Singled Out: Paul Thorn's Pimps and Preachers

"I grew up as the son of a ''church of god of prophecy'' Pentecostal minister. I went to church every Wednesday night and twice on Sunday. At a very early age I was saved, sanctified, and filled with the holy ghost . The church was my whole world and I was told that anything outside of that world was evil. Me and my sisters were not allowed to go to movie theaters or skating rinks. Whenever we went swimming the boys and girls had to swim separately because the church rightly rationalized that seeing the opposite sex in a bathing suit would cause us to lust in our hearts which was a major sin. Around the age of 12 me and my dad were sitting at our kitchen table when the phone rang. He answered it and immediately had to sit down. It was my long lost uncle Merle. The family had not heard from him in 10 years and we all thought he was probably dead. As it turned out he was alive and well. He told my dad that he had been living out in California and wanted to come home and reconnect with his family. They were all excited to see him return and I was anxious to meet the uncle I had no memory of. When we picked him up at the airport he was unlike anyone I had ever seen. His clothes were very stylish and when he spoke his words sounded like poetry. The cadence of his speech was strangely similar to my father's when he was behind the pulpit but slightly more raw and flamboyant. As time passed by me and my uncle merle became very close and with that closeness he began to tell me about his past life. He informed me that during the time he was away he had made his living as a pimp. He explained to me in graphic detail the ins and outs of the street life. He showed me that there was a broader world out there beyond the small one I had grown up in. He exposed me to what life was like on the wrong side of the tracks by secretly taking me there countless times to experience it for myself. The song ''pimps and preachers is a sincere tribute to my father and my uncle. The time I spent with them has given me a certain set of social and coping skills that have served me well in life. Oh and by the way these self proclaimed ''hip hop pimps'' that you see on television surrounded by bitches and bling bling bare no resemblance to what a real player is. Most of them have no game at all. They are merely wealthy and have zero chops or real ability to get inside a persons mind. If not for their money and fame no decent female would give them the time of day. They would be laughed at for not knowing how to pull their pants up. My dad and my uncle could walk into any room with no money in their pockets and leave out of there with a congregation of believers or a stable full of fresh turn out."