The Players Ball is an annual gathering of pimps, held in Chicago, Illinois. The party has been a November tradition since 1974, when pimps from across the country gathered to celebrate the birthday of Don Juan now known as Bishop Don "Magic" Juan. Every year, the award for "Pimp of the Year" is given out. Juan was the winner 13 years in a row.http://archive.salon.com/health/sex/urge/2000/01/29/pimps/

The idea stemmed from a scene in the 1973 blaxploitation

Blaxploitation

Blaxploitation or blacksploitation is a film genre which emerged in the United States circa 1970. It is considered an ethnic sub-genre of the general category of exploitation films. Blaxploitation films were originally made specifically for an urban black audience, although the genre's audience...

 film, The Mack

The Mack

The Mack is a 1973 blaxploitation film starring Max Julien and Richard Pryor. Although the movie was produced during the era of such blaxploitation movies as Dolemite, its producers do not label it a true blaxploitation picture...

, in which the lead character, a pimp

Pimp

A pimp is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The pimp may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing a location where she may engage clients...

 named Goldie, attends The Players Ball in Oakland, California

Oakland, California

Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...

. Comedian Dan Aykroyd

Dan Aykroyd

Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd, CM is a Canadian comedian, actor, screenwriter, musician, winemaker and ufologist. He was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live, an originator of The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters and has had a long career as a film actor and screenwriter.-Early...

 parodied this event in his film Doctor Detroit

Doctor Detroit

Doctor Detroit is a 1983 comedy film, written by Bruce Jay Friedman, Robert Boris and Carl Gottlieb. The film stars Dan Aykroyd, Howard Hesseman, Lynn Whitfield, Fran Drescher, and Donna Dixon, with a special appearance by James Brown. The film was directed by Michael Pressman.James Brown performed...

.

The Player's Ball was shown in the HBO documentary Pimps Up, Hoes Down and the Hughes Brothers

Hughes Brothers

Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes , known together professionally as the Hughes brothers, are American film directors, producers and screenwriters...

' documentary, American Pimp

American Pimp

American Pimp is a 1999 documentary that examines the pimp subculture in the United States. It was directed by the Hughes Brothers, the filmmakers behind Menace II Society and Dead Presidents....

. Other Players Balls take place across the country, most notably in Miami, Statesboro, and Atlanta.

Player's Balls in Illinois and Atlanta have been shut down because of the presence of underage girls and because of community protests.

Other versions

A well-known non-pimp Players Ball started some years ago in Las Vegas

Las Vegas, Nevada

Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, as a private party for businesses attending the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo

AVN Adult Entertainment Expo

The AVN Adult Entertainment Expo is a trade show held each January in Las Vegas, Nevada, and is sponsored by the Adult Video News Magazine . The 2010 AVN Awards show was held during the Expo at the nearby Palms Casino Resort. The AEE is the largest pornography industry trade show in the United...

. The event is organized by D-Money. Past events have featured performers including Snoop Dogg

Snoop Dogg

Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...

, Ice Cube

Ice Cube

O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...

, Lil Jon

Lil Jon

Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...

, E-40

E-40

Earl Stevens , better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and investor from Vallejo, California. He is also part of the rap group The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. His solo debut album, Federal, was released in November 1992, after The Click's debut...

, Digital Underground

Digital Underground

Digital Underground was an alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. It could have been considered a music "family" rather than a group, as its personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour....

, Ice-T

ICE-T

* Ice-T, an American rapper and actor* ICE T , a tilting model of the German InterCityExpress series of high-speed trains...

, Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill

Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...

, Too Short, George Clinton & P-Funk, Slick Rick

Slick Rick

Richard Walters , better known by his stage name Slick Rick is a Grammy-nominated English-American rapper...

, Doug E Fresh, Fishbone

Fishbone

Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...

 and porn star Ron Jeremy

Ron Jeremy

Ronald Jeremy Hyatt , usually called Ron Jeremy, is an American pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", he was ranked by AVN at number one in their "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list...

, YTCracker

YTCracker

Bryce Case, Jr. , otherwise known as YTCracker , is a former cracker most known for defacing the webpages of several federal and municipal government websites in the United States, as well as several in private industry at the age of 17...

 & Flavor Flav

Flavor Flav

William Jonathan Drayton, Jr. , better known by his stage name Flavor Flav, is an American rapper and television personality who rose to prominence as a member of the rap group Public Enemy...

 as the MC.

External links

• Official website for DMoney Presents The Players Ball