EUR Book Look: ‘Pimp Down: The Rise And Fall Of Katt Williams’ – by Darryl Littleton

Book by Darryl Littleton

*I am not a Katt Williams fan, but I definitely am a Darryl Littleton fan, especially after attending a performance of Littleton’s comedy routine several years ago at an East County (San Diego) comedy club and winning in a raffle his book Black Comedians on Black Comedy, which he autographed to me.

Littleton, known by his stage name of D’ Militant, has followed up this incisive masterpiece with an indepth look at the self-destructive elements that seem to befall a lot of comedians, Katt Williams in particular – with his new book; Pimp Down: The Rise And Fall Of Katt Williams. In this book, Littleton chronicles the events leading up to the fame and fortune of Cinncinnati native Micah (Katt) Williams as a comedian and entertainer, and Williams’ precipitous fall from grace. Williams was also profiled by Littleton in Black Comedians on Black Comedy, which I reviewed in the East County Magazine in San Diego.

In the preface to Littleton’s book, Pimp Down, he dedicates it to fame seekers worldwide, by stating: “The limo was surrounded by paparazzi flashing shots as the bloody Diana stared helplessly at the vultures salivating over catching the images of her last conscious moments. Her eyes registered sadness then nothing as she joined her already dead mate Dody Fayed in annuals of celebrities past. The princess left us; dead because she was famous.” Littleton further states in his preface to Pimp Down: “George Harrison’s home was broken into yet nothing was stolen. The heart and soul of the Beatles was the intruder’s target. The composer of Norwegian Wood was brutally stabbed because he was famous.” The implication is that sometimes there is a heavy price to pay for fame. That really is the premise of his book.

Littleton actually worked for comedian Katt Williams for a couple of years, writing a lot of the comedian’s material that elevated Williams to stardom, transitioning him from local comedy spots to national TV specials such as The Katt Williams Pimp Chronicles, and a series of TV and movie roles, such as The Tracey Morgan Show, Norbit, Friday After Next, First Sunday and more. Clearly, Littleton had a lot to do with Williams’ ascension to fame.

Darryl Littleton

In Pimp Down, Littleton aired a ot of Williams’s dirty linen, specifically, the rampant drugs and alcohol use, as well as sex parties or get togethers. A particular passage in the book resonates with me; “The Writer Brigade massacre,” which states: “katt fired me by email. The writing said there was no hard feelings and nothing personal. This was December 1, 2008. In the meanwhile Katt was making news. He’d scheduled a New Year’s Eve show with Steve Harvey and was calling Steve a fake king of comedy. Katt would prove he wasn’t shit on New Year’s. Jamie Foxx and his crew (Johnny Mack, Lewis Dix, Speedy, Buddy Lewis and Chris Spencer) in turn dissed Katt (and me) on Jamie’s show, “The Foxxhole.” Katt counter-dissed them in interviews and said they should mind their own business.” A lot of what Littleton has written about in his book could be characterized as sour grapes, especially after he was fired by Williams, and as a matter of fact in an EURweb Exclusive audio, that question actually came up. EURweb asked if “The Rise and Fall of Katt Williams” is a tell-all book from a disgruntled subordinate? Littleton responded: “Absolutely not, I’m not picking on one person but using one person as an example. We tried to help katt.” In my phone conversation and interview with Littleton, he indicated the same to me.

Littleton was less than charitable about Williams in his book in regard to his appearance at the “BET Hip Hop Awards,” when Williams chose to walk down the rep carpet sporting a noose around his neck. When questioned about the insensitivity of the act by CNN correspondent Rick Sanchez, Littleton pointed out in his book that Williams went into an evasive tap dance act that would have made Savion Glover proud. Suffice it to say, this book by Littleton is not going to make Williams or his fans feel good or proud, but it is what it is.

Although Pimp Down is about Katt Williams, it could as easily have been about Martin Lawrence or Richard Pryor, with their celebrated moments of “losing it.’ Mostly, and in the author’s own words, this insightful book is about fame and how one handles it. It is a book that I highly recommend.

Pimp Down: The Rise And Fall Of Katt Williams, by Darryl Littleton (CreateSpace, North Charleston, South Carolina, 2012, 173 pages)

Dennis Moore is a writer and book reviewer for the East County Magazine in San Diego and the book review editor for SDWriteway, an online newsletter for writers in San Diego. He is the author of a book about Chicago politics; “The City That Works: Power, Politics and Corruption in Chicago. Mr. Moore can be contacted at contractsagency@gmail.com or you can follow him on Twitter at: @DennisMoore8.

Dennis Moore