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| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Monster Sanyika Shakur, 1994-07-01 Written in solitary confinement, the author's memoir of 16 years as a gangbanger in Los Angeles makes palpable the despair and decay of America's inner cities and gives eloquent voice to one aspect of the black ghetto experience. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. Sanyika Shakur, 2009-08-18 A street lit novel that’s “a visceral and strikingly real portrayal of gang life in Los Angeles” from the author of the bestselling memoir Monster (Publishers Weekly). T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. is a vicious, heart-wrenching and true-to-life novel about an LA gang member that masterfully captures the violence and depravity of gang life. Shakur’s protagonist is Lapeace, the leader of the Eight Tray Crips gang in South Central Los Angeles. In a deadly gunfight with Anyhow, a Blood and Lapeace’s rival since childhood, eight innocent civilians are killed. Anyhow is captured. Lapeace becomes a fugitive and he must hide out in the home of his girlfriend, Tashima, a hip-hop mogul as a pair of crooked LA detectives, John Sweeney and Jesse Mendoza, attempt to track him down. This novel was written from the confines of Shakur’s jail cell, and the authenticity of its street scenes—the relentlessness of violence, the do-or-die attitude of each side of the gang war, the sheer joy in the killing—is a testament to the hell that has been a majority of Shakur’s life. With T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E., Shakur delivers a powerful and gripping story about the terror of gang life and one man’s attempt to free himself. “Shakur is better than anyone else in the street lit game at making his characters feel like real people . . . This gang life novel is the real deal.”—Publishers Weekly “This fascinating novel reflects the raw violence and moral ambiguities of street gangs and the cops who police them.”—Booklist “T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. deftly weaves together the extensive and complex histories of its characters with their present struggles.”—Chicago Defender |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Monster Sanyika Shakur, 2007-12-01 The classic memoir of life as a Crip, written in solitary confinement: “A shockingly raw, frightening portrait of gang life in South Central Los Angeles.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times After pumping eight blasts from a sawed-off shotgun at a group of rival gang members, twelve-year-old Kody Scott was initiated into the L.A. gang the Crips. He quickly matured into one of the most formidable Crip combat soldiers, earning the name “Monster” for committing acts of brutal violence that repulsed even his fellow gang members. When the inevitable jail term confined him to a maximum-security cell, a complete political and personal transformation followed: from Monster to Sanyika Shakur, black nationalist, member of the New Afrikan Independence Movement, and crusader against the causes of gangsterism. In a work that has been compared to The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver’s Soul on Ice, Shakur makes palpable the despair and decay of America’s inner cities and gives eloquent voice to one aspect of the black ghetto experience. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Monster Sanyika Shakur, 2022-09-01 I propose to open my mind as wide as possible to allow my readers the first ever glimpse at South Central from my side of the gun, street, fence and wall. After pumping eight blasts from a sawed-off shotgun at a group of rival gang members, twelve-year-old Kody Scott was initiated into the L.A. gang the Crips. He quickly matured into one of the most formidable Crip combat soldiers, earning the name 'Monster' for committing acts of brutality and violence that repulsed even his fellow gang members. When the inevitable jail term confined him to a maximum-security cell, a complete political and personal transformation followed: from Monster to Sanyika Shakur, Black nationalist, member of the New Afrikan Independence Movement and crusader against the causes of gangsterism. In a document that has been compared to The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Eldridge Cleaver's Soul on Ice, Shakur makes palpable the despair and decay of America's inner cities and gives eloquent voice to one aspect of the Black experience today. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Do or Die Leon Bing, 1992-05-20 Do or Die is the first insider account of teenage gangs--the lives, loves, and battles of children who kill--from the only journalist ever allowed inside this closed and dangerous world. This is no West Side Story. Welcome to a world where teenagers wear colostomy bags and have scrapbooks filled with funeral invitations; where a young man, after being shot in the chest, drives himself to the hospital; where another youngster, caught in crossfire, uses his girlfriend as a human shield; where teenage gangsters are kidnapped, tortured, and held for six-figure ransoms; where kids hum the latest movie's theme music while killing people. It's a world of clickheads, sherms, bangers, ballers, and mummyheads; a world where the strongest feelings of family come from other gang members; a world where the most potent feelings of self-worth come from murder. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Inside the Crips Colton Simpson, Ann Pearlman, 2013-12-24 “[An] arresting memoir” about one man’s life in an L. A. street gang, from age ten in the 1970s to his prison turnaround twenty-five years later (Publishers Weekly). Colton “C-Loc” Simpson was a Crip. Beginning at the age of ten in the mid-1970s, Simpson’s world was defined in terms of war. By the time he quit, Simpson had risen through the ranks to become Stabilizer and, later, General. Simpson was the son of Dick Simpson, a ballplayer for the California Angels and Cincinnati Reds, but even before he became a gangbanger, his life was rough. Raised by his grandmother in South Central L.A. Simpson didn’t so much turn to the streets as become engulfed by them: without asking to become part of the gang, his forced induction into the Crips meant running don an alley while the members opened fire on him. Inside the Crips is Simpson’s unstinting account—emotional, violent, ugly, and tender—of life inside a gang. You’ll meet intense characters such as Smiley, Simpson’s fellow gangbanger, and heartbreaking ones such as Gina, the mother of two young sons who married Simpson in prison. With a foreword by Ice T “The book provides a window into an often misunderstood way of life.” —Publishers Weekly “The Crips . . . is a famously difficult organization from which to retire alive. . . . This unvarnished portrayal of gang life is enlightening and even inspiring about a subject badly in need of illumination.” —Booklist |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Lady Q Reymundo Sanchez, Sonia Rodriguez, 2008-07-01 A former member of the violent Latin Kings street gang, Reymundo Sanchez brings his hard-earned experience and insight to bear on the issue of young women in gangs, tracing the heartbreaking transformation of a bright young girl named Sonia Rodriguez--who tried desperately to avoid the drugs, violence, and gang members that infested her family and neighborhood--into the ruthless and powerful Latin Queen leader known as &“Lady Q.&” From throwing punches and running drugs to getting shot at and doing time in prison, Lady Q follows the same dangerous, dead-end road as so many young men in gangs, until she realizes that saving herself and her children means changing course before it's too late. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: War of the Bloods in My Veins DaShaun "Jiwe" Morris, 2009-01-27 By turns harrowing, moving, and ultimately redemptive, this is a war story -- a war that rages out of control on the streets of the United States, claiming the lives of our loved ones and neighbors. In this memoir, complete with child soldiers, unspeakable violence, and eventual salvation, we witness the journey of an East Coast member of the notorious Bloods gang coming to terms with the lost boy he was and the transformation into the man he wants to become. Unlike the child warriors of Mozambique and Sierra Leone, gang members and the wars they wage are the United States' homegrown nightmare. Lacking protection, support, or any alternatives, Dashaun Morris is forced into battle for the first time at age eleven, in the streets of Phoenix, when a friend's older brothers put him in a car filled with 40s and weed smoke, put a gun in his hands, then make him point it at the men on the corner and squeeze the trigger. The targets are Crips, of course, and, as Morris writes, In the darkness of the streets, my childhood is murdered.... I am reborn -- a gangster. In this haunting, violent memoir, Morris takes us through an American childhood turned grotesquely inside out. In the fourth grade, he loses his first friend in a drive-by shooting. By high school he is the man, a champion on the football field by day and a reputable banger on his 'hood turf by night. Living the life of a gang banger, Morris does it all -- drug dealing, jacking, and continuing the aimless war with rival gang members -- almost opening fire one night on a close friend, a cheerleader, as she hangs out with young men he mistakes for Crips. He eventually makes it to college on a football scholarship, but on the verge of being drafted by the NFL, Morris can't escape his gang-banging mentality and gets caught up in crimes that snatch away all future hopes. Sitting in a prison cell, he anticipates the birth of his first child while counting the friends he's buried. War of the Bloods in My Veins is part of Morris's redemption, a cry to his brothers that gang life is mental illness. It is a rare and brutally honest look into the relentless storm of abandonment, violence, crime, death, and the endless rush toward the complete and utter self-annihilation that plagues the lives of the young soldiers who die every day in our streets. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: I Am Raymond Washington Zach Fortier, 2014-12-29 I Am Raymond Washington is the only authorized biography of the undisputed founder of the Crips and provides an unprecedented look into Raymond Washington's life. If you're looking for stories of gang violence and crimes committed by gang members, that's been done before, and this book isn't for you. But if you're looking for a factual and intuitive look into what made Raymond Washington unique in the mean streets of Los Angeles, this is the book you want to read. Filled with stories, many never-before-seen photographs, as well as interviews and eyewitness accounts of those who knew Raymond, what he represented, and how and why the Crips were formed-and why his name is still spoken on the streets of Los Angeles today with hatred, fear, awe, and reverence. Entering the world of Raymond Washington with an open mind was difficult for me; however, the story of who Raymond Washington was as a leader, warrior, tactician, and mentor became clear. Learn why the gang was so successful and how an unremarkable fifteen-year-old kid in the fall of 1969 sat down with his best friend and formed what later became one of the most successful, and yet feared and hated gangs in the world-the Crips. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: MS-13 Steven Dudley, 2020-09-08 “One of the year’s most important books, a gripping meticulously reported account of the rise of one of the world’s most notorious street gangs.” —Mitch Weiss, Pulitzer Prize winner Winner of the Lukas Prize An NPR Best Book of the Year The MS-13 was born from war. In the 1980s, Alex and his brother fled El Salvador for the US and formed the Mara Salvatrucha Stoners. Initially bound by a love of heavy metal music, the group soon took on a harder edge, selling drugs, stealing cars and killing rivals. Gang members like Alex were incarcerated and deported. But in the prison system, the group only grew stronger. Today, MS-13 is one of the most infamous street gangs on earth—and also largely misunderstood. Longtime organized crime investigator Steven Dudley brings readers inside the nefarious group to tell a broader story of flawed US and Central American policies and the exploitative, unequal systems that shape them. “A remarkable feat of reporting; the ways in which the United States is complicit in the creation and preservation of MS-13 might well keep you awake deep into the night, as it did me.” —Rachel Louise Snyder, author of No Visible Bruises “By detailing the experiences of gang members and victims alike, he anatomizes the complex, fluid dynamics of this elusive transnational network. A startling book.” —Patrick Radden Keefe, New York Times–bestselling author of Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks “The definitive account of MS-13 . . . An outstanding book for true crime readers.” —Library Journal (starred review) |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: All Involved Ryan Gattis, 2015-04-07 A propulsive and ambitious novel as electrifying as The Wire, from a writer hailed as the West Coast's Richard Price—a mesmerizing epic of crime and opportunity, race, revenge, and loyalty, set in the chaotic streets of South Central L.A. in the wake of one of the most notorious and incendiary trials of the 1990s At 3:15 p.m. on April 29, 1992, a jury acquitted three white Los Angeles Police Department officers charged with using excessive force to subdue a black man named Rodney King, and failed to reach a verdict on the same charges involving a fourth officer. Less than two hours later, the city exploded in violence that lasted six days. In nearly 121 hours, fifty-three lives were lost. But there were even more deaths unaccounted for: violence that occurred outside of active rioting sites by those who used the chaos to viciously settle old scores. A gritty and cinematic work of fiction, All Involved vividly re-creates this turbulent and terrifying time, set in a sliver of Los Angeles largely ignored by the media during the riots. Ryan Gattis tells seventeen interconnected first-person narratives that paint a portrait of modern America itself—laying bare our history, our prejudices, and our complexities. With characters that capture the voices of gang members, firefighters, graffiti kids, and nurses caught up in these extraordinary circumstances, All Involved is a literary tour de force that catapults this edgy writer into the ranks of such legendary talents as Dennis Lehane and George V. Higgins. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Crips Donald Bakeer, 2021-09-30 SOUTH CENTRAL L.A. CRIPS is the story of why nearly 10,000 people were destined to get killed during the 1970's, 80's and 90's in a social explosion that began in L.A. then spread across this nation and, indeed, the world. This is the story of O.G. Jimmie Black (aka O.G. Bobby Johnson in the movie), who evolves during those explosive years in South Central L.A. from the Watts Rebellion (1965) to just prior to the days that sparked the L.A. Uprising (1992). It is the story of a father and son's triumph in the midst of America's most deadly gang war. Bakeer's story moves swiftly, and his writing is deft, Gayle Anthony, LA. Sentinel. I loved the book and the movie. Tupac Shakur. The novel CRIPS by Don Bakeer corrects your assumptions about the gangs. LA Weekly. Many of the characters personify the collective spirit of the Original Crips/ O.G.'s and specifically that of Raymond Washington, the founder. But, even more than that, the characters represent the rebellious spirits of Bunchy Carter, Stanley (Tookie) Williams, Ice T, Ice Cube, Tupac, Nipsey Hussle, and Sanyinka Shakur (aka Monster Cody), etc. Bakeer collaborated with Oliver Stone, Steve Anderson, and Warner Bros. to develop the classic fi lm, SOUTH CENTRAL (1992) from this book, yet, the movie only tells a small portion of the true story. Hajji* Donald Bakeer, 77 and father to 9, has been a poet in Los Angeles for over 50 years and taught secondary school English in South Central L.A. for 30 years. He is, now, retired from teaching and lives in Inglewood, CA. He made the pilgrimage to Mecca in 1997. His books: South Central L.A. CRIPS - The Story of the L.A. Street Gang ($8.99); PTSD! Who, Me? ($7.99), and his songs are available at donaldbakeerbooks.com |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Black Popular Culture Gina Dent, 1998 The latest publication in the award-winning Discussions in Contemporary Culture series, Black Popular Culture gathers together an extraordinary array of critics, scholars, and cultural producers. 30 essays explore and debate current directions in film, television, music, writing, and other cultural forms as created by or with the participation of black artists. 30 illustrations. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: E.A.R.L. DMX, Smokey D. Fontaine, 2003-10-21 The dark journey of a boy who became a man, the man who became an artist, and the artist who became an icon. A talent for rhyme saved his life, but the demons and sins of his past continue to haunt him. This is the story of Earl Simmons. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Blood in the Fields Julia Reynolds, 2014-09-01 The city of Salinas, California, is the birthplace of John Steinbeck and the setting for his epic masterpiece, East of Eden, but it is also the home of Nuestra Familia, one of the most violent gangs in America. Born in the prisons of California in the late 1960s, Nuestra Familia expanded to control drug trafficking and extortion operations throughout the northern half of the state, and left a trail of bodies in its wake. Prize-winning journalist and Nieman Fellow Julia Reynolds tells the gang's story from the inside out, following young men and women as they search for a new kind of family, quests that usually lead to murder and betrayal. Blood in the Fields also documents the history of Operation Black Widow, the FBI's questionable decade-long effort to dismantle the Nuestra Familia, along with its compromised informants and the turf wars it created with local law enforcement agencies. Journalist Reynolds uses her unprecedented access to gang members, both in and out of prison, as well as undercover wire taps, depositions, and court documents to weave a gripping, comprehensive history of this brutal criminal organization and the lives it destroyed. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Once a King, Always a King Reymundo Sanchez, 2003 Once a King, Always a King is the sequel to his memoir, My Bloody Life, and recounts the former gang member's struggle to create a normal life. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: A Book Review about Sanyika Shakur's "Monster. An Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member" Amos Wesonga, 2018-06-27 Essay from the year 2018 in the subject American Studies - Literature, , language: English, abstract: The life of every society changes from time to time. These facts are real, particularly in the United States (U.S.). In 1993, a new trend of gang life began to emerge along the streets in the U.S. The book Shakur Sanyika’s Monster was the first one to provide an account of this lifestyle. The author of the book raised some concerns regarding criminal justice by revealing the acts of violence and sensationalist. Thus, this paper aims to review the book, with its significant sections including summary, significant themes in the book, strengths, and weaknesses of the text and context of the book. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Blue Rage, Black Redemption Stanley Tookie Williams, 2007-11-13 A gripping tale of personal revolution by a man who went from Crips cofounder to Nobel Peace Prize nominee, author, and anti-gang activist. When his LA neighborhood was threatened by gangbangers, Stanley Tookie Williams and a friend formed the Crips, but what began as protection became worse than the original gangs. From deadly street fights with their rivals to drive-by shootings and stealing cars, the Crips' influence—and Tookie's reputation—began to spread across LA. Soon he was regularly under police surveillance, and, as a result, was arrested often, though always released because the charges did not stick. But in 1981, Tookie was convicted of murdering four people and was sent to death row at San Quentin in Marin County, California. Tookie maintained his innocence and began to work in earnest to prevent others from following his path. Whether he was creating nationwide peace protocols, discouraging adolescents from joining gangs, or writing books, Tookie worked tirelessly for the rest of his life to end gang violence. Even after his death, his legacy continues, supported by such individuals as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Snoop Dogg, Jesse Jackson, and many more. This posthumous edition of Blue Rage, Black Redemption features a foreword by Tavis Smiley and an epilogue by Barbara Becnel, which details not only the influence of Tookie's activism but also her eyewitness account of his December 2005 execution, and the inquest that followed. By turns frightening and enlightening, Blue Rage, Black Redemption is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and an invaluable lesson in how rage can be turned into redemption. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Compton Street Legend Duane 'Keefe D' Davis, Yusuf Jah, 2019-05-05 The infamous Suge Knight, former Death Row Records CEO, and Keffe D are the only living eyewitnesses to the deadly confrontation on the Las Vegas strip between the occupants of our two vehicles. A violent confrontation that led to the deaths of two of Hip-Hop's biggest stars (Tupac Shakur & Christopher 'Notorious B.I.G.' Wallace) and changed Hip-Hop history forever. There's a strict code on the streets. One that real street players live, kill, and die by. Compton Street Legend reveals the street-level code violations and the explosive consequences when the powerful worlds of the streets, entertainment, and corrupt law enforcement collide. More than twenty years after the premature deaths of Tupac and Biggie there have been numerous TV specials, documentaries, books, magazine and newspaper, and social media dedicated to the subject. But at the end of the day, none of the private investigators, retired police officers, informants, Hip-Hop heads, actors, or academics that have weighed in on the topic truly know what happened and the reasons behind it, because none of them were there. Duane 'Keffe D' Davis, a native of Compton, California, admittedly lived most of his life as a gangster; a real gangster that did the shit that real gangsters do. He rose up the gang-banging ranks to become a shot-caller for the notorious Southside Compton Crips, while running a multi-million dollar, multi-state drug empire. Keffe D has been a central figure in both the Tupac Shakur and Biggie murders for the past 20 years. COMPTON STREET LEGEND will add valuable information about two of the biggest unsolved crimes in American history. It will serve as the missing piece of the puzzle that Hip-Hop Fans have been waiting for. On the surface, COMPTON STREET LEGEND will look like a story based on violence and hate, it is actually a story about Love, Family, Brotherhood, Loyalty, Trust, and Honor. It's time to set the story straight. Fasten your seatbelts. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: The Black Hand Chris Blatchford, 2009-09-29 Rene Boxer Enriquez grew up in East L.A., where gang fights and drive-by shootings were everyday occurrences fueled by rage, drugs, and alcohol. Sent to prison at nineteen, he was recruited by La Eme, the near-mythic Mexican Mafia, arguably the most well-armed and dangerous gang in American history. A young man without fear who would kill without hesitation, Enriquez's loyalty and iron will drove him quickly up the ranks, from mob enforcer to the upper echelons, where he would help rule for nearly two decades. Seeking respect, he devoted his life to a bloody cause, only to find betrayal and disillusionment. Award-winning journalist Chris Blatchford's The Black Hand is an astonishing look deep inside a closed, secret, and deadly criminal society—an intense and unprecedented tale of depravity, violence, and redemption. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Gangs in America's Communities James C. Howell, Elizabeth Griffiths, 2015-02-18 Gangs in America's Communities offers a comprehensive, up-to-date, and theoretically grounded approach to gangs and associated youth violence. Authors Dr. James C. Howell and Dr. Elizabeth Griffiths introduce readers to the foundations of gang studies through the origins of gangs, definitions and categories of youth/street gangs, transnational as well as prison gangs (and the distinctions between these arguably different types), national trends in gang presence and gang-related violence across American cities, distinguishing attributes of serious street gangs, and myths and realities. Students and instructors will benefit from the Second Edition’s comprehensive treatment of the state of the literature on individual-level causes and consequences of gang membership. Going beyond the traditional topics covered in most texts in the market, this book uniquely describes specific gang patterns, trends, and cultures within a group-based structure while illuminating the most promising avenues for reducing the presence and seriousness of gangs in American communities. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Monster Monster Scott, Sanyika Shakur, 1994 Called a shockingly raw, frightening portrait of gang life in South Central Los Angeles by The New York Times, this autobiography chronicles Shakur's life from brutal gang member to his personal tranformation in prison as a black nationalist and crusader against the causes of gangsterism. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: The Death of My Father the Pope Obed Silva, 2021-12-07 A man mourning his alcoholic father faces a paradox: to pay tribute, lay scorn upon, or pour a drink. A wrenching, dazzling, revelatory debut Weaving between the preparations for his father's funeral and memories of life on both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border, Obed Silva chronicles his father's lifelong battle with alcoholism and the havoc it wreaked on his family. Silva and his mother had come north across the border to escape his father’s violent, drunken rages. His father had followed and danced dangerously in and out of the family’s life until he was arrested and deported back to Mexico, where he drank himself to death, one Carta Blanca at a time, at the age of forty-eight. Told with a wry cynicism, a profane, profound anger, an antic, brutally honest voice, and a hard-won classical frame of reference, Silva channels the heartbreak of mourning while wrestling with the resentment and frustration caused by addiction. The Death of My Father the Pope is a fluid and dynamic combination of memoir and an examination of the power of language—and the introduction of a unique and powerful literary voice. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Journey to the West (2018 Edition - PDF) Wu Cheng'en, 2018-08-14 The bestselling Journey to the West comic book by artist Chang Boon Kiat is now back in a brand new fully coloured edition. Journey to the West is one of the greatest classics in Chinese literature. It tells the epic tale of the monk Xuanzang who journeys to the West in search of the Buddhist sutras with his disciples, Sun Wukong, Sandy and Pigsy. Along the way, Xuanzang's life was threatened by the diabolical White Bone Spirit, the menacing Red Child and his fearsome parents and, a host of evil spirits who sought to devour Xuanzang's flesh to attain immortality. Bear witness to the formidable Sun Wukong's (Monkey God) prowess as he takes them on, using his Fiery Eyes, Golden Cudgel, Somersault Cloud, and quick wits! Be prepared for a galloping read that will leave you breathless! |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Too Pretty Kenney Vincent Sepulveda, Kenney Carson, 2018-12-18 This is my story about being an original Crip out of Compton. This story is the uncensored version of murder, crime, drugs, terrorism and pure mayhem within the city of Compton. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Monster Walter Dean Myers, 2004-12-14 While on trial as an accomplice to a murder, 16-year-old Steve Harmon records his experiences in prison and in the courtroom in the form of a film script, as he tries to come to terms with the course his life has taken. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: The Culture and Politics of Contemporary Street Gang Memoirs Josephine Metcalf, 2012-06-22 The publication of Sanyika Shakur's Monster: The Autobiography of an L.A. Gang Member in 1993 generated a huge amount of excitement in literary circles--New York Times book critic Michiko Kakutani deemed it a shocking and galvanic book--and set off a new publishing trend of gang memoirs in the 1990s. The memoirs showcased tales of violent confrontation and territorial belonging but also offered many of the first journalistic and autobiographical accounts of the much-mythologized gang subculture. In The Culture and Politics of Contemporary Street Gang Memoirs, Josephine Metcalf focuses on three of these memoirs--Shakur's Monster; Luis J. Rodriguez's Always Running: La Vida Loca: Gang Days in L.A.; and Stanley Tookie Williams's Blue Rage, Black Redemption--as key representatives of the gang autobiography. Metcalf examines the conflict among violence, thrilling sensationalism, and the authorial desire to instruct and warn competing within these works. The narrative arcs of the memoirs themselves rest on the process of conversion from brutal, young gang bangers to nonviolent, enlightened citizens. Metcalf analyzes the emergence, production, marketing, and reception of gang memoirs. Through interviews with Rodriguez, Shakur, and Barbara Cottman Becnel (Williams's editor), Metcalf reveals both the writing and publishing processes. This book analyzes key narrative conventions, specifically how diction, dialogue, and narrative arcs shape the works. The book also explores how the memoirs are consumed. This interdisciplinary study--fusing literary criticism, sociology, ethnography, reader-response study, and editorial theory--brings scholarly attention to a popular, much-discussed, but understudied modern expression. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Craig Monson Adam Benshea, Josh Bryant, 2021-06-30 Every bodybuilding fan knows about the Golden Age of the sport. But, there is a forgotten legend from that fabled time. An OG of street and stage, Craig Monson outweighed Arnold by 40 pounds, dwarfed Lee Haney and had superior aesthetics. A mass-monster with Michelangelo-like symmetry, Monson was that rare mixture of form and functional strength. Now his story AND his workouts can be told, shared, and understood. Born in the Jim Crow South, Craig was taken by his mother on a Greyhound bus exodus to the land of sun-kissed beaches and Hollywood dreams. A world away from the Pacific Ocean, Craig came of age in Los Angeles' inner city. In this urban environment, Monson found street heroes and became one himself by founding the notorious gang The Avenues (a forerunner to the infamous Crip gang). Realities of life in South Central Los Angeles eventually landed Craig in some of the most feared penitentiaries. Inside of the system, Monson built his body into a mountain of muscle and, upon his release, set his sights on bodybuilding glory. Training across the Southland and putting on spectacles of strength at the renowned Muscle Beach, Craig became the biggest and strongest bodybuilder of the 1980s. Learn about his mythic journey from urban streets to the bodybuilding stage! Follow the exact training programs utilized by the legendary Craig Monson! |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: My Bloody Life Reymundo Sanchez, 2007-04-01 Looking for an escape from childhood abuse, Reymundo Sanchez turned away from school and baseball to drugs, alcohol, and then sex, and was left to fend for himself before age 14. The Latin Kings, one of the largest and most notorious street gangs in America, became his refuge and his world, but its violence cost him friends, freedom, self-respect, and nearly his life. This is a raw and powerful odyssey through the ranks of the new mafia, where the only people more dangerous than rival gangs are members of your own gang, who in one breath will say they'll die for you and in the next will order your assassination. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Life in Prison , 2017 |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Xcon to Icon Kali Muscle, 2015-03-09 Kali Muscle is a young man that has had a roller coaster life and ended up being a Hollywood actor and a servant to the youth of the world. He tried his hand in every illegal and legal hustle imaginable: robbery, home invasions, hired gun, drug dealing, stripping, pimping, personal-training, barbering, and acting. He is the epitome of a bad guy turned good guy to do the work of God. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Daaku Ranj Dhaliwal, 2006 In the violent and ruthless world of Indo-Canadian gangs, Ruby Pandher is on his way up. A self-described daaku (Punjabi for outlaw), Ruby learns young that might, in the form of his drunken father's fists, is right, and that money is easier to steal than earn. Ruby's small-time scams reveal a knack for leadership and after his first stint in youth detention, the big-timers start to notice his potential. Soon, Ruby is doing collections for Indo-Canadian drug dealers. Now known to police, Ruby is drawn into a gang war just as he's trying to beat the rap on weapons charges and theft -- while simultaneously organizing a jailhouse smuggling ring. On the cusp of adulthood, and surrounded by Punjabi terrorists, bikers and Indo-Canadian gangsters, Ruby is drawn like a moth to the glamour of power, money, and drugs. A story of betrayal, cold-blooded murder and the rise and eventual fall of one gangster, Daaku is a bullet-riddled grand tour of Indo-Canadian gangland. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Shower Posse Duane Blake, 2007-07 Referred to by the FBI as the most violent and notorious criminal organisation ever in America, the Shower Posse was the epitome of drug dealing ruthlessness. Urban landscapes were brutal battlegrounds for quick money, and the Shower Posse's reign was supreme. This tell-all saga is in the words of its mastermind, Vivian Blake. Blake skyrocketed to wealth with savvy business skills, but his savage henchmen terrorised the streets into submission. Blake's men had been raised in Jamaica where murders went unsolved daily. Shower ran wild spraying bullets on anyone and everyone in their way. Their weapons, fingerprints, and m.o.'s were not traceable. Most American police had never seen any of them before. That careless attitude toward pulling triggers earned a record 1400+ murders and quickly established Shower's rep. The book is packed with tales of power struggles, high-flying gangster success, betrayal and perseverance. It contains exclusive, candid in-depth details of the inner workings of Shower. The book will easily explain scores of high-profile unsolved murders across the world. The Shower Posse is derived from the shower of lead it shoots at rivals. The book's sixteen page pictorial includes over fifty never before published pictures of posse members and murder scenes. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Skin Deep Steven Burton, 2017-10-24 For decades now tattoos have been potent symbols of the Los Angeles gang-life scene. The black and white tattoos with recognizable gang symbols appear on members' faces, necks and all over their bodies, making their gang affiliation immediately clear to whomever crosses their path. This can mean the difference between life and death on he streets, and just as often, in prison. What does this prominently placed imagery mean for those men and women who somehow extricate themselves from gang life or are released from prison or want to separate themselves from the gang and start life anew? The very tattoos which may have helped guard against the constant threat of rival gangs now bar many ex-gang members from employment, life without harassment, and the freedom to move on from a past they have worked hard to overcome. Skin Deep is a photography project that seeks to show the effects of this ongoing gang conflict in Los Angeles. Photographer Steven Burton set out to photograph realistic portraits of former gang members who are trying to escape the revolving door of death and prison. For these men and women, the aftermath of gang life is not only carried within--it is also scrawled across their faces and bodies. Skin Deep uniquely highlights the impact tattoos have on the way a person is perceived by showing what each participant might look like without them. Utilizing before and, thanks to the advantages of Photoshop, after photographs, these men and women got a chance to see what they'd look like without the inked visual armor. After the bare images were presented to each, they were asked to talk about themselves and their families, what tattoos represent to them, and their aspirations for the future. Seeing themselves without tattoos--many for the first time in decades--naturally brought about a wide range of emotions, recollections, hopes, and dreams, with responses such as: I am shocked. I don't know what to say about this. I am going to give this to my mom, she is going to be so happy. I think this guy in the pictures would judge the one with tattoos right off the top. That's crazy, that looks real crazy. Those came out cool man! I think I like it better without the tattoos. Burton met his subjects thanks to Father Greg Boyle, the founder of Homeboy Industries in LA, and the entire project is inspired by his tireless work to help rehabilitate these former gang members and give them all a crucial second chance in life. Skin Deep offers a chance to expose the realities these individuals face when trying to rebuild their lives and re-enter society. As importantly, for the public, the project provokes consideration regarding how society perceives and judges people with tattoos and violent pasts and seeks to garner empathy for those caught in the crosshairs of gang life as they try to change their futures. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Chopper Mark Brandon Read, 2002 Bullied at school and growing up dreaming of revenge, Mark Chopper Read determined to be the toughest in any company. He became a crime commando who terrorized drug dealers, pimps, thieves, and armed robbers on the streets and in jail--but boasts never to have hurt an innocent member of the public. His story is one of violence, betrayal by trusted friends, and murder. To read his book is to read a legend who has become one of Australia's--and now the world's--most unlikely literary success stories. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Mr. New Orleans Matthew Randazzo V, Frenchy Brouillette, 2014-06-19 Wiseguys called him the Keith Richards of the American Mafia and JFK hero Jim Garrison denounced him as one of the most notorious vice operators in the history of New Orleans ... but you can just call him MR. NEW ORLEANS. Mr. New Orleans tells the incredible story of Frenchy Brouillette, a redneck Cajun teenager who stole his big brother's motorcycle and embarked on a 60-year vacation to New Orleans, where he became a legendary gangster and the underworld political fixer for his cousin, Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards. Written by Crescent City native Matthew Randazzo V, the wickedly funny Mr. New Orleans is the first book to ever break the code of secrecy of the New Orleans Mafia Family, the oldest and most mysterious criminal secret society in America. Mr. New Orleans is a rollicking, disturbing ride through the underbelly of a bygone New Orleans, lined with moments of dark, side-splitting hilarity. If you're a fan of James Lee Burke, drop what you're reading and pick this one up. In an era when popular wisdom tells us T.V. has stolen all depth from the literary true-crime narrative, Matthew Randazzo has found a way to beat that trend mightily; he's gone straight to the source and captured the singular, confounding voice of the New Orleans' mafia's top political fixer with fast-paced, riveting prose and a fine journalist's eye for detail. Chris Rice, New York Times Bestselling Author Mr. New Orleans is a total knockout: Take everything you ever imagined about the sleazy good times to be had in New Orleans -- the sleazy good times capital of America -- and quadruple it, and you have a hint of what's inside these sticky pages. Bill Tonelli, Author of The Italian American Reader and Editor for Esquire and Rolling Stone |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Bloods and Crips Michael Sims, 2012-09-13 Perhaps a book cover such as this would indubitably attract their attentions, due to it being a direct relation to their life. And may browse through it sporadically. On the contrary, the million or more gang members who are incarcerated across the nation, the vast majority are avid readers. Especially when the subject is that of enthralled. Sad, but true facts, confinement is where many of us educate ourselves. For desirous motive to correspond with family, friends, and relations with society in general. There have been literally over fifty gang members and prison officials who read this manuscript. And in some way they were all unanimous in saying they were affected in a positive way, by the message I am promoting to the gang members. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Freeway Rick Ross Rick Ross, Cathy Scott, 2014 A notorious drug kingpin reigning over Los Angeles, California and operating across numerous other states, Rick was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1996. But following the discovery his drug source was linked to the CIA and he had been used as a pawn in the Iran-Contra scandal, he received a reduced sentence. |
| monster autobiography of an la gang member: Trejo Danny Trejo, 2021-07-06 And you'd never guess that the baddest of the bad-me-would make it out of the prison system and instead of dying in the street as a stone-cold junkie and killer, I'd end up being shot, stabbed, decapitated, blown up, hanged, flattened by an elevator, and disintegrated into a pool table until my eyeballs rolled into the pockets . . . On screen, Danny Trejo is the most recognisable anti-hero in Hollywood - killed at least a hundred times, he steals every scene he's in. But off screen, he is so much more. The ultimate hard-knock-lifer, and a true man of the world, he has all the stories, and all the scars. Raised in an abusive home, Danny struggled from an early age with heroin addiction and doing time in some of the country's most notorious state prisons, including Folsom and San Quentin - where he met Charles Manson - before starring in such modern classics as Heat, From Dusk Till Dawn, and Machete. Now, Danny takes us over the peaks and through the valleys of his life, including meeting one of the world's most infamous serial killers and working with icons like Charles Bronson and Robert De Niro. In raw detail, Danny recounts how he managed the horrors of incarceration, rebuilt his life, and drew inspiration from the adrenaline-fueled robbing heists of his past for the film roles that forged his legend. Redemptive, poignant, and raw, Trejo is a portrait of a magnificent life and an unforgettable journey through tragedy, pain, and, finally, success. Told with cowboy appeal, gritty rebel wisdom, and total honesty,these are outlaw stories from the frontiers: the frontiers of prison, of Hollywood, and of life |
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