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| A number of popular West Coast rappers claim to be affiliated with Bloods gangs or use speculation about their ties to gangs to generate media attention. ] has said he was caught up in the gangs in his Cedar Block neighborhood<ref>{{cite web | A number of popular West Coast rappers claim to be affiliated with Bloods gangs or use speculation about their ties to gangs to generate media attention. ] has said he was caught up in the gangs in his Cedar Block neighborhood<ref>{{cite web | ||
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Revision as of 15:30, 9 May 2006
- For the Native American nation, please see Kainai.
The Bloods are one of the Los Angeles, California street gangs. The Bloods are identified by the red color worn by their members. The gang is largely composed of African Americans, although the Bloods are more racially mixed than the Crips, their rivals. The Bloods are made up out of various cliques known as "sets" or "trays" between which significant differences exist such as colors, clothing and operations. Since their formation the Blood gangs have branched out throughout the United States.
History
The Bloods were formed in response to the growth of the Crips, which at one point had outnumbered non-Crip gangs by 3 to 1. When several members of the LA Brims, Black P. Stones, and the Pirus were killed by Crips in 1973, the embattled gangs met to form an alliance called the Bloods. Knowing that the Crips used the color blue to identify each other, this group decided to use an opposing color, red, to identify each other. Today, groups located in the territories once held by these older gangs will use Piru or Stones in the name of their set. An estimate by the National Alliance of Gang Investigators Association or NAGIA states that the Bloods and Crip gangs control 35% of the illegal drug trade.
During the 1990s, there were reports of Bloods gang members in New York City. The UBN, United Blood Nation, was founded by O.G. Mack, who had been sent to Rikers Island, New York City's largest jail facility. While in New York, these groups became infamous for various slashings of non-gang members in an attempt to emulate the LA sets. Abdul Sev Kabah, member of Red Family-Black P. Stones, was responsible for educating many of these new gangs and stopping the random slashing.
Following several months of gang violence that killed 40 people, the Tookie Protocol For Peace was negotiated between the Bloods and the Crips in May of 2004. Former Crips member and founder, the late Stanley Tookie Williams helped negotiate the "perpetual peace treaty".
Bloods and hip-hop
A number of popular West Coast rappers claim to be affiliated with Bloods gangs or use speculation about their ties to gangs to generate media attention. The Game has said he was caught up in the gangs in his Cedar Block neighborhood. Due to employing several known Bloods members, the media has speculated that Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight maintains an association with the gang . Rapper/producer DJ Quik, also a Compton native, has talked about growing up as a member of the Tree Top Piru Bloods. In 1995, Los Angeles producer Ron "Ronnie Ron" Phillips produced the self-titled debut album of the Damu Ridaz, a rap group consisting of gang members from the Denver Lane Bloods.
Notes
- According to a Los Angeles Weekly profile, the Bloods generally refuse to use the letter C in names, especially when names start with a C, they will often add the letter K after C to make it CK, meaning crip killer.
- The Bloods refer to Crips in disrespect as "Crabs".
References
- Maxson, Cheryl L. (1998). "Gang Members on the Move" (PDF). Juvenile Justic Bulletin.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - Espinoza, Federico Garcia Jr (1984). "An Historical Look on the Growth of Hispanic Gangs in Los Angeles County". University of Southern California.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - "New York turns up the heat on Crips, Bloods". August 27, 1997.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|firstname=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|lastname=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|org=ignored (help) - "The Tookie Protocol For Peace A Local Street Peace Initiative". 2003.
- Aftermath.com (2005). "Game Life Story".
- Bruno, Anthony. "The Murders of gangsta rappers Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G." Crime Library. Court TV.
- "Quik as F**k". September 29, 2005.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|firstname=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|lastname=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|org=ignored (help) - "War and Peace in Watts". July 14, 2005.
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- Yusuf Jah, Sister Shah'keyah, Ice-T, UPRISING : Crips and Bloods Tell the Story of America's Youth In The Crossfire, ISBN 0684804603