Side Note

*All of this is public information that can easily be found online. These are statistics that I have received for this blog.

Aye y'all, start leaving some comments. Let this be a peaceful forum where you can say what you think. I wanna see which hoods you guys think are the most dangerous. Let me know what you guys do in your area and which areas you feel are the worst around you. Oh yea, and I just put this poll up too, so have at it...

Update

Okay, the 2007 rankings are in: Most Dangerous Cities One thing to remember is this is not an exact science. These are calculated by criminal statistics in relation to the population in a given city. So, essentially a city will rank highly if there is a high rate of crime and a small population. But some cities are just ghetto as fuck, and they rank highly despite their high population. But this is all still up to debate...


1. St. Louis, MO
2. Detroit, MI
3. Flint, MI
4. Compton, CA
5. Camden, NJ
6. Birmingham, AL
7. Cleveland, OH
8. Oakland, CA
9. Youngstown, OH
10. Gary, IN

Where the Hood At?

Aight, it's time to start that age old debate. What city is the worst in the U.S.? Which areas keep it hood and have their own patented styles. I would love to hear feedback from others about what they do in their areas. Anyone can feel free to post comments.

This can even spill over to worst in the World... but since I've only left the U.S. one time (Tijuana...and I got arrested; but that's another story) I really have no say about hoods around the World. The U.S. is my specialty. After traveling around some with the And 1 Mixtape tour I've been able to see a lot of ghettos in the U.S. Though I haven't seen all, here are some of my thoughts.

New York. You've gotta start the debate with NY. Queensbridge Projects - biggest housing projects in the U.S. You've got notorious killers like Pappy Mason coming from this area. And you've gotta take it out to the West Coast and talk about notoriously ghetto areas such as Watts and Compton. We've also got crime rankings listing the most dangerous cities. Camden New Jersey, St. Louis and Detroit are frequently tops on this list. This can also be a blog to let people know about some of the smaller, lesser known areas that keep it hood and represent their own style.

New York City

Like I said, you've gotta start the conversation with New York City. It's the biggest and has the most hoods of any city. In NYC gang related incidents went up 47.3% from 2005-2006. You can find Latin Kings in NYC and North Jersey. And the Bloods have a strong presence in Newark. There are MS-13s even out in Long Island now. And New York has always had a strong Mafia presence with the amount of Italian immigrants coming into Ellis Island back in the day. There is also a strong Latino/Puerto Rican Mafia gang structure alive in the city. Despite New York not making the most dangerous list, I would still have to say that in certain parts, you can find the most hardened gangsters in the U.S. But, there are many hoods out there.

You start out with Harlem. It doesn't get better than summertime at the Rucker. As the United States moved from an agrarian to an industrial society many impoverished minorities had to move from rural areas to urban centers to find work. Harlem became a home for many people searching for work. With an incredible amount of unemployment and a rapidly growing population, it became a crime filled area.

Harlem is located in the borough of Manhattan. Since the Harlem Renaissance it has been considered the birthplace of African-American culture in the U.S. West Harlem is west of St. Nicholas Ave. and north of 123d St. In Central Harlem you've got Marcus Garvey Park and Sugar Hill. And East Harlem is Spanish Harlem (south of 116th). The crime rate has gone down in Harlem as of late but back in the 80s and early 90s the crime in Harlem would probably have earned it the title of most dangerous. There were different Cuban, Puerto Rican and African American gangs competing for control over crack on the streets. Everything was out of control.

Brooklyn- Crooklyn definitely keeps it very hood. There are Bloods and Crips out in New York now. They can be found in all the boroughs. If you're talking about Brooklyn you've gotta get into Bedford-Stuyvesant, "the livest one." Bed-Stuy is bordered by East New York, Brownsville, Canarsie and Crown Heights. As Harlem became very overcrowded, many African-Americans moved into Bed-Stuy. Home of Biggie and Jay, Bed-Stuy has been a center for many African-American movies as well as artists. "Do the Right Thing" was shot there. But the crime in Bed-Stuy has gone down a little bit as of late. Bed-Stuy has been territory for a lot of gang violence too.

Queens - Queens has probably been the borough reppin' the hardest as of late. There is a strong gang and violence presence there. And Queens has been getting crazy spins on the radio. Fifty, Nas and Mobb Deep come to mind. But what about Pappy Mason and the Son of Sam. What you know about the Supreme Team? These are real gangsters. Not the fags you see dancing on MTV. You hear rappers mention Prince and Supreme in some of their raps. The Supreme Team worked like a company, selling 25,000 vials of crack a week in Jamaica Queens. Many in the area have tried to emulate their operation. They were revered as stars. Many accounts say they were pulling in easily over 200,000 bills a day. Run by Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff and Gerald "Prince" Miller. For some more in depth info about Prince and Preme check out the Gorilla Convict Blog http://gorillaconvict.com/blog. It is one of the best blogs out there about the streets I have ever read. I would have to say Queens is now the hardest borough in New Jack City.

South Bronx, South South Bronx - The birthplace of rap. The Bronx is definitely a very interesting place with a rich history. In some ways it is a sad history because the Bronx has been home to strong racial tensions over the years. This is not saying that the same things haven't happened in other boroughs but the Bronx has seen too much violence due to racial issues. A Bronx Tale, a gangster story with Robert DeNiro portrays the Bronx back in the day. A mafia area with high racial tensions. The Bronx is definitely a crime-filled area. The Bronx is the northernmost borough and touches the New York City mainland.

Los Angeles

Inglewood Bloods. Hoover Crips. These titles have become fairly commonly thrown around in songs and movies portraying gangstas and crime. But one thing you guys might not know about L.A. is the crazy ass neo-nazi gangs that exist. The Aryan Brotherhood has a strong contingent out there in Cali. You could truly write an entire novel about the gang structure that exists out in L.A. and surrounding areas. And the Mexican gangs are very alive in Los Angeles. They are some of the strongest. Some of the Mexican gangs have a Mafia type structure to them and many are very ruthless. You've got bloody gang battles all over the place: Eight Trey Crips and the Rollin' 60s Crips = upwards of 400 deaths. For some neighborhoods that's some crazy bloodshed. "Gangbangin' is real" says rapper the Game. The Game comes from the Cedar Block Blood Gang from the West Side of Compton. According to many he's a legit dude in the streets. Someone not to mess with in Compton. He's been speaking out on 50's snitching as of late. For those who have never heard 50's ghetto qu'ran he was accused of snitching in this song and some others. Again check out Gorilla Convict Blog for some more information on this.

Compton- I'm sure everyone has heard of Compton. From N.W.A to the Game this is one of the most advertised ghettos in the World. Compton has a homicide rate of about eight times higher than the national average and most of this is coming from gang violence. Many people think that Compton has become safer as of late, but even in 2006 Compton was ranked very dangerous in the rankings of most dangerous places to live. Compton is located southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is technically a suburb but because of the widespread poverty, most think of Compton as part of the inner-city.

Watts- History like the Watts riots in the 60's are what Watts is known by to many people today. Violent actions are what have defined Watts and still do to this day. Many people think of Watts as completely African-American but that is just not the case. According to the census Watts is only 37% African-American. And the crime here has gone down as of late due in large part to the famous cease fire from some of Watts' most notorious gangs: the Grape Street Watts Crips, the Bounty Hunter Watts Bloods, and the PJ Watts Crips.

But like I said, there are neo-Nazi all white gangs scattered throughout Los Angeles and the surrounding areas through much of California. These gangs originated in the California prison system in order to protect the white inmates from the Black and Hispanic gangs. This area is also highly concentrated with Surrenos and some Nortenos who are both very dangerous hispanic gangs. Not to mention, a huge contingent of Asian gangs that are growing rapidly in the L.A. area. I heard a report recently that many L.A. Asian gangs are the fastest growing. Because it can be very dangerous to be in L.A. when you are not familiar with gang territories some parts of L.A. may have to be considered the most dangerous in the world. I once heard an OG from the south telling of his troubles in L.A. He said that it was common for him in Atlanta and some other hoods down south to call anyone younger than him "youngblood." This caused him some problems in South Central for obvious reasons.

Chicago

Chicago also has a historically gangster past (seems to be the theme with all major American cities). From the days of Al Capone and his Cicero takeover to all the corrupt politics that have followed, Chicago has been for decades a very criminal minded place. The land of Vice Lords and GDs. The Vice Lords started up in Lawndale on Chicago's West side. This is a ruthless street gang with many different factions. There are also Spanish Vice Lords now. A lot of Chicago violence comes from the rivalry between Vice Lords and GDs, or Gangster Disciples.

The Gangster Disciples were formed in Chicago's South Side and are part of the Folk Nation. A large amalgamation of street gangs containing some other smaller gangs. The GDs are the largest of the Folk Nation. They hang around the Engelwood area in the South side of Chicago. Engelwood would have to be considered the most heavy gang banging area in Chicago. There have been about 700 murders in this area in the last 10 years, which is very high for an area of about 40,000 inhabitants. The Latin Kings also have a very strong presence in Chicago and many other cities throughout the U.S. The Latin Kings began as a group to promote the advancement of Puerto Ricans. The group expanded rapidly. The Latin Kings even have a very strong presence in the Catalonia region of Spain.

Chicago is "a city of neighborhoods" and there is a lot of debate between Chicagoans as to which part of Chicago is the worst. In my opinion, I would have to give it to Engelwood. Hands down. The "wild hunnits" keep it hood to. I mean, you can find real hoods all throughout Chicago but I would really have to give it to Engelwood. One overlooked area in Chicago is the West side. You always hear talk of the South side as stereotypically being the worst, and it is bad, but the west side might be just as bad, if not worse. There are plenty of vacant lots and hood areas in the west side. If you're light-skinned don't find yourself in the wild hunnits or roseland. And if you aren't Mexican don't find yourself on some parts of the West side.

Detroit

Detroit has a lot of the same gang structure as Chicago. But they have a different style in Detroit. And Detroit adds a crazy ass white trash population to the mix. Detroit's murder rate is 5.16 times the national average. There are many run down and abandoned buildings in Detroit. Outsourcing has really hurt Detroit more than many other cities because much of the city's working class works in the auto industry which has been outsourced heavily. Because of this, there seems to be a general hopelessness in Detroit. This is one of the major cities that I have not had the opportunity to visit too frequently, but from my few visits I really might give most dangerous to Detroit. There are parts where it seems like everyone you see is a junkie, looking to rob. And some parts of the city are just filled with abandoned houses which is pretty creepy. Especially when there are crackheads and crooks hanging around.

Like most major U.S. cities, the crack boom hit Detroit very hard. You may not know about true gangsters like the Chambers brothers who brought crack to Detroit. They owned a convenience store on the east side right by St. Clair. They started out selling cigarettes, chips, and home-grown marijuana. Then, when the Chambers brothers found out how to make crack cocaine they started pushing it from the convenience store. It blew up so quickly, that they started buying whole blocks in the city. The lines were so long in single family houses that they needed apartment complexes to move the crack from. In my opinion, Detroit has recovered the least out of most major cities since the 80s crack boom.