploitation, Black folklore, and Black occult erotica — not only broke the general three-day format of this series but also became the first to require a parental advisory sticker for explicit content. I urge you to please take this advisory sticker seriously if you do not like reading those infamous words that start with “B,” “F,” “P,” and more.
In fact, if you’re receiving this via email, you can only read it by clicking on this image.
I’m serious! Stop scrolling if you feel this will be an issue.
Okay… now let’s talk about Knox’s work. He is the founder of The Black Pulp Fiction Publishing House and author of the novel, The Pussy Detective.
And when you come across someone with projects like this, its really hard to resist interviewing them.
Speaking of… This opportunity came by way of — publisher of one of my favorite newletters, .
And, I can’t lie — right off the bat, I found myself thinking, Now what in the hell have I gotten myself into? I was even tempted to scrap the whole thing.
But then I thought, Let me engage with this thoroughly and honestly. And, in doing so, I think we wound up having a fun, complex dialogue.
I was deeply curious about the origins of Knox, the development of his writing style, and how he feels about the multitude of ways his work is received.
There are many elements to his responses that I don’t agree with, but the power of dialogue is the discovery of such conclusions.
So, here lies what became a SEVEN DAY email conversation with DuVay Knox.
TABLE OF CONVERSATION:
Defining “Pimp Life”
A Brief Delay
Nikki Giovanni
Being Your Own Audience
Comedy & American Fiction
Iceberg Slim In Context
Advice For Young Black Writers
Note: Since Tim is based in New York, each text is timestamped in Eastern Standard Time. There have been minor adjustments of the text for clarity.
DAY 1 (Tuesday 3-12-2024)
Tim Barnes: (12:06PM) Hello DuVay! I'm glad we could finally get around to this interview. Our mutual friend C. Elyse recommended we connect and I've been excited to get to know you a little more ever since. You describe yourself as someone who has lived a pimp life and now writes as the king of underground Black pulp fiction/Blaxploitation books. And within just that, there is so much to unpack! I'm intrigued by your choice of phrasing it as having lived "a" pimp life vs living "the" pimp life. So, my starting question to you is: What does the "pimp life" mean to you? And does it clash with the general pop culture (a.k.a. "white") understanding of it? -- timbarnescomedy.com DuVay Knox: (6:52PM) TIM: Mane, I appreciate your interest in my work and life as a subject. And glad ELYSE hooked us up for this. Meanwhile, REAL PIMPING, which I got into at age 12 as far as learning THE GAME, is definitely NOT the WHITE understanding of it. Or as I say, its not the ICEBERG SLIM version. Thats the kinda PIMPING most KNOW n ASSOCIATE when Pimping is Mentioned. See, where Im from, MISSISSIPPI/LOUISIANA aka MISSISSIPPI DELTA, where Pimping started, REAL PIMPING is not about SELLING a WOMAN'S BODY for PROFIT....or as we say: its not about putting a BITCH on DA STROLL. Its about Putting a WOMAN on PAYROLL. In other words, The kinda of Pimp Game I came up in was not about Gitting a WOMAN to WALK the STREET for You/Selling her Body...aka DA STROLL. It was about Finding a Woman U could git to work a CORPORATE JOB=PAYROLL....and THATS the LOOT she brought home to U. Cuz yall was in a Relationship. The Popular form of PIMPING is only Popular cuz it was created by HOLLYWOOD. And thats what most folks know. Niggaz outcheah looking like BITCHES wit PERMS n shit/RUFFLED shirts like-a-Muthafucka. Butt thats not REAL PIMPING they were Reppin. Thats SEXUAL TRAFFICKING!! So, see, I Am/Was a REAL Pimp from TRADITION. Most peeps dont know that about Pimping. All they know is what HOLLYWOOD made Popular thru ICEBERG SLIM. Now, TRUE: I have done that sorta Pimping where I had Bitches on the Stroll/Selling they Ass. Butt My DADDY immediately lemme know that was in VIOLATION of The REAL GAME. So I left that alone. When I say A pimp life vs THE pimp life, what Im really saying is I was A Pimp involved in THE pimp life. Both the INDEFINITE ARTICLE and DEFINITE ARTICLE apply. Sometimes I even say THAT pimp life. REAL PIMPS are GURUS, actually, mane. TEACHERS. SPIRITUAL ADVISORS. LIFE COACHES, knowutimtombout?? Its not about TAKING ADVANTAGE of Women. Its about Finding a Woman with POTENTIAL and helping her REACH her CAREER GOALS in LIFE (whether it be in a CORPORTE atmosphere, ENTERTAINMENT arena or elsewhere, depending on what she wants to do). Of course, that means also I git DA PUSSY and She also Blesses me wit some of DA LOOT she makes, as well as other Amenities as I may need to stay looking GOOD as I SHOOD lookin like I belong in HOLLYWOOD, ie., Clothes, Car and so on. Thats the TRADE-OFF. And she HAPPY to do it. And yeah, typically, I would be involved wit MULTIPLE wommin at Once--and they all know each other. When ever I was not strate out involved in that type-a-Pimping, I simply SLANGED DICK as a LADIES MAN/SEXUAL ESCORT. (which I got into when I was 18 and in the AIR FORCE living in Europe). That was just STRATE FUCKING FOR-A-FEE and not for FREE, ya digg?? When I left that life alone, I eventually turned to Writing because I have always been good with words....especially, talking with WOMEN, many who suggested I start Writing. Thats how I got into writing books. I called it BLAXPLOITATION writing because it always felt thats the kinda life I was living n speaking on already, anyway. And that PIMP LIFE/SEXUAL ARENA has def informed my BOOKS (THE PUSSY DETECTIVE and THE SOUL COLLECTOR) .... Butt if U notice, both my BOOKS have a SPIRITUAL/METAPHYSICAL component to em--which is that reflection of the GURU side of THE PIMP GAME I was raised in. Thats why my Nickname was/Is PIMPFUCIUS....cuz it was about the WIZDOM & IZDOM of showing a Woman how to Pimp Her Life under PROPER INSTRUCTION & CORRECTION. Now, I have mooved that GAME over to showing ANYBODY How To Pimp Their Life to the Next Level. Cuz all LIFE is PIMPING. And in service of that, I now have several PRIVATE CLIENTS I ADVISE/COUNSEL on a Regular basis....Also Founded/Created a Management Firm called the TAGS Agency to Scout/Manage Talent (Writers/Performers/Comedians/Singers/Rappers/Athletes, and so on). Again, because its ALL PIMPING, mane. The GAME may change butt the STRATEGY & TACTICS remain the SAME if U wanna SURVIVE and THRIVE. And I know that Shit very well!! One thang fo sho Is I understand that BREAKING INTO HOLLYWOOD is a BEAST or simply just tryna CUM UP and GIT NOTICED is a Muthafucka when U dont have GOOD MANAGEMENT or Peeps round U wit Good FORESIGHT. I realized when I was looking to make Transitions into Other Things, that PIMPING had Blessed me with various Transferable Skill Sets that fit into MANY areas of Life--that could not only be USEFUL to ME butt to OTHER peeps as well!! Plus: I have had several detours along the way tho, like STANDUP COMEDY/WRITING JOKES....COPYWRITING, too, that FORTIFY My Pimp Ya Life aesthetic. Tim: (7:58PM) My family comes from a blend of Mississippi and Louisiana. But because I was a nerdy kid who watched a lot of TV (and mostly stayed inside), I learned how to talk the way the TV told me I should talk. "Proper," as they say. I can only assume that the way you write is very similar to the way you speak. Riddles, rhymes, double meanings -- and a blend of philosophizing and preaching. Was there an element of unlearning certain rules in your prose, or has it always been rule-breaking and from the heart? I feel like I hide behind the form that people find respectable both on the page and in life. Writers like yourself make me wonder, Damn, who would I be if I didn't? DuVay: (11:12PM) [NOTE: DuVay's email is in bold font] I kan dig it. And def aint nuthing rong wit how U drop the Language. U still know U BLACK. One of my best friends SPOKE like the WHITEST MAN U KNOW. And He was BLACK as TAR at MIDNITE!! He even had a White Boy name: KEITH RICHARDS. We had a comedy group 2getha and he would be da one making all da calls to BOOKING AGENTS. And they would book us because they thought HE was WHITE over the PHONE, see. Then, Us 2 Niggaz would show up and dem white folks be tombout, uh, WHERE'S KEITH RICHARDS??!! Highlarious. We got a lotta Gigs like dat tho. He spoke like a WHITE RADIO ANNOUNCER butt mane, he was HOOD as HELL. Werking with him made me a TRIVIA BUFF. Because he had an Insane mind for Total Recall of facts and figures on the stage. This Nigga knew all kinda shit!! So after gitting my ass embarrassed one particular gig, I IMMEDIATELY start studying the ENCYCLOPEDIAS n DICTIONARIES so I could keep up wit him onstage. Kan u imagine, many times HE and I would be da only DARK/BROWN Muthafuckaz in the whole damn small town....we 2 Niggaz up onstage quoting SHAKESPEARE in da HOOD n shit, QUANTUM PHYSICS n making dat shit funny. 3 Hour shows, just me and him!! Meantime/Tween time: I been Kountry all my life. I mean, ya kno, I learnt da KING'S ENGLISH and all dat shit. I may have Graduated LASTADICTORIAN in my class--and FLUNKED KINDERGARTEN. Butt I was always good wit ENGLISH CLASSES. I just simply refuse to speak the way WHITE FOLKS tell me I SHOOD speek. To me thats for THEM. My Mama n Daddy didnt sound like them. So didnt make sense for me to try and Sound like WHITE peeps. Plus, we spoke a lotta dialect n patois when I was cumming up. So learning SKOOL ENGLISH was hard for me. Butt 1nce I mastered it, I treated dat shit like ALGEBRA. I Forgot bout it. And only use it if I HAVE to. So I like to write books n tell jokes in the language of Niggaz i grew up hearing/admiring and dat I hung out on da Korner wit. Ion give-a-fuck if White peeps dont understand WUT da fuck Im saying. I aint writing for them NO WAY.....Of course, I COULD and CAN--and often DO (if the MONEY or OPPORTUNITY is right). For example, I once got hired by HENRY LOUIS GATES to be an ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR for his new website back in the day. And if I recall, there were a few HARVARD EDUCATED folks wanted that GIG. Butt I wrote some shit so good they HAD to give me the JOB. Then, they asked me where I went to COLLEGE...I said UNIVERSITY OF HARDKNOCKS. So, see, I can, do FORMAL WRITING aka STANDARD writing, ya digg--butt regular englisch is BORING as a muthafucka to me. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT. PASSED The TEST, mane. I think it was NIKKI GIOVANNI who said something to da effect that: ENGLISH is a LANGUAGE that belongs to BLACK FOLKS and we can do whatever the hell we WANT to do with it. Including FUCK IT UP. And thats really how I sees it too. Thats one thang I like bout COMEDY...the comedy world dont care where u come frum as long as U know how to craft a good ass JOKE, feelme?? I kan write HOOD or I kan write HARVARD. It dont matter. I have written for other Comedians a lot over the years. Got into Standup myself and Started gitting sum decent shots: opened for BILL HICKS, NORM MACDONALD, DAVE CHAPPELLE, CHRIS ROCK, DANA GOULD, DOLEMITE/RUDY RAY MOORE.....Came close to doing some writing for the CONAN O'BRIEN SHOW back in the day. Butt I was ahead of my time. Cuz wasnt no way Niggaz was bout to git into THAT writers room in the 90s. But it led to other stuff/opportunities.........butt Then, my life blew up wit a bad marriage/a bunch of Chirrens and the street life. And I didnt resurface strong again until the advent of MYSPACE and the FACEBOOK, round 2005. Butt thru it all, my WRITING has always been bout RULE-BREAKING and writing HOW I SPEEK and how MY peeps sound. I was listening to U speak and U kinda remind me of my friend KEITH I mentioned earlier. U got that Great DICTION--and GOOD ass TIMING. Im wit ya tho on Digging Down Deeper n Tapping more into Ya SOUL and gitting a lil bit more RAW n DISRESPECTFUL. U shood DEF do it, Brotha. Plus: It aint really how U SOUND its what U SAY, HOW u say it and WHAT u write...Just write it wit a skeet taste more GRIT.... watch wut happens.
DAY 2 (Wednesday 3-13-2024)
Tim: (8:41PM) Sorry about the delay today! If it’s okay with you— let’s continue tomorrow and Friday. Don’t want to waste your time asking half-assed questions DuVay: (11:46PM) No werries. Just Hit me up when U ready to Kontinue.
DAY 3 (Thursday 3-14-2024)
Tim:
(2:42PM) Okay! Back in action!
Your writing is a bit like a math problem to solve. And in re-reading your responses, I realized this will likely be my first installment that requires a "Parental Advisory" sticker. I feel the urge to break the fourth wall and let readers know that I don't agree with or condone actual pimping. And it seems you don't either.
Has comedy influenced your work in any way? I get the sense that you enjoy the grey area where it's hard to tell the difference between a joke and a thoughtful insight. Which, I suppose, just describes riddles.
I love that you mentioned Nikki Giovanni. Her writing flows like a melody, and when you see her speak it's easy to recognize how rap existed before it was a category. There are some quotes from her in this recent documentary that stick with me:-- mostly pertaining to her fascination with the future of space travel. There's a dialogue now, sparked by the film American Fiction (inspired by Percival Everett's novel Erasure), around what it means for Black entertainment to break old stereotypes and move forward. You are directly inspired by Blaxploitation works, which feels like a retro sensibility. What do you think about the variations of this dialogue that have popped up over the years? I believe we have the most diverse display of Blackness in entertainment history. But I wonder if the recent spike in conversation has more to do with how consolidated things are getting. If less things are getting produced, the worry becomes that our depictions will become as limited as they were forty years ago. Who is your audience? And how do you interact with people who pass judgement on your style? Can you tell the difference between the ones passing judgement on the words vs how the words will be perceived by others?
DAY 4 (Friday 3-15-2024)
DuVay: (5:52PM) [NOTE: All of DuVay's emails are in bolded font from here on out] U R Rite. I dont condone what we KNOW as PIMPING today. In fact, those are PRIMPS. Not PIMPS. Primps are like DANDY MEN who try to outdress WOMEN. Yet, are involved in the SEXUAL TRAFFICKING of them. Meanwhile, off top, STANDUP COMEDY has ALWAYS influenced my work. Particularly, COMEDIANS with SOCIAL and/or POLITICAL COMMENTARY underscoring their jokes ala DICK GREGORY, RICHARD PRYOR and my favorite, PAUL MOONEY. And as I mentioned earlier, DOLOMITE was a big influence on my WRITING stile. Also digged GEORGE CARLIN, BILL HICKS, MORT SAHL, PATRICE O'NEAL. This is why SATIRE is my favorite form of Comedy. I think, in a previous life I was the COURT JESTER. Because HE was the only one who could tell the KING to KISS HIS ENTIRE ASS and GET AWAY with it since it was in the form of a JOKE. I have always been the One willing to say the EMPEROR has no CLOTHES ON or been willing to SAY what others were AFRAID to say. Whether in my STANDUP or my WRITINGS. Back to Nikki Giovanni. Yeah, mane, she showed the way in so much of her work. I have a ton of her books. Also liked SONIA SANCHEZ, JUNE JORDAN, MAYA ANGELOU (I useta live on the same street in St Louis where Maya Angelou grew up), TONI MORRISON, SOJOURNER TRUTH. I gots a thang for dem REVOLUTIONARY-MINDED women. AMERICAN FICTION was a a Pandering piece of shit, mane!! Lemme say that off top. That was one of those movie written by a type-a-NEGRO mind that was tryna please white folks by talking down on HOOD NIGGAZ. Toni Morrison called this the WHITE GAZE kinda writing. Negroes who write under the watchful Gaze of White Peeple in order to Get Their APPROVAL of the Content. I watched the movie THREE times and each time I was the only NIGGA watching with a THEATERFUL of White Peeple. What kind of shit is that?! A movie written BY black peeps, STARRING black peeps, ABOUT black peeps--Butt NO BLACK PEEPS were in the theater WATCHING the shit??!! This was a movie written so JEFFREY WRIGHT could show his HOOD ACTING RANGE and thus git Nominated for an ACADEMY AWARD. Fuck Outtah heah!! The movie was an INSIDE JOKE to EMBARRASS black peeps in general to see if they could catch The Joke. Like with the GONE WITH THE WIND BLACK MAMMY they had as the MAID!! Yet, this was the HYPOCRISY of the movie. Alleged SATIRE but ITSELF really Movie MINSTRELSY. The inside joke is this: it was DENIGRATING not only HOOD FOLKS butt ALL Black Folks. And GOT AWAY WITH IT. It was PARODY n MINSTREL bullshit rather than actual SATIRE. This goes into one of the reasons I write the way I do. Its SATIRE. Like PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR or ZORA NEALE HURSTON, just 2/ more of the writers who influenced my Writings. Both came up frum the SOUTH and wrote in DIALECT like me. Except, I added in SLANG, PATOIS and CUSSING. And more COMEDY n SOCIAL/POLITICAL COMMENTARY. Part of the problem in Entertainment aka Hollywood is that too many WHITE PEEPS are Making the Decisions about WHAT gets seen or GREENLIGHTED to make it to the Screen/MOVIE or TV. And vice-versa to many Negroes have no problem PANDERING to Hollywood. ROBERT TOWNSEND addressed this very well in HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE....which by the way, should have been Nominated for an Academy Award. Now, THAT was real SATIRE!! So are the movies of KEENAN IVORY WAYANS ala SCARY MOVIE and the work he did on IN LIVING COLOR (cancelled due to all the behind the scenes fighting Keenana had to do with White TV executives trying to tell him how to write his show....he chose to just let the show be Cancelled rather than let THEM dictate the comedy)!! At any rate, all my BOOKS are basically SATIRE based on REAL LIFE. And its my own humble attempt to WRITE and DESSIMINATE the WORK that I wanna see DEPICTED rather than what WHITE HOLLYWOOD wants. In short, I write the Books I WANNA READ. This segues into you question about WHO IS MY AUDIENCE?? ME. I AM. MY AUDIENCE. In fact, back in the MYSPACE days, about 15 years ago (2008/2009), I created a Series called AN AUDIENCE OF ONE. Where I would Do STANDUP COMEDY STRAIGHT into the Camera/Video ALONE in my Home Studio (aka THE BATHROOM cuz it had the best acoustics). In other words, NO AUDIENCE. Just me and the Camera. Thus AUDIENCE OF ONE. Telling Jokes/Riffing on Current Events. I thought nothing of it at the time. Of course now, ITS pretty much what everybody does on SOCIAL MEDIA these days. Im not saying I INVENTED it. Butt I prolly helped POPULARIZE it (at least for social media). I have always had a strong aversion to what HOLLYWOOD or those of CAUCASION PERSUASION or BLACK INTELLECTUALS who assume to be the VOICE of ALL Black Peeps THINK I should WRITE or SPEAK. I may not be as SMART as U THINK I should be. Butt I also AINT as DUMB as I LOOK (or SOUND) Then too, I long ago stopped sweating about being LIKED by the MASSES of ASSES. Because Most of them will BELIEVE whatever their GOVERNMENT Tells em. I made peace with being more of an Underground Hitta whose appeal is only to a SERTAIN kinda Muthafucka. Cuz the Underground is where I kan say what ever the fuck I wanna say without worrying about Censorship. This is why I have a deep EMAIL List of peeps collected over the years. See, THIS is MY true social media or Following. Ion fuck wit SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS no more as a Rule. Social Media is OVERRATED anyway now. And this is cumming frum sumbody who has been VIRAL on ALL of them at one or another. Butt That shit is DEAD to Me now. I like the PRIVACY of speeking to an AUDIENCE of Peeps who GET ME and MY WERK. Most are long time Fans who support my werk wit LOVE OFFERINGS or GIFTS or other BARTER type-a-thangs. So from this position, I kan take my time and write BOOKS, release VIDEOS/AUDIOS thru my own PUBLISHING Company called BLACK PULP FICTION....and I MAKE DECENT MONEY. I totally digg this AUTEUR lifestile. Im truly of the mindset of the INDEPENDENT ARTIST. Ion like NOBODY having SHIT To SAY bout how I CREATE or WHAT I wanna SAY!! PLUS: the Entertainment landscape is changing so much that HOLLYWOOD is being LEVELED so that EMAIL is Making and HAS made a cumback--and other forms of Reaching Your Audience/Fans such as PODCASTS and STREAMING thru Yo own WEBSITE (ala LOUIE C.K), SELF-PUBLISHING is now the Lick. The future of Technology is BACKWARDS rather than FORWARDS for Linking/Reaching Yo FANS...and its more PRIVATE rather than PUBLIC (i.e, NOT VIA SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS). Lastly, not being on Social Media fits me better because Imma LONER by Nature. Im not into the whole social media aesthetic of Follow for Follow or even LIKING or COMMENTING. That shit is/was EXHAUSTING. Its like a god-dam JOB. Butt thats supposed 2 B da Game. Sumbody likes U then U like em back...or Comment or whatever. Nah, mane. Fuck all dat. I aint got time for it. If Im on Social Media its cuz I want to present My Werk to FANS who mite digg it and wanna link wit me. Im not on there to FOLLOW or Link wit other artists per se. Dont git me wrong. I LOVE discovering Bonafide TALENT in ANY field. Butt I prefer that be by chance or happenstance. Like wit Rapper JD JIMMERSON. I came across his werk on FACEBOOK 10 years .... True underground rapper who has slowly built his audience outta Ft Worth, Texas without a huge social media platform or presence. Butt too much of being ONLINE is about other artists linking with U because they are looking for a PLUG or they want other Artists to CO-SIGN their shit. And I HATE that whole kinda environment, mane. Meanwhile: I just want REGULAR, NORMAL Peeps who wannabe FANS of what da hell Im putting out. They are just Fans of BLAXPLOITATION or BLACK PULP FICTION. They have no Ulterior Motives. I came up among PIMPS, CON ARTISTS, THIEVES n HITTAZ so I kan spot a FAKE bullshitting social climber, lousy muthafucka from a MILE-A-WAY. And social media platforms are full of them.
DAY 5 (Saturday 3-16-2024)
Tim: (12:14PM) Hahaha, you threw a lot at me there. And since we’ve already broken the time construct of this format, I’ll try and limit myself to just three more email questions on my end before it’s over. I can definitely how standup influences your work. Especially your posts are bullet pointed like a set list. And I appreciate your honesty regarding American Fiction. One testament to the writer/director Cord Jefferson is that he seems genuinely chill and understanding of different reactions to the film on the press tour. It’s nice when an artist says “Yeah, this is what I made and that is what it is, and what you think is equally valid.” I have some similar gripes with it as you, but I think he’s set a rare balanced tone when it comes to interacting with criticism. But, yeah, I ultimately struggled with whether the film as a whole was purposely filtered through the white gaze. Like, is the white director at the end actually the director of the film we just watched? It’s great that you reached this personal realization that you are your own audience. One of the hardest things for me to learn when I started bridging from standup into my novice attempts at prose and essay style writing is that there is no group of strangers there to laugh out loud and tell me that what I just said is valid. The most important things is simply feeling good about what you wrote. If it hits home for you, that’s all that matters. How organized is your writing process? Have you gotten it down to a daily routine? DuVay: (2:37PM) What U Said about Feeling good about what U wrote is ALL there is, mane. Thats Ground Zero for being Your Own Hero. So Im with U all the way on that. Agreed, re: CORD JEFFERSON. As an ARTIST, I support his efforts despite not liking the Film as a whole. The fact that its part of HIS vision I kan dig fo sho. And I understand how we ALL open ourselves up to CRITICISM when we SHARE our WORK with the WORLD. I have gotten HATE email, Gotten into FIGHTS after shows, simply because sertain Peeps didnt like what I was saying ONSTAGE or IN an ARTICLE/ESSAY. Meanwhile, my screed was really against the SOURCE MATERIAL. Not Cord per se. I dont have an organized writing process. That would come too close to being a god-dam JOB. All my Standup was IMPROV, for example. I knew WHAT I wanted to say tho. And just went from there. Its how my Daddy useta Preach his sermons. Off The Cuff. I have a BILLION notes written in hundreds of Notebooks or recorded on small Digital Recorders, on every subject U kan imagine. Plus, I been reading since I was 3. I know the Library's DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM like the Back of my Hand. Shoutout to Old Lady Librarian Ms SPOONER for helping a lil nigga wit his constant quest for knowledge back in the day. My total recall is way above average. Thus, most times I kan usually FREESTYLE for 20-30 minutes on many different subjects off a simple Word or Prompt. Im writing a book called THE WORLDS SMARTEST NIGGA. And its Based on my TRIVIA like impulses for knowing a buncha shit. Therefore, as a Rule, I just write WHEN EVER The SPIRIT hits me. My favorite form of writing is, indeed, QUOTES, APHORISMS & JOKES....thats why I write in BULLET POINTS.
DAY 6 (Tuesday 3-19-2024)
Tim: (2:59PM) I want to unpack something you mentioned earlier about Iceberg Slim. I haven't read his work, but he's definitely one of those artists who makes me put up my guard whenever someone brings him up -- like Okay, what kinda conversation have I fallen into now? I'm curious to know if your frustration with his work has anything to do with some of the other things you've written in this conversation about "DANDY MEN," etc. Do you fall into the camp of people who think there's a concerted effort to emasculate Black men in the media? And what is it about Iceberg in particular that bothers you? DuVay: (5:52PM) Rite, rite. Mane, SLIM is a helluva WRITER. His literary werks are Boss level. Luv dem joints. The werd play. One of mah favorite werd slangers. Periodt. So while I digg His writings, especially, THE NAKED SOUL OF ICEBERG SLIM (mah recommendation for 1st reading of his Books....where it hits like RICHARD PRYOR n DICK GREGORY), his time SELLING SEX aint it. I dont have a problem wit ICEBERG so much as I have with the form of PIMPING he made Popular--which is what is called GORILLA PIMPING (Pimps who beat a woman's ass/git em hooked on drugs, etc, as a form of mind control). Well, Slim's work made that STANDARD pimping in da Hood....butt like I said before THAT was really SEXUAL TRAFFICKING. Not REAL PIMPING. Therefore, when peeps hear bout PIMPING they think of SLIMY, CON ARTISTS who "make" women SELL their Bodies or PEDDLERS OF FLESH via the use of GAME. And while those are, indeed, examples of SEXUAL TRAFFICKERS--they aint REAL PIMPS. The other thang I take issue with is this: Heads are missing the fact that along came HOLLYWOOD and wholly created the IMAGE of the PIMP still reverberating TODAY, re: the DRESS and STYLE. Before that, even so-called PIMPS didnt DRESS like that wit all the OUTLANDISHNESS via HAIR, NAILS, SUITS and so on. That was a HOLLYWOOD Creation!! (what they THOUGHT a Pimp should LOOK LIKE)!! That DANDY aesthetic I mentioned. Meanwhile: I wouldnt say there is a Concerted or Conspiratorial effort to EMASCULATE the BLACK MAN per se. I think its more of an EVOLUTIONARY egress since Young Black Men are seeing LESS examples of SOLID BLACK MEN or FATHER FIGURES in their homes--and by extension, Their LIVES. Thus, their role models are increasingly cumming frum ENTERTAINMENT which is by and large an Industry not Controlled by BLACK Peeps. Therefore, just like MALCOLM said about EDUCATION, each successive generation of BLACK YOUTH are being TAUGHT/RAISED by THOSE WHO DONT HAVE OUR BEST INTERESTS AT HEART--and in fact, MAY BE our ENEMIES at the end of the day. In other words, too much of BLACK LIFE is being INTERPRETED/FILTERED--even CONTROLLED thru the WHITE GAZE instead of the BLACK EYE, ya digg.
DAY 7 (Wednesday 4-3-2024)
Tim:
(12:45PM) Sorry it took far too long for me to respond with my final question. This conversation has literally broken the mold of the "three day" format that defines the series! But you've left so much for me to think about.
What are some of your goals for the future? And what impact do you hope to have on young Black writers?
DuVay:
(5:32PM) I never been the kind to set Goals. I mostly just go with the Flow. But I know ONE THANG for sho: I intend to simply just keep writing/performing the kinda shit I wanna see/read. I want my werk to make an impact in terms of Causing discussion or making peeps THINK. Even if it pisses em off. I have always leaned towards the Controversial anyway. So there is that.
As far as younger Black Writers?? I would be happy if my werk could serve as an example of How just BEING YO SELF and WRITING For Yo Self can be the foundation of being SUCCESSFUL and being DISCOVERED by those who appreciate it.
Thank U 4 taking the time out of Your bizzy skedule to lemme run my mouf. I truly preshate U accepting the suggestion of C ELYSE and putting me on.
May LIFE bring U Hellafied break-throughs into the Entertainment Industry and your other Endeavors.END OF INTERVIEW
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Thank U 4 going thru with this. I appreciate U to the Fullest for it.....I aint for everybody. And Im happy about that. Shoutout to C ELYSE for making it happen. Meanwhile, when U blow up n git ya own Comedy Show, then U know who to Call for that Krazy shit.
Truly and inspirational interview. Solid words about 'American Fiction.' Should make us question who is it really made for, especially considering the ways of Hollywood. Social media observations were dead-on. I really needed this to get back on track. Thanks!