The interviews are separated by short clips from 1970s blaxploitation films such as Willie Dynamite, The Mack, and Dolemite.

The illegal pimps that are interviewed are from all over the United States, e.g., Charm from Hawaii, Fillmore Slim from San Francisco, and Payroll from Las Vegas.

However, near the end of the film, the interviews involve prostitutes that have died from the lifestyle as well as pimps who have retired and hold straight jobs or those who are now in jail.

In a 2009 HBO drama series called Gentlemen of Leisure, The Hughes brothers planned to revisit the themes of American Pimp.

Gentlemen of Leisure[5] was to investigate the world of prostitution in Oakland, California, with an emphasis on a 35-year-old notorious pimp and his attempts to leave the business.