photo credit: Power 106
Famed as one of the most prominent faces in the pimp industry, Bishop Don “Magic” Juan came through to the Power 106 studios for a Close Conversation with #NickCannonMornings.
Speaking with Nick Cannon on his upbringing as child and his life after pimping, Bishop discusses his idolization of pimps while growing up in Chicago, meeting fellow pimp Iceberg Slim, and how he turned his life around from being a leader of the street-life to turning his life over to God as a leading Pastor.
Growing up with an influential father, who found success as an entrepreneur during the 1950s, Bishop witnessed what it was like to have success during a time where most blacks were impacted by social injustice and poverty. But after his father passed early in life, the Don had to figure out a way to support his mother and siblings and figure out a way to survive in his new hometown.
I stayed with my Father the first eight years of my life. My Father had took me away from my Mother. I asked my mother later in the years, I said, ‘How could he do that? Wasn’t it police and people then?’ She said, ‘Yeah, but your father had money.’ So, I guess at a time in the ‘50s, a black man have a little money, I guess he could do a few things. My Father wasn’t even able to read and write but he had three buildings, a ice cream parlor, and a restaurant; soul food restaurant.
While much of Don Juan’s life is depicted as an influential pimp, with close connections to the hip-hop community, Bishop details his ”Godly” experience he went through that changed his life for the better. On the moment that allowed him to leave the street lifestyle and drug use behind, Don tells Nick, “Well, it was a total conversion. I mean, I was still on top of my game. I was still considered the number one pimp in the game. I thought I was really on it, you know. I used to say “Pimp or Die” and I really thought I felt that way.” The former pimp continues saying, “ And, once God showed me the experience that he really do exist, I mean, it was just like a total shock. I hadn’t never experienced anything like it before.”
As an accomplished public speaker, Pastor, hip-hop personality, and fashion designer, Bishop reflects on where his life is now and how he continues to relate and inspire those who are currently facing hardships and consequences he once had to endure. Bishop expresses to Nick, “I done spoke in jails, and I’ve spoke in colleges, and different academies because I can relate. I even tell the people, ‘Hey, I’ve been here once. I know what you’re going through. You know what I mean?’ Bishop goes on to explain, “And they can relate to me ‘cause they know, this wasn’t nothing learned in the book, this was something I learned in hard knock life on the street and I was able to live and survive that life.
Peep the full Close Conversation featuring Bishop Don Magic Juan and #NickCannonMorings below!
