Who is Mama from Pimp: The Story of My Life and what is their importance?

Mama is Slim's mother. Mama tries to do her best with Slim, but considering the circumstances she is put in after his birth and her own background as an uneducated black woman from Alabama, her best proves not good enough. She makes a number of choices in Slim's early life that influence the way he treats women and his future career. She works as a single black woman, raising Slim in the few hours she is home, but when she leaves Henry Upshaw, a break occurs in Mama and Slim's relationship.