The LA Gang You’ve Never Heard Of: Downtown Gangster Crips

[00:00:00]you know, you're good in the hood.

[00:00:02]It lets me know you good.

[00:00:03]>> Right, right, right.

[00:00:04]>> Cuz but it doesn't always mean you're good because you can be in the corner somewhere by yourself.

[00:00:08]>> One of them back streets, huh?

[00:00:10]>> Yeah, on on in a back street. But no, he was out there in the middle of the set.

[00:00:15]With everybody pulling up, you know.

[00:00:17]>> Real talk, real talk, man.

[00:00:17]>> You know, cars passing by and >> Right.

[00:00:19]>> all of that, so.

[00:00:20]>> Oh, man. Good in your hood is a beautiful feeling, ain't it?

[00:00:23]>> Real facts, facts, facts. A lot of people ain't good in their areas, man, you know that?

[00:00:26]>> Hm. It does feel good to just go where you grew up and be able to go outside and go to the park, play basketball, go to the gas station, walk into the the local store, >> Right.

[00:00:36]>> and do all that.

[00:00:37]>> So so every your community is something you familiar with, so of course it's great. It feels a great feeling when you can keep doing it cuz a lot of people that they get around this thing they can't do it no more and they You know what I'm saying? They get to a certain age limit to where they or they do this the wrong thing and they just can't come around.

[00:00:52]>> Yeah, and that that that tells you something about that person when they can't just go into your store, >> Right.

[00:00:58]>> hang out for a few minutes, talk to some of the people that grew up there. When you stay away, that tells us something about you, right?

[00:01:05]>> For sure. Yeah, man. You supposed to run from where you come from.

[00:01:08]>> Exactly. That's exactly what I'm saying.

[00:01:10]You supposed to be You know what I'm saying? You supposed to be good where you come from. That's the the I I think it's I I was told that that supposed to be a place that you always can return to, you know what I'm saying? Even when you go somewhere else and you fail, you supposed to go be able to go back to your area, recuperate, get it together, and you know what I'm saying? Then try again.

[00:01:24]>> For sure, for sure. When I was a young a youngster [snorts] in the '80s, people who were not who were ostracized from their neighborhood, they went to three places.

[00:01:35]Um it's different now, but they went to downtown LA.

[00:01:38]>> Okay.

[00:01:39]>> They went to the San Fernando Valley or they went to Hollywood.

[00:01:42]>> Oh, no, I did that.

[00:01:42]>> Now it's way different.

[00:01:44]>> Palmdale.

[00:01:45]>> Palmdale and Lancaster.

[00:01:46]>> No, we going to put Palmdale and Lancaster together. So Palmdale, Vegas, or Victorville.

[00:01:50]>> That's what I'm saying. It got to be San Bernardino.

[00:01:53]You know what I'm saying? Them areas. So So it could be Rialto on up to to to to Victorville.

[00:01:58]>> Can we just say the IE?

[00:01:59]>> The IE.

[00:02:00]>> The IE.

[00:02:00]>> They going to hide in the IE.

[00:02:01]>> Antelope Valley.

[00:02:02]>> And and and and and Vegas.

[00:02:03]>> Vegas.

[00:02:04]>> What about Arizona?

[00:02:06]>> Arizona getting getting getting getting kind of like newish.

[00:02:08]>> Like yeah, we can't say we can't quite say Arizona just yet.

[00:02:11]>> Just not yet. You know, so we got a couple over there like Snoopy and them, but that was over there, but yeah.

[00:02:15]>> It's a trip how it changed because when I was young and let's say you went to Hollywood and you saw a lot of bunch of brothers, you already knew they're no good.

[00:02:22]>> Exactly.

[00:02:23]>> If you went downtown LA and you saw a bunch of brothers, you knew they were no good.

[00:02:26]>> Now it's different.

[00:02:26]>> But yeah, it's different because those places are considered really close.

[00:02:29]>> Right. And and and them places there, you going to see real people that really thuggin' right there. Like you'll see like damn, that's the homie right there.

[00:02:34]Like I would have flopped down here getting my dough. Like damn, all right.

[00:02:38]>> Yeah. Hey, speaking of downtown, hey man, I used to be in juvenile hall and camp and it was a dude named Polo that used to >> That's my boy.

[00:02:47]>> So Polo from DTG, Downtown Gangster.

[00:02:50]He push a line.

[00:02:51]>> And he fly too, though. He ain't no dusty little he like a That [ __ ] was crazy. Like he was like when he first told me that, I'm from Downtown Gangsters.

[00:02:58]I'm like >> He push a line.

[00:03:00]>> Yeah, any squabbling [ __ ] >> Man, wherever you at getting the comments, bro, cuz he need an interview.

[00:03:05]>> Oh, probably >> Cuz he put on for Downtown Gangsters.

[00:03:08]>> That's crazy. I know him. Like Polo, I remember Polo, bro. That's that's crazy you said that. Polo's my boy, man. Real talk.

[00:03:12]>> Okay, so is Downtown Gangsters a group of people that are from different sets already?

[00:03:16]>> though. Downtown Gangster [ __ ] >> Downtown Gangster [ __ ] is is people that's not from a gang that be down there hustling and they they just started Downtown Gangster [ __ ] right? And he my age, well, a little younger than me, probably.

[00:03:28]>> Mhm.

[00:03:28]>> And he um when I first met him, he like on that Gangster [ __ ] bro. I'm like what Gangster [ __ ] you from? Downtown Gangster [ __ ] I'm like what? I'm Downtown Gangster [ __ ] Like he don't get get it in and all that. [ __ ] squabbling and all that. Don't disrespect no Gs, none of that, all that type of stuff. It it's like for real with him. Like for real? He like yeah, it's real.

[00:03:44]>> Okay, but there already some established LA sets that claim downtown. For example, the Grape Streets were deep in the Skid Row area for years.

[00:03:52]>> is.

[00:03:53]>> Yeah, they are, right?

[00:03:54]>> Yeah, they get remote, though. They be all down there selling dope and [ __ ] Like they they they down there deep. They are. They get dressed like kind of dusty, so they can blend in and get their get their cash.

[00:04:05]>> And we not telling on the Grape Streets because they've already been charged and indicted multiple times for selling down to and downtown LA. It's >> And it's not even dope like cuz I wasn't selling selling. You could just say that they they they participate in anything down there cuz they can be cuz I know some people from Grape like my little my cousin they really got like stuff down there like where they clothes and stuff they set up and sell things like >> That's true. Yeah.

[00:04:26]>> Downtown's a real hustle spot.

[00:04:27]>> Yeah, yeah. That is true. But there have been a few indictments of people slanging in downtown, so we not saying nothing new that the police haven't already investigated.

[00:04:35]>> still come come cuz people be >> Yeah, [snorts] cuz they'll be like, "Damn, y'all snitching on the Grape Streets." Well, if you do your research, they've already been to jail for this.

[00:04:42]They've already been arrested. They've already been You know, some of them probably already did time and came back home already.

[00:04:47]>> Facts. Facts. Facts.

[00:04:48]>> But they are known I think the Grape probably are the most dominant presence out of all the LA sets, right?

[00:04:53]>> Grapes and Bonnie honest for sure.

[00:04:55]>> Okay.

[00:04:55]>> And that yeah, downtown.

[00:04:56]>> So what are the downtown gangsters are they confronting with these other established hoods when they're in downtown LA?

[00:05:02]>> They they so I ran into two people. I ran into So I'm going to keep it 1,000.

[00:05:05]I ran into two people. The first one I ran into was a older guy.

[00:05:09]He was um He was like older guy. I I met him like in the streets and stuff. He just like boom he just yelling. I'm like thinking that he popping a downtown gangster [ __ ] I'm thinking he popping. But I met Polo.

[00:05:20]It was more he was younger. It was vibrant. He was young. So like he was squabbling. He was like and it's like it was more like damn it's a gang then cuz you see this [ __ ] like he's not in the he's a young in this not the other hood.

[00:05:30]I don't gang bang nothing. I'm from downtown gangster [ __ ] >> But that is kind of gang banging, though, right?

[00:05:34]>> No, no, I'm not saying I'm saying like other like you know it's like some people come in and be from different hoods and they start a click. Like off the 60s off the have families we come downtown we we we hustling over here, so we just start our our little click and say this is It's click.

[00:05:45]>> Right.

[00:05:46]>> No, not like that. just That's like a gang gang like type [ __ ] >> Yeah, we need Polo to tap in, man.

[00:05:51]>> Tap in, Polo, for real, man.

[00:05:52]>> Polo a gangster, bro. And all the dude named Easy. I was in the county jail with Easy.

[00:05:56]>> All the dude he got turned gangster.

[00:05:58]>> So, you guys are talking about like 10 years ago or even more?

[00:06:00]>> More.

[00:06:01]>> Okay.

[00:06:02]>> Uh the last Yeah, I was in jail in the heart.

[00:06:04]>> Yeah, me, too.

[00:06:04]>> Around the same time as Polo, but then when I was in the county I heard he was through there. You know what I'm saying?

[00:06:09]County jail, too.

[00:06:09]>> And that's another thing I want to emphasize. We're talking about over a decade ago, you know, about Polo and >> Yeah, so I was doing so I was When I first met him, bro, I was probably like 16, 15. And then I I was in the county jail with him probably like 2011.

[00:06:24]You know what I'm saying? Type [ __ ] And then he But he he known He just known for He getting down. He squabbling. He got his little homies with him. They they they You know what I'm saying?

[00:06:31]>> So, when he was in the county he was known as a non-affiliate?

[00:06:33]>> No, hell no.

[00:06:33]>> Gangster [ __ ] >> Okay.

[00:06:35]>> Downtown >> Downtown gangster [ __ ] from gangster [ __ ] >> Yeah, he getting down.

[00:06:37]>> Walk in the door, DTG. What that What that You don't don't act like you don't know what it is cuz he going Like, what you mean? Like, you trying to You know what I'm saying? Like, what's going on, bro? Like Like, on GC [ __ ] >> Hey, man, I just learned some new stuff and, you know, people think I know everything about gangs. No, I don't know everything.

[00:06:53]>> you do, [ __ ] I was thinking you do, [ __ ] >> learned something new. I was not tapped in with the Downtown Gangster Crips.

[00:06:58]>> A lot of people ain't tapped >> at all.

[00:07:00]>> For sure.

[00:07:00]>> Yeah, somehow that missed my radar.