but he says run-ins with the law inspired his music. >> i started rapping probably when i was 16 when i got out of juvenile hall. it was just like if you didn't know the streets, i couldn't make music. what would i rap about? you know, you need to be on the streets to rap about something. you need to know what's going on. >> robinson has been in and out of jail most frequently for dui convictions but he's never been arrested for the subject of his best known song. >> well, as they say, he was the pimp of the year. >> robinson's biggest hit was his 1994 song, pimp of the year. and he says there was some truth behind the lyrics. >> i had my own escort service called eye candy. in l.a. i ran for like eight years. i was doing illegal. i wasn't just on the street. i wasn't a corner guy. >> robinson has memorialized his former career with a bejeweled grill. >> says pimp. rubies and diamonds.