Rap is a dangerous genre. Hip-hop and gang culture have
always been closely associated. Since the days of death row
records and even before, here's a look at some of the most
popular artists in hip hop today who are gang affiliated.
From Blood rappers to Crip rappers to Black Disciple rappers.
Blood rappers: YNW Melly
Jamell Maurice Demons, AKA YNW Melly,
is a singer and rapper from Gifford, Florida,
most popular for his breakout track, Murder on My Mind and
Kanye West collaboration, Split Personalities. Melly had a promising
career that was cut short after being arrested for allegedly
killing two of his childhood friends. Melly has proclaimed
his innocence in the case and hasn't yet stood trial for this crime.
But Melly's ties to the Bloods are well established.
Melly was born to a single mother who was only fourteen at
the time that she had him. Growing up, the two lives in a
poor part of Gifford and his mother struggled to put food on the table.
As a result, Melly joined the G-shine set of the Bloods
at a young age. Melly was first into prison in 2015
for shooting at a group of students near a local high school.
He was charged with aggravated battery and spent
several months in jail. He was arrested a few other times in 2018
and '19 for possession of marijuana and possession of a firearm by a
convicted felon. Around this time, Melly's rap career was
really heating up and his music and videos contain references
to his Blood affiliation. For instance, in the Murder On My
Mind video, Melly can be seen performing a blood handshake
with a friend who is bleeding to death from a gunshot wound.
Ironically, in a documentary put out on Melly's official
YouTube channel, the rapper can be seen performing the same
handshake with YNW Juvy, one of the friends he is currently on
trial for murdering. The handshake could very be a
coincidence but one thing is for certain, YNW Melly is a
rapper with obvious associations to the Bloods.
9lokkNine
Jacquavius Dennard Smith, AKA 9lokkNine is a
popular rapper from Orlando, Florida. He's best known for
singles like 10 Percent and YNW Melly collaboration 223's.
9lokkNine is of Haitian descent and was raised by a
single mother while his father was in and out of prison.
By the time he was 18 years old, he'd already been in and out of
jail twelve times. Starting with burglary of his mother's car at age 13.
In 2015, he was arrested and
charged with aggravated battery for a shooting that put a
17 year old in the hospital. 9lokkNine himself was only 15 years
old at the time. 9lokkNine is believed to be affiliated with the Bloods
However, it's unclear whether he's an
official member of a particular set. In his popular song,
223's, he and YNW Melly makes several references to
Blood Culture using ad libs like “Slatt” and “SuWoop”.
Two terms commonly used by the Bloods. 9lokkNine is also signed to
Cash Money Records. The label owned by Birdman was known for
his affiliation with the Bloods. However, just recently
on October 8th, 2020, 9lokkNine was locked up again for
possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
His lawyer denied that 9lokkNine is either a leader or a member of any gang
However, the judge denied him bail and deemed him
a threat to the public which may confirm the opposite of
what the defense is claiming. 9lokkNine is still in jail
awaiting sentence but his case may be pushed back due to Coronavirus.
Crip rappers: Fivio Foreign
Maxie Lee Riles III, better known as Fivio Foreign, is a rapper from
Brooklyn, New York. Fivio grew up in the East Flatbush neighborhood
of Brooklyn and is affiliated with the Woo gang set
of the Crips alongside other popular Brooklyn drill rappers
like Sheff G and Pop Smoke. He started releasing music back in
2011 under the name Lite Fivio but eventually changed it to
Fivio Foreign when he began to take rapping more seriously.
Fivio's mother died in 2018 from complications due to a stroke.
He was living with her at the time, suddenly became
homeless following her death. This event forced Fivio to take
his music more seriously. His breakout single, Big Drip,
came out the following year along with two popular EPs,
Pain and Love and 800 BC. He was also featured on a Drake song called
Demons alongside another Brooklyn artist, SosaGeek in 2020.
Fivio became one of the defining artists
in Brooklyn drill music alongside childhood friend Pop Smoke and
following the blueprint of two influential artists who grew up
around the same area, Bobby Shmurda and Rowdy Rebel.
Fivio has made numerous references to being a Crip in his music.
The title of his EP 800 BC features a blue color palette and is
allegedly a reference to the 800 foreign side Crips.
A specific set of the Woo gang Crips that Fivio was a member of.
He's also made references to being GDK or Gangster Disciple Killer.
In New York, Crips and the Gangsta Disciples
have beef but despite his affiliations in an interview
with DJ Vlad, Fabio claim he's now too busy and successful to
worry about petty beef. He hasn't turned his back on the
set entirely but he claims that as long as others aren't
starting problems, he has no reason to put himself at risk
over the streets anymore.
Sheff G
Michael Williams, better known as Sheff G, is a rapper from the
Flatbush area of Brooklyn. Known for his deep baritone voice and
hard-hitting sound, he's one of the most prominent artist in
the Brooklyn drill scene and is best known for breakout tracks
like We Get Money, Tip Toe and No Suburban. Sheff G was raised
by a Trinidadian mother and Haitian father in Flatbush.
Inspired by artist like Chief Keef of Fifty Cent, he started
rapping in 2017 and blew up with his first single No Suburban.
Prior to releasing the single, Sheff claims he
never had big aspirations of becoming a rapper when he was growing up
He was more concerned with hustling and
doing his best to stay out of trouble. Despite his best intentions,
Sheff was involved in many fights growing up and
was arrested in his senior year of high school for pulling a
gun on a group of other men who harassed him in the parking lot
of King's Plaza Mall in Brooklyn. Two cops across the
street witnessed the incident and Sheff turned himself in.
He was charged, but given 5 years of probation with no jail time,
Sheff G is also a member of the Woo gang Crips.
The rapper is quiet about his past criminal activity and doesn't get very
specific about his affiliations in his music but he's often
wearing blue in video is believed to be an 83 Gangster Crip
along with childhood friend and collaborator Sleepy Hollow.
Sheff G claims that music
inspired him to change his path in life and has claimed in an
interview that he wants to put the streets behind him.
However, Sheff's cold-blooded rhymes and general demeanor
prove that he isn't someone to mess with.
Black Disciples: King Von
Dayvon Daquan Bennett, better known as King Von,
was a rapper from Chicago, Illinois. He was born and raised in the
notorious Parkway Garden Housing Projects on
64th and MLK Drive in the south side of Chicago.
Known to fans of drill music as O'Block. Von was raised by a
single mother while his father was in and out of jail and
eventually murdered. Initially, Von claim he tried to stay away
from the gang lifestyle and wanted to focus on sports,
specifically baseball but after spending most of his teenage
years in and out of prison and dropping out of high school,
he got something to the street life to support himself.
believed to be a member of the black disciples, one of the largest
gangs in Chicago who claims O'Block as a stronghold.
In 2014, Von was arrested in connection with the shooting
that left several men dead and others wounded.
Von spent over years in jail. However, he was eventually
acquitted of all charges after witnesses failed to testify.
A childhood friend, a major Chicago artist like Lil Durk
and G Herbo, Von decided to focus on music as a way to keep
himself out of the streets. He linked up a Lil Durk andsigned
to his imprint OTF, Only The Family, shortly after getting out of prison.
His breakout single Crazy Story came out
in December 2018. However, despite his best efforts
to avoid street life, Von couldn't escape it entirely
In November of 2020, he was shot and killed outside
of a hookah lounge in Atlanta. The shooting is not believed
to be directly gang related but has to do with the
beef involving fellow rapper Quando Rondo. Rondo's associate
Timothy Leeks has been arrested in connection with the shooting
but has not yet gone to trial. Check out some of our previous
videos for a more in-depth look at King Von's tragic death.
Lil Reese
Tavares, Lamont Taylor, better known as Lil Reese,
is a rapper from Chicago, Illinois, a native of Chicago Southside,
and a childhood friend of local legends like Chief Keef, Fredo Santana
and Lil Durk and was a pioneer of the Chicago drill scene
He's best known for being featured on his like
I Don't Like by Chief Keef and the Us remix with Drake and Rick Ross
Lil Reese is one of the more low-key members of GBE
and 300 Entertainment, Chief Keef's brand and label,
largely because of all of his legal troubles and gang beef.
Reese is a member of the Black Disciples.
The drill artist was first arrested in 2010 on. burglary charges,
but given probation after pleading guilty. In 2012,
right on the heal of the hype from I Don't Like, a viral video allegedly
showing Lil Reese assaulting a woman was leaked on to the internet
Lil Reese apologized for his actions in
the video and claimed that it was old footage,
but he was still arrested on a slew of charges,
which led to difficulties with his label. Lil Reese has laid low for the
past few years. However, in 2019, he was shot in the neck
at a busy intersection between Markham and County Club Hills in Chicago.
Witnesses say the assailants followed Lil Reese
and pulled up and assaulted him with a small rifle when traffic
was at a stop. Lil Reese sustained critical injuries
including a shot in the neck but luckily survived.
The motivation behind the shooting is unclear but it has been
attributed to Reese's long-time association with GBE and
the Black Disciples. Lil Reese is now out of the hospital but
still recovering from his wounds. A day after leaving the hospital,
he released a song called Come Outside,
taunting his shooters, showing that despite the incident,
he hasn't changed his ways. Well, that's all for today. If you enjoyed
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