Deep For The Week
This show gets deep every week as address topics that affect us every day . We might make you laugh , cry , and get mad here as we get deep !
Deep For The Week
Surviving the Harsh Reality of Gang Membership: Brandon's Journey - Part 1
What drives someone from a suburban, private school upbringing to the perilous world of gang life? On this gripping episode of Deep For the Week, we unravel the complex layers of gang affiliation with our insightful guest, Brandon, known as BT. Growing up with family ties to the Alzedina Block Crips, BT sheds light on the nuanced distinctions between wannabes, affiliates, gang members, and gang bangers. He recounts how his older brother’s shift to a rough public high school became a turning point, drawing the family into the harsh realities of 90s street culture. Dive deep into the socio-economic factors and the magnetic pull of gang life as BT offers an insider's perspective on why some choose this dangerous path.
Journey with us through the intense narrative of navigating street life and the powerful draw of gangster rap. Through personal stories, we explore the raw emotions triggered by a school bully turned killer, the deep grief of a grandmother's passing, and the electrifying introduction to hardcore gangster rap through Brother Lynch's album. This chapter reveals a stark contrast between athletic aspirations and the fascination with gang culture. Feel the tension and excitement as we recount how these elements entwined, leading to a cautious yet inevitable immersion into that world.
Experience the perilous reality of gang violence and the legal consequences of getting caught in its web. From life-threatening confrontations and nerve-wracking chases to the emotional and psychological toll these situations impose, we paint a vivid picture of survival mentality. BT recounts a harrowing encounter with the school system and law enforcement, where a public arrest meant to humiliate him left an indelible mark. Listen as we reflect on the moment of realization that sparked a change in perspective and the long, arduous path that followed. This episode promises a raw, unfiltered look at the survival instincts and difficult choices faced by those entangled in the life of gangs.
Kali: 0:01
It's the Deep For the Week talk show. Are you ready to talk? Let's get deep for the week. Hello, and thank you for watching the Deep For the Week show. Do not forget to like, share, subscribe and comment. We love to hear back from you Now.
Kali: 0:18
Today's show is on gang membership, so let's get started. I have somewhat of some what you can call affiliation with gang membership gangs, gang banging, whatever you want to call it. I come from a family that is deeply involved in gang banging. My brother was an OG, what you call an OG crip, and still is. You know he doesn't still walk around throwing up Zion's Crip walking and things like that. But yeah, I come from a family of that where it's all started. You know where the members and the leaders and that shit comes from my family. So I wanted to do a show on that and talk about why I feel like you should not be endorsing that and what's the ups and downs.
Kali: 1:10
There are some perks, some good things that it can add to one's life and character and social life, and then there's some downfalls. So what are they? So let's talk about that today. So let's get today's guest started. So first tell us your name, where you're from, you could tell us where you were affiliated with, or that, if you want to go that far what you like to be called you don't have to use your real name, whatever you want to be identified as on the show today, but tell us your name, where you're from and how are you and stuff like that. We'll start with that.
BT: 1:42
Not a problem, not a problem. Well, first off, I appreciate you having me on even thinking about me, you know, yeah, well, my name is Brandon. Everybody most people that know me call me BT. Everybody calls me BT, from homies to family members, nobody, shit. I think. Only my mama calls me Brandon, and that's only when I'm in trouble.
BT: 1:59
You know what I'm saying, so, but you can call me Brandon and I'm from Alzedina. You know what I'm saying. I was affiliated with Alzedina Block. My older brother was, well, alzedina Block Crips, right, because my older brother was a Crip. And you know, when you live in a household like that, you know what I'm saying. You're affiliated, whether you want to be or not.
BT: 2:20
See, this is the thing is. You know, you got wannabes, you got affiliates and then you got gang members and then you got gang bangers. These are all different motherfuckers, man, you know what I'm saying, and when I was coming up, it was. You know what I'm saying. If you was, you was gangbanging. Like in the 90s, niggas was gangbanging. You know what I mean. It wasn't about hustling. It wasn't about hustling. It was not looking cute. It wasn't about none of that. You know, I'm saying niggas was gangbanging because the other side was gangbanging. So it was. It was it was real in the field back then. I'm not saying it's not real now, I'm just saying I just remember when I was coming up it was real. No-transcript.
Kali: 3:28
It's like a livelihood.
BT: 3:31
Completely, completely. You know what I'm saying. It's everything to a lot of people and I understand that. You know what I'm saying Because I remember shit, man, all right, shit. Sorry, I don't mean to get over a tangent, but let me go back so I can tell you the interesting shit, right? So see, I grew up you know what I mean Like I ain't from the projects or nothing. You know what I'm saying.
BT: 3:53
I grew up my mom and my daddy were. I mean, I grew up in the suburbs. I was thinking it was the suburbs. You know what I'm saying. Yeah, it has its bad parts, pasadena has its bad parts, lz has its bad parts, but it's the fucking suburbs. You know what I'm saying. When you look at it, but hell, half of LA is a suburb. You know you got projects and shit, but half of LA is a suburb. So it's all the same landscape. But I had two working parents. My daddy worked for the railroad and that was a good job, for that was back when people could work blue-collar jobs and still take care of a family, type shit. Then my mama works for Lake Pantyhose.
BT: 4:30
I had a two parent income house and I went to private school, me and my older brother. We went to Catholic school. A lot of people don't know that we went to Catholic school from kindergarten. I went to Catholic school from kindergarten to sixth grade. My brother went to Catholic school from kindergarten to eighth grade. This is very important and I'll tell you why. When my brother got into ninth grade, my parents pretty much found out that we can't really afford private high school. You're talking about $3,000 a month, even in the fucking 90s. You know what I'm saying. My people, we just couldn't afford it. They ended up putting my brother at John Muir High School. John Muir High School was one of the hoodest high schools in Pasadena. You got to imagine something. You go from wearing uniforms, wearing Catholic uniforms, a yellow shirt and blue corduroys every single day.
BT: 5:32
We was. It was maybe you can count the black people on one hand, including me and my brother. You know what I'm saying. So we we went to school with nothing but mainly white people. Most of our friends were white. Hell, you know what I'm saying. Like you know, I was a little kid. You know what I'm saying. So you're talking about girlfriends and everything. You know Like? We grew up around white people, but both of us also played pop on the football. So all the ghetto niggas was playing pop on the football. So all the little youngsters that you know went to the regular public schools out there and in Pasadena or wherever, they all played Pop Warner football. So see, I had two the game popped.
BT: 6:14
You feel what I'm talking about? They don't know bro. They don't know bro. Yeah, people was getting killed back in the Pop Warner not high school, right, yeah, so I kind of had the best of both worlds. I was going to private school with no white kids and then when I got out and I went to football practice, I was going with none but young black niggas. You know what I'm saying. So that was. It was difficult. It was difficult, but it was heaven sent, because that is what was able to make me successful to this day. I was able to function in both worlds. I can't even really tell you how hard of a transition that was, but I saw it and I saw it. He changed one semester.
BT: 7:02
One semester, the second semester of high school is when he started gang. We start gangbanging and you got to understand, you go from being a Catholic schoolboy to gangbanging in the early 90s. We talk about 91. All right, yeah, so you have to kind of. If you sit back and you think about that, you can think about what, what was going on with that dude. And what was going on was, you know, he was just thrown into a high school that was full of gangs and shit and full of just rough motherfuckers rough, rougher people than what me and my brother was really used to like that on a daily basis. And you know he. What happened was you know, he was like a kind of like, a like like he was really smart. He was in what they used to call a space academy. It was like a separate program for kids who were really good at math and science. So he was in this Right and during lunchtime all the blacks were out on the yard kind of like a fucking jail.
BT: 8:07
They were all out of the yard. A lot of the Hispanics will go into the cafeteria and then anybody who was really nerdy would be in a teacher's classroom. So my brother used to be in a teacher's classroom that whole first semester, that's what it was. And one day he said he had a class and it was this crip dude. I ain't going to say his name, I ain't going to name names, but it was a crip dude. And he, uh, he said he would just talk to my brother. Hey man, what's up? You know, and and and and my brother, would you know, he just kind of befriended him a little bit and I guess he asked my brother one day hey man, why don't you know, why don't I never see you at lunch? He said you'll be with the teacher. He said, bro, next lunchtime. He said, come where I'm at. He's like, come where I'm at.
Kali: 8:49
And my brother. He's oblivious to all this shit.
BT: 8:52
He's like okay, you know what I'm saying. He's thinking. He's just, he made a friend, you know what I'm saying. So that lunchtime he goes and he finds this dude and game over, life changed, game over. He goes and he hangs with this dude and these are out there in the Black Crips and he just fell into it. That's exactly how he got into it. Now, when it came to me, he was telling them so he went from. So my point is he went from zero to 100, right. So he I mean everything about him changed His mentality, the way he thought, how he dealt with people, the depression, motherfucking, anger, drug use, alcohol use everything was different about this dude.
Kali: 9:40
I was scared of him. I ain't gonna lie to you, I was scared of him. I didn't know who he was.
BT: 9:43
And what fucked me up was what I noticed. The first thing. I ain't gonna lie to you, I was scared of him. I didn't know who he was. What fucked me up was what I noticed. The first thing I noticed was he used to have a blue rag on his.
Kali: 9:50
He had a dresser and he put a blue rag on top of the dresser. I didn't know what that meant.
BT: 9:53
You know what I'm saying. He had his little chains and shit on the blue rag. I didn't know. It was a public school up the street called Elliott. Elliott was so bad back in the day they called it the pink prison because there was makeshift bullet holes in the front of the school. But this was a fucking junior high school and they called it the pink prison. I remember. You know what's funny, bro? I remember when I was going to Catholic school one day my mom was driving us home and literally St Elizabeth, my Catholic school was right up the street from the ghetto-esque motherfucking middle school out there we're driving home and we're seeing all the kids come out.
BT: 10:33
I'll never forget. My mom one day told me she was like boy, you'll never go to a school like this. I swear. A year later I was at that motherfucker, I'm going somewhere with all of this. I later I was at that motherfucker, I'm going somewhere with all of this. I'll never forget, Damn. I wish I could name names, but I can't.
BT: 10:52
I had a dude and all of a sudden I go to my first day at Elliot Junior High School public school, Bro. I didn't know how to dress, None of that shit. I was wearing a uniform every single day of school. I didn't know what public school, I didn't know how to dress, None of that shit, you know. I mean, I was wearing a uniform every single day. I didn't know what public, I didn't know that shit. I didn't know about creases, I didn't know about none of that shit. I'll never forget I had these orange Nikes. You know what I'm saying Orange and it didn't matter, with nothing. I had you know what I'm saying, and me into all this shit because niggas was just bagging on them orange Nikes, like it was nothing. I didn't know how to bag. They called it cap.
BT: 11:26
Now, I didn't know, how to cap none of that shit. What happened was I'll never forget this I was first day, no, second day. It was this dude. It was this light-skinned dude in my gym class. He was one of the dudes. He just befriended me. He was cool. I remember he had a long ponytail. He was cool as fuck.
BT: 11:45
He didn't judge me, he didn't fuck with me, he did none of that, he just was cool. You know what I'm saying. So I would tell him. I was like yeah, I just came from private school man. He was like oh shit, man. So he was just a nice dude man. So I was like.
BT: 12:02
He told me he was like hey, man, why don't you? He's like what you be doing after school? I'm like shit, nothing, nothing really. Bro, I go to football and stuff. He was like he's like man, why don't you come hang out at the park with me and the homies or whatever? I was like cool. I was like cool, right, so I go and I go home.
BT: 12:25
I he was like oh, yeah, he was like what park? I was like woo, woo, woo. He was like oh, hell, no, he was a blood. He was a kid. The park was a blood park in Pasadena. He's like, oh hell, no, he's like nigga, you ain't never going down there. That's when he started explaining to me. He's like, nigga, you ain't never going down there. And that's when he started explaining to me. He was like listen, nigga, sit down. You know what I'm saying. And he started explaining to me about Alcidina and Pasadena and the different gangs. I'm like, oh, fuck man. So anyway, I'm there. I had this one kid man. He was a blood. I just didn't know it back then. He was a fucking bully man. He was trying to bully me man.
Kali: 13:06
He was in my homeroom and I ain't going to lie to him. I was scared of the nigga. You know what I'm saying. I ain't going to lie.
BT: 13:10
I was scared of him because he just had this I don't know. I wasn't used to being. I was scared of him, you know what I'm saying. So he used to like do little shit, like do little shit. And I'll never forget I came home one day and I was in my room and I was crying you know what I'm saying. And then my mom came in and she was like what's wrong? And I was telling her I was like man, this dude keep fucking with me. She was like boy, you better. You know what I'm saying. So I'll never forget that.
BT: 13:41
I think the next day he said something. I said something back and we got into it. I never really had any problems after that with him, but that dude ended up becoming a killer. You know I'm saying like it's funny because he, like he ended up becoming a real killer and but this was like my first bully, you know what I'm saying. So just to give you context of what the fuck I was dealing with. So anyway, I see it was something about I was a sports player, but it was something about the street shit that I just liked.
BT: 14:12
I just liked it. I used to look at the crypt dudes and they had their own little area and shit. The shit just looked hard. The shit just looked fucking tough. I was drawn to it. I can't fucking lie. I was drawn to it like a motherfucker. And what really fucked me up was I went to the. This is still junior high. I went to the warehouse. It was for the Gen Z. Yeah, we actually had to go and buy to a fucking store and buy music. It wasn't down low net right.
Kali: 14:42
Right, that was life. Though I loved that part of our childhood, I did so I missed that part. The warehouse and all that.
BT: 14:51
That was the shit. You know what I'm saying. Just physical copies of shit. You know what I'm saying? It just bit more. I went to the warehouse one day and still square in a motherfucker, I was buying. It was some I bought. I was buying. It was some rap group called the UMCs or something. It was super hip hop, super East coast hip hop. I'm like, oh, this is cool. And my brother was with me and my brother was like man, what you buying, man, what you getting? Man, you know what I'm saying. I was like, oh man, this is a UMC. He's like man, put that shit back. He's like, here, man get this. So I'll never forget it was an album. It was called. The artist was Brother Lynch. I know gangsta, I know you know. I know you know. So y'all don't know about Cali bro, I'm not going to put her out there, but I know a little bit, you know.
Kali: 15:38
Brother.
BT: 15:38
Lynch. Yeah, it was Brother Lynch's first album, 24 Deep, and Brother Lynch was on the cover. He was in a casket with a 12 gauge, Like he was dead with a 12 gauge. And I remember looking at my brother like what is this? We're buying this. And he's like, bro, just trust me, Trust me, Buy it. I'm like man. I was like man, my brother crazy man. I was like all my brother's crazy. I was like, all right, I had my mom buy it. I was thinking, for the first time, I'm a Christian. I'm going to hell listening to this bro, Let alone doing anything he talk about, just listening to this nigga, I'm going to go to hell.
Kali: 16:17
That's why you feel at first like, is this okay For real? Satan rapping okay, for real. That make it crazy For real, it's a Satan rapping okay, like a real gangster. That make it crazy.
BT: 16:28
Seriously. And the funny thing is, if you have to ask yourself is it okay if I listen to this, then hell, no, it ain't okay. You know what I'm saying. If you have to ask yourself, For real, for real.
Kali: 16:40
You said junior high, so I was like dang. I just tell you how we jumped off the porch. That shit ain't no joke.
BT: 16:46
They don't know. They don't know. So I remember listening to this song and I'm like I was turnt out. I was like man, this shit is amazing. Like what is this? You know what I'm saying.
BT: 16:57
And then I started to understand, started listening to the lyrics, and then I'm looking at people at school and I just started, kind of I studied it, you know what I'm saying, instead of jumping out there like I'm not. I've never been a dumb motherfucker. I've always been an intelligent person. Anybody who has ever known me, for anybody who knows Brandon, they will tell you that. They will fucking tell you that. But it's the truth, though. You know what I'm saying, cause that's cause my dad's not my daddy and my mom will raise me. You know what I'm saying. So I'm always gonna I'm not never gonna just jump into something. I'm gonna keep the scene, learn it, research it and then get down if I won't.
BT: 17:30
So that's what I was doing with all of this shit. You know I'm listening to the music, I'm looking at the niggas at school and then I just kind of started going, but I, like I said, I knew some of them because I played baseball or football with some of them. So I remember one day I went over to the table and I was like you know, and I was like and niggas was cool, like it wasn't no, nigga, what are you doing over here? Type shit. It was like what up, bro? You know what I'm saying. So all that shit intrigued me and that's how I kind of started getting my feet wet with that shit. You know what I'm saying. I kind of started kicking it. But I also have my own homies who didn't do that. But again, the thing about O, I can say the same. I know you understand, being from Doherty and Marovia. The whole nine yards, it's a very small community, Two cities.
Kali: 18:07
That's still small together. You know.
BT: 18:10
That's what I know. You're right, you're right, and so everybody know everybody. You know what I'm saying. So it's like all the non-affiliates, all the gang members, the half-niggas we all brothers or cousins or live around the corner, live down the street or whatever we all know each other. That's why, just living in Pasadena, you're going to get marked as a crip, because they label all of us as crips, whether we're a square motherfucker or whether we can kill five niggas. You know what I'm saying. Them niggas don't care.
Kali: 18:40
Outside of California. They don't even realize, like I said, it's a livelihood. You don't even realize that you're gangbanging. You're born into it or you're just kind of walking to it. You don't really realize it and you just label Now you niggas is all crips, it's true.
BT: 19:01
It's really hard to go.
BT: 19:03
No, you're right. Like you said, I don't think a lot of out of towners really understand that. Like I didn't choose none of that shit. And you asked me to this day, I ain't no fucking gang member. You know what I'm saying. Like you know, say, you asked me to this day. You know what I'm saying. I'm just telling you my story. You know what I'm saying.
BT: 19:17
You can label this a talk with a gang member or not. I always have been that. You know what I'm saying and I could tell you what I have and what I have done, how I got down. You know what I'm saying. But I never looked at myself like that and I never was that. You know what I'm saying. Did I do shit? Did I wootie-woot? Yeah, Was I saying words and was I woot-woot? Yeah, you know what I'm saying and I just don't. I want to state that because I don't want to take nothing away from them. I don't want to sit up here like I'm just this big woo-woo-woo because I ain't. You know what I'm saying, but I know niggas who are.
Kali: 20:02
You know what I'm saying and that you know being, you know, born into, like you know, everybody in family, my family's affiliated, so I get what you're saying, like you know I'm saying because growing up I was five year old listening to, uh, my mom's playing trumps and my brother telling me to throw the setup. So it became a natural thing. You know I'm saying so, like you know, as a girl, even you know I'm saying so. I'm listening to music. It's a natural thing.
Kali: 20:26
You know I'm saying so, like you know, as a girl, even you know I'm saying so. I'm listening to music. It's a natural thing to just throw it up, and you know so. It's like it's just it, just it's a lot. You don't even understand you're doing it. You know I'm saying like or that you know, and then so now I look like I'm a female, that game man, because you might see pictures of me or you might catch me dancing and throwing it, but it's just it just really it's life. You know what I'm saying. No, so I get what you're saying when you say you know, I can't say I really even was a gang member, but you know what I'm saying. I was a part of this shit, though you know.
BT: 20:58
You know what it is. I appreciate you clarifying that, cause that's what I'm saying. You know, cause I don't. I don't want motherfuckers to understand. You know what I'm saying. I'm not here to do, I'm here to tell y'all who I am and that's how I feel. That's how I feel and that's what it is. You know what I'm saying and you understand exactly what I'm saying. So, like you know, I was getting into it and shit, and you know I I'll never forget the end of seventh grade. I, I, I, my, I'll never forget the end of seventh grade. Like I said, I'm going somewhere with it.
BT: 21:28
In the seventh grade I got in like my first, like real fight with somebody. You know what I'm saying and I mean man, I'll never forget it. You know, the dude dude rose up on me and he was older than me. He was in eighth grade, I was in seventh grade. He just whooped, he just doing, talking, that shit.
BT: 21:44
You know what I'm saying and you know what it was. It was more fear than anything. You know what I'm saying, man, I just he balled up his fist on me and I remember just not even thinking, I just cocked back and I hit him. I hit him dead in his nose. I remember. I remember just seeing all of this. I broke his nose, all of this blood just splattered everywhere and the funny thing was it was a crip dude. I didn't even need him to jump in. I'm beating this dude From that first hit he was done. He grabbed his nose and then he just went down like this and I'm just pow, pow and you know what it was. He was talking shit about my mom and the thing about it was my mom, my grandma, had died that morning. My mom got the call. My mom got the call and I remember eating breakfast and then she just fell to her knees.
BT: 22:39
And then I hear my dad come running out, and then my dad was picking her up and she's just crying. So that was my morning, and that's the morning that this motherfucker decides to say something bad about my mama. Aw nigga, it was like a perfect storm. You know what I'm saying.
Kali: 22:53
So, anyway, I know I ain't getting no whooping when I get home today. Mama, he was talking about y'all.
BT: 22:58
Period I might get taken out to eat because of this one. You know what I'm saying. But I'm just sitting there working this little. I always get into it with big motherfuckers, and I don't mean I'm not being disrespectful, but like oversized motherfuckers. I don't know what it is about them niggas, but they're always fucking with me. So I'm just working and pow, pow, I didn't need no help. And then one of the crib homies came running over and then just taking off on the dude, just boom, boom, boom, and now we beat the shit out of him. I didn't ask this nigga to do, he just seen it and just came running. It's fun, it was fun for him. So you see, that's how shit gets started.
BT: 23:39
The thing is ninth grade come and then I'm going to John Muir. So now I'm at Muir and after Green and Pasadena, the Crips are outnumbered like super outnumbered. You know what I'm saying. So at Muir it was a mix, it was a mix. You got Bloods and you got Crips there. But Muir was more known as a Crips school though you know what I'm saying Because the Crips that did go there put the mask down.
Kali: 24:06
You know, because they had to, because we it wasn't all of y'all, so y'all had to make a name for y'all. So I'm like, don't fuck with the little bit of us, because we will.
BT: 24:22
That was it. That was always, I say, alcindina's claim of hard, you know what I'm saying Is I couldn't go, me and the homies man, you know what I'm saying Like we couldn't go nowhere. We couldn't go to that football and this thing, we weren't banging like that. So we went. So we wanted to go to all the shit. We wanted to go to the dances, the track meets, the football games, and we did.
BT: 24:51
You know I'm saying, but every time we went to the football game, every time we went to the track meeting we was playing phs or blair or marshall, whatever, you know I'm saying all the bloods will be there. You know what I'm saying. And they, they, if you, if you, if you even smell like you from alcedena, you know saying, or look like you know I'm saying, they don't care, they don't care if you're banging or not, they they getting at you. So a lot of times we just be up in the football stands, in the crowds. I remember one time it was like four of us, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, 12 niggas just came from everywhere. They had plotted on us, we in the stands, and all of a sudden we just look up like, oh fuck, you know what I'm saying. It's like that shit was everywhere we went. It was. You know what I'm saying?
BT: 25:25
And it's like, if that shit was everywhere we went and I know it was shit like this for me, so I went to all the shit. You know what I'm saying. So it was, it was I was a sophomore, it was I think it was a sophomore sweetheart dance or something. I remember I was dancing man and we was at some venue where I was dancing, I was, I was on, and they're like and I'm like, I'm like fuck man.
Kali: 25:48
So I just like, I'm like man, I'm like what, I'm talking shit, they talking shit.
BT: 25:51
And then the girls like man, we're dancing.
Kali: 25:53
Like, what are y'all doing? Like talking to them?
BT: 26:01
you know what I'm saying? Like man, what are y'all doing? We just dancing and I mean fuck that. I started scrapping with them, whatever. So it was shit like that. We're driving up the street and we pass Probably people don't know, but anyway about six or seven blocks up, we all of a sudden and the thing is there was some tricky shit, because my brother is usually on it- and so am I.
Kali: 26:21
You know what.
BT: 26:22
I'm saying I did not see these motherfuckers. Before we know it, there was a station wagon right next to us. They were in this lane, we were in this lane, they were in this lane. The station wagon pulled up on us. I swear bro, it must have been 12 niggas in this motherfucking station wagon. It was just I'm not even exaggerating, I know you're not. I'm not even exaggerating, I know you're not. And I look over and it's like a horror movie. You know what I'm saying. Like I look over and I'm like, oh my God, right, and these niggas are rolling down the window and they just blah, woo-woo, and then I just, I mean literally everybody in that car had a gun. All of a sudden I just see like a movie, I just see guns coming out the window and I'm like I mean I'm just like a deer in headlights. I'm like, oh my God, and it's me in the front seat, my brother driving, and there's two of my homies in the back and they're like my brother's smart man.
BT: 27:23
All of a sudden he had a to give a little bit of background, he had an arch enemy and the arch enemy was in that car and all of a sudden my brother hit the brakes, which was the best thing he could have done, because when he hit the brakes they shot in front of us, right, so they didn't get a chance to shoot Like that's how fast it was. I mean, when I say I'm talking about milliseconds and my brother hit you real quick, boom the chute, that's how fast it was. When I say I'm talking about milliseconds, my brother hit a? U real quick, boom. Then he started smashing down the street. That dude, that was his arch rival. He wanted him so bad.
BT: 27:54
This nigga gets out the car and he starts running after the car. He's running after the car with the heat. Then my brother dips into this parking lot, he makes a right to the parking lot and then the dude didn't expect him to do it and then the dude kind of flew this way and then he failed kind of and then tried to go this way and then my brother was already up out of there. So he never got close enough to actually pull the trigger. Because I mean when I say he was, when I say I mean for people who never had a motherfucker try to murder them. You know it's a certain look a motherfucker has in their eyes and I'll never forget that. Look Like there was no. There would have been no remorse. There would have been. Nobody cares about niggas, mamas or daddies or people.
BT: 28:36
Yeah, at that point they already in a different, a different place, like 100 percent, 100 percent, and it's almost like looking at a demon and I ain't never seen a demon.
Kali: 28:48
You know what I'm saying you're like where is the white in?
BT: 28:51
they shit for real that's the look that that dude had, and I'll never forget that shit. You know what I'm saying because I remember. And then we went home and then I remember, like man, that day, my dad and my brother parked the car in the driveway. My dad took my brother, parked the car in the driveway, my dad took me and my homies home. And I remember that day, I remember talking to myself. I was like man, that's it, like I'm tired of these niggas. Bro, you know what I'm saying. I'll never forget thinking of that, and it was an organic thought too. It wasn't oh, fuck that man, fuck these niggas. No, I was just like I am tired of these motherfucking niggas, that's it. You know what I'm saying. Like you know, it wasn't about like putting in work, and then it was just like. You know, if any little thing happens, you know what I mean, fuck that. And we're going all out.
Kali: 29:39
You gotta be affiliated with somebody because these niggas is coming, 12 and shit, so I got to have 12 niggas. I know that's kind of how it happens. That's real 12 niggas that don't like these niggas. They'll keep coming towards me. I got to go with the 12. Unfortunately, it's the 12 niggas that wear blue. 12 niggas that wear red is the one that's chasing me, so I got to go over there.
BT: 30:02
That's real, that's real, that's real and that's. You know what I mean. People want to get caught up with red and blue, and ain't that it's not A lot of the times. It's not that shit, it's just. You know friends and enemies, man, they put us on what they call a gang file. They put up on us, took all of our names, gave us all fake nicknames and put us on what we know is a gang file or whatever. So now we can't even really be around each other. But we're not. They didn't tell us that back in the day. They just like you, niggas, is on the gang file. We don't even know what that is.
Kali: 30:33
It was up to you to look up what that shit mean.
BT: 30:35
It was and we didn't. You know what I'm saying. And then, and now we hotter and all that, if it's more than one of us together. Now they got legal rights to search everything. We didn't know nothing about that shit. So it's just happening to us. We're just thinking in our young black minds oh they hot, the ones is hot, the police is hot, that's all we're thinking. These motherfuckers that got laws against little niggas, we fucking kids man, we fucking kids bro.
BT: 31:03
I was a good kid man, you know I'm saying, not not saying my homies wasn't, you know I'm saying, but I can't talk for them. I was a good kid, you know I'm saying, but I was just trying to survive. What the fuck was going on around me? All this is going on. This is 19th grade. All this is going on 11th grade. Hit, I'm in, I'm in, I'm in early 11th grade early. I'm talking about september, oct, october, maybe. Uh, I'm in class. Right, I'm in, I'm in my first period class and it was this non.
BT: 31:30
It was like this dude, he was just a hustler, and both of us. I'm in 11th grade, but I was like one of the biggest hustlers at the school, and so was my partner here that I was sitting and talking to. We were young, but we were. We was in the money, you know what I'm saying. And we had older homies. I had an older brother who was showing me how to do shit, you know what I'm saying. So I had money, you know what I'm saying. I was doing shit, and so was he. So we were sitting back in the back of the classroom and we were like laughing about that shit. We was clowning about it, you know what I mean. We were like I'm like I got like 300 on me, right nowacks. He's like look at my sacks, we doing that kind of shit, right? So I had a punk ass dean. Mr Culverson I hope you do see this, nigga. I had a punk ass dean bro.
BT: 32:15
He always had it out for me because John Muir played Pomona for the first time in the time that we played. This was the first time Muir had played Pomona in like 15 years or something. For some reason, when I got to high school, all the teams that they banned John Muir playing these were like the first years that they started letting us play them again. So we played Pomona, we played Locke and Watts, we played Long Beach Jordan. You know what I'm saying. So we playing some shit, right? So we was playing Pomona and it was I mean, these niggas was so dirty bro and I was a tailback right. So every time I got tackled, like they hitting me when I'm on the ground and shit hitting my ribs and shit like these niggas was dirty bro. So anyway, it was one time it was one play they tackle me and they're just it's like three of them hitting me.
BT: 33:03
I get up, I just rush one of the dudes. I'm like I can't take it, no more. I just rush one of the dudes and then both sidelines just come, come, come. It's like a movie. This sideline come, this sideline come and it's a big-ass scrap. During the midst of the scrap I'm getting my ass whooped because I'm on like the bottom of the pile. I'm just getting fucked up because I can't get out. There's too many people on top of me. By the time I get out, I just feel somebody grab me real hard. I'm thinking it's one of them, one of the Pomona dudes. Then they grabbed me and lifted me off my feet. I'm thinking it's somebody from Pomona when they lift me on my feet. I just turned around my feet. I just turned around and whoever I felt had did that. I just took off on him, pow. And it happened to be the fucking dean, the dean of my high school. But he had me by like my shoulders and he's shaking me and shit. You know what I'm saying. And I'm like nigga. You know what I'm saying. Boom, you know what I'm saying. And so he threw me off of him and then my just came and grabbed me and I'll never forget him saying he was like he's like I'm gonna get you, thompson, I'm gonna get you. And I'm like man, whatever man, you know what I'm saying. So anyway, but that motherfucker wasn't lying.
BT: 34:15
So that 11th grade, me and the homie talking that shit in the back of the classroom clowning Mr Culberson and one of the security guards. They come in the classroom and they're like as soon as they come in the classroom, I look at the homie. I was like bro, either they coming for me or they coming for you, homie. And he's like I know BT. And they were like Mr Thompson, can we see you in the office? I'm like, oh fuck, and I'm like man. I'm like, oh fuck, I'm like man. I was like man, I am fucked. I go to the office and he's like, yeah, he sends me down. I'm like man, why am I here, man? He's like man, listen, he's like I've been doing an investigation on you. I said an investigation, the first one, yeah, in high school. No, yeah, yeah. But the dean, they told the security guard they was like pat him down. Now see, they didn't know that the security guard was a head. You know what I'm saying? He was a head Like a few.
Kali: 35:17
most of them are you already know the business. I don't even.
BT: 35:21
And his head just happened to be on him. You know what I'm saying. So, okay, he's patting me down. He's feeling it. He's feeling the shit. I had put shit in my drawer and stuff. He's patting me down. He's feeling it, but he's bypassing it. He's acting like he's thorough. They didn't find nothing. Then he's like man, I don't feel he ain't got nothing or whatever. The dean is hot, he. And then he's like man, I don't feel I ain't got nothing or whatever. So the dean is hot. He's like don't worry, ms Thompson, we're going to get you. Man, I'm like man, y'all are full of shit.
BT: 35:51
I'm like man. Now I'm talking shit. You know what I'm saying. I'm like man, this is some bullshit. Man, y'all fucking move my rights. And ooh, ooh, ooh, you know ass. I'm like man, I'm cool, all right, cool man. So I'm walking out. And then he said I take one step out the door, out the dean's door, and he says Mr Thompson, he's yelling. He said, mr Thompson, I'm like what man? What you want now man? And he's like what's that on the floor? And I'm like I look down, man, and it was one of my little baggies, man. And I'm like, oh shit, you know what I'm saying.
BT: 36:25
He took my money and I was sitting there and he's like just talking shit. And I'm like man, can I use the bathroom, bro? And he's like, yeah, but the security guard guys go with me. I was like, all right, so the security guard goes out. And the security guard's like he's like man, you got anything else on you. I was like, yeah, man, he's like man, good looking bro. You know what I'm saying.
BT: 36:49
So, anyway, I go back and man, so they arrest me, right? So the fucked up thing was he was like man, he's like, he's like. I'm going to make an example of you, to all your homies and everybody else. He's like I'm going to, they're going to take you down during lunch. So this motherfucker made me wait to take to take me down in handcuffs at lunch where everybody could see. So lunchtime hits, these motherfuckers is taking me down and they handcuff me and then they take, they walk me across the yard. You know what I'm saying.
BT: 37:11
Anyway, I get down there and fucked up thing was I guess they had called my pops and my pops got there so early that he's following the fucking police car that's taking me to jail. He's following the damn police car, bro. So I get to look at my fucking dad in the rearview mirror following the fucking police car taking me to jail. Man, you know what I'm saying. I get in the tank or whatever, and I wasn't even there that long. You know what I'm saying. They did what they did and then they let me out or whatever.
BT: 37:36
And I remember, man, I remember when they opened the door. I remember my dad. I was like hey, man, just take me back to fucking, I'd rather go to jail and the police it's funny that you laugh, because the police fell out laughing too and he was like he's like you go deal with your dad. And I was saying, all right man, and all he says to me was calm. I thought he was about to rip my head off. All he says to me was Brandon, I don't think I can get you out of this, son. He's like I can't, I can't, I don't think I can get you out of this.
BT: 38:15
So his whole great father, his whole worry was I fucked up so bad to where he can't help me. He can't save me. I put myself in a position where he can't come and help me and that bothered him worse than what I actually did. That's what he was most upset about was he knew that he could. I put myself in a position where now I'm fucking, now I didn't fuck with the law, and he can't do nothing. There's nothing he can do. Now they can do something to his son without him being able to say no, you know what I'm saying.
BT: 38:40
And that's what fucked him up the most. So the thing about that was they kicked me out the whole district. The school district has, like the bad school, the continuation school, so that's the only school I could go to. So I remember my dad had to take me down there. Well, my dad chose to take me down there for the first day or whatever. And it said like, get me in and enroll me or whatever, and I'll never forget and I don't think I even did it on purpose, but I just happened to be.
BT: 39:07
But I had a tight little fit on, though. It was like Dockers with the little white, dockers with the white and blue Nautica shirt, but it was a lot of blue though. You know what?
Kali: 39:13
I'm saying Because naturally you just wore a lot of blue Period.
BT: 39:16
I mean, that's where you come on now. So my dad was like he said. I'll never forget him saying. He was like he said so you're wearing your colors, huh. And then I looked at him. He never said anything like that to me before you know what I'm saying. I looked at him. I was like nah pops. I'm like nah, he's like yeah, yeah, no, yeah. And then that's all he said, though. So my dad took me down to the continuation school and it was this white dude who was the principal. So we sit in his office and he has his door open, and I'll never forget it was these two blood dudes. And they come, stand right by his door and we're talking about getting me enrolled and shit. My dad's asking questions. It's like a professional meeting, and these niggas is talking loud, they like blood.
Kali: 40:02
You see that nigga blood. I think I seen that nigga up there blood.
BT: 40:04
Blood blood. You see that nigga blood. I think I seen that nigga up there. Blood blood, blood, blood, blood, blood. They was like blood. We got one blood blood. They was happy as a motherfucker. That kid kept saying blood we got one.
Kali: 40:15
I was like who the fuck is they talking about?
BT: 40:18
Period, period. I'm like I keep giving side eyes, like you know what I'm saying. So these dudes is like so now they like we got one. You know what I'm saying. So they talking loud, we all hearing it. You know what I'm saying. And my dad is looking at the principal like are you not going to say nothing? Like principal was just like. He's right there. He has no control over the school because they just sitting there.
Kali: 40:40
They talking louder. He's scared of them too. What the fuck you talking?
BT: 40:44
about Exactly, exactly, my dad. That's when he saw all of that. He's like we're walking out. We're walking out. I'll never forget my dad saying son, don't worry, I'll never send you here. You know what I'm saying. He was like why don't you figure out where you want to go? I was like all right, I'll never forget. This is funny. I'll never forget. I told my wife this. So it's all good.
BT: 41:06
But I remember my home. I was asking my homeboy Shay too. I was like hey man, where the fuck should I go? Homie, like what the fuck man? I can't go nowhere. Where should I go? He was like nigga, you need to go, bro, that's my hose. I'm like where the fuck is my robe at? He's like nigga, it's over there by Duarte, right in front of Duarte. I was like I like my robe. I was like what the fuck man? He's like nigga, that's my hose at. Bro, I'm telling you. I'm like all right. So I tell my dad the next day I was like he's like all right. He's like get your clothes on, let's go. I'm like now, you know what I'm saying. So he's like yeah, come on. Moravia was a couple of cities over from where I grew up. You know what I'm saying. So the homies was like OK, this is what's going on. So I'm like all right, let's go. So I go over there with my dad and the Moravia, you know the whole nine yards. You know what I'm saying? That's all I'm talking about.
BT: 42:05
I ain't talking about the people I'm just talking about just the fucking look of it.
Kali: 42:08
You know what I'm saying.
BT: 42:10
The ambiance. So the fucking Marocco, the M-Town ambiance was stellar compared to fucking.
Kali: 42:17
Pasadena. Don't let the palms the trees fool you. California, do your type. Look, that's that shit, that's exactly what that was, because I learned real fast where the fuck I was at.
BT: 42:28
So, and you're going to have too, but I'm going to tell it all, Out of all the shit that I've been talking about, all the shit I've been telling you I was in. I still kept my grades up. I still had like a 3.6 or a 3.7 or something. Because that's one thing about my father my father was, he was on that shit. It didn't matter what you did in the streets and shit like that. He would let niggas get away with shit, but when it came to them grades he wasn't fucking around. That's why him and my brother classed, because my brother just didn't keep his grades up. But me, I saw all the bullshit that my brother had to go through with my dad. I'm like I don't want no smoke with pops like that. So one thing I nigga, I'm going to class. You motherfuckers sent me to. We are at school. We probably should go to class. You know what I'm saying.
Kali: 43:12
Literally motherfuckers, literally went to school for the lunch, some of these guys, because they didn't go to class.
BT: 43:19
My dad was like listen, we're going to tell them. He was like we're going to tell them that I work for the railroad and my job is transferring out there. We just moved out here and we're just trying to get you into school. I'm like, all right, I have my transcripts and everything. I get my transcripts and we give it to Ms Warrenbrand. She's looking through my transcripts and she's like, wow, she's like a 3. Looking through my transcripts and shit, and she's like she's like, wow, she's like three, six, honors, english, honors, math, you're in. You're in algebra. Two, you need to take pre-calculus. She's like honors, science. I had all honors classes, all all above. I had Spanish. I was in Spanish. Three, you know what I'm saying? I mean super advanced. She's like, wow, you're doing a great job, son. And you know like three, six, oh great, she's like you know what, we're not even gonna mess around. She's like you're going to. You don't need to miss any more time, you're going to class right now.
BT: 44:14
And then I looked at my dad like, oh shit, so they, she didn't, she didn't. The only reason that they didn't inquire about anything my grades. Now it's a full day, right, and I've seen a girl from Pasadena. But I see her at lunch and then she comes up to me and gives me a hug and shit. And as you know, as you're familiar with a little known gang called the D-Rocks, you know what I'm saying there's a crip gang out in Duarte and Morove called the D-Rock. You know what I'm saying. And I mean I knew you know what I'm saying. I've been known, you know what I'm saying. Everybody know him and I saw all the niggas wearing blue. So I figured I was like wait, there must be the do rocks. They had their own little area and shit, like there must be the do rocks, but I don't. He know a girl. You know what I'm saying. So that was the looks. I was wondering what the looks was. You know what I'm saying. That was the look they was giving me. So I didn't know this.
BT: 45:02
So fifth period come and I go to the bathroom and I come out of the class, I go to the bathroom and it was two dudes. It was two dudes. And I go to the bathroom and then one of the niggas just owned me immediately. He like girl nigga, where you from? This dude right here, woo, woo, woo, woo. I'm like nigga, this is woo, woo, woo, woo, and they like dude, step back. He like nigga this woo, woo, woo, woo, and they like dude stepped back. He like what he's like. Oh man, we thought you was woo woo, woo, woo.
Kali: 45:52
I'm like hell, no nigga.
BT: 45:54
He's like oh man, we got another one, we got another one. He's like what's up, homie Woo?
Kali: 45:59
woo woo.
BT: 46:00
I'm like oh, what up, bro. You know what I how I met my boy. That's the first time we met. Then I met his boy and then he introduced me to all his boys. Those are the first niggas I started kicking it with. When I got to Moravia I started kicking with all these do-right niggas. I'm learning all about this shit, all about them niggas and all that. I'm getting more affiliated with just Morovi and Duarte, just in general. It's funny because during that time I was still fighting the case man. This was fucked up. I was up there when I was in court, the judge's lady man, mr Culverson, got up on the stand and ripped me apart. He's talking all of this bad shit like I'm a fucking, like I was Scarface or something.
Kali: 46:56
No, he didn't come to the witness stand.
BT: 46:58
He didn't come to the witness.
Kali: 46:59
He hated his hoe ass for that punch.
BT: 47:02
Man, I'm telling you, bro, I better not never see that dude again. You know what?
Kali: 47:06
I'm saying I'm mad that you punched him like that for real there.
BT: 47:09
He was. He was. When he said he was out to get me, he wasn't lying, because that motherfucker he. Not only did he get me kicked out, he got. He's the one that got me kicked out. Then he came to my court and I'll never forget If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't even got convicted. The judge was like the judge convicted me to the fullest extent of the law.
Kali: 47:28
So that was intense. Brandon shared a lot about his association with gang membership and violence. It was great to hear Brandon's story, but let's find out how many years the judge sentenced him and how. Did gangbanging cripple his adulthood or did it? Join us next time on the Deep for a Week show to hear the outcome of Brandon's life, and don't forget to like, subscribe and comment below and share. We love to hear back from you guys. Again, thanks for watching the Deep for the Week show.