PROJECT DUTIES:

 BLACK SPADES
 SAVAGE NOMADS
 SAVAGE SKULLS
  CHINGALINGS
 GHETTO BROTHERS
THE IMMORTALS
 YOUNG SINNERS
ROYAL CHARMERS
THE SEVEN CROWNS
 JAVELINS
 GLORY STOMPERS
BLUE DIAMONDS

 Being raised in the Bronx myself, i grew up on east Treomont in Grand Concourse near Echo park (an area known for gangs and original hip hop jams). where i lived we were surrounded by Javelins and Black Spades. I was constantly learning my street knowledge by hangin out with baby javelins in Echo park when i was only around 6-7 years old. i drank my first liquor in echo park with SHORT STOP from the javelins, i smoked my first cigarette picking up buts off the streets while playing hookie at age 7, i started my first fire by echo park during school hours and watched the smoke rise till pedestrians yelled at me and i ran, i also learned my first tag and was givin the name "lil KOOL KAT" by my older sister. i was hung out my apartment window 4 flights by members of  a gang called the IMPERIAL SPADES that my older sister CINDY hung out with. Every time my sis left the room they would grab me and hang me out the window. lol. i was always finding 007 knives, stilettos, and broken clackers (a toy that had two heavy balls attached to a string and made a click clack noise when you swung it. It was used as a gang weapon and became banned due to violence). during these times the music was based on allot of heavy rock (Jimi Hendrix), and heavy revolutionary soul (James Brown). i learned  tons of ghetto rhymes growing up in the streets from the older cats.
 Growing up amongst, gang violence, drugs, poverty, police harassment, broken down abandon buildings, and bad schools added to this rebellious attitude that the youth had towards society.  it was like living in a war zone at times. hearing gun shots in the allies at night and seeing the blood stained streets the next morning on your way to school. that was mine and every other young kids life in the south Bronx during these times. back the rumbles could start over any thing from stepping on some ones shoes, messing with the wrong girls, or being in the wrong turf and not removing your colors (gang jacket). The south Bronx gangs emulated the biker gangs except most Bronx gangs couldn't afford bikes. So war seemed like the only vehicle that these gangs rode. and there was allot of wars. weapons of choice were zip guns (home made weapon), bats (sometimes with nails in them), Molotov cocktails, sawed off shot guns, hand grenades, chains, 007's, stilettos, clackers, nun chucks, pipes, ect. And to become a member of one of these gangs you would have to go through some sort of test. One such test was called the APACHE LINE, where a new recruit would have to walk in between two line of gang members and get beat down from one side to the other. Another test was RUSSIAN ROULETTE, and as brotha LUCKY STRIKES put it in the book YES YES YALL. Allot of potential gang members were left dead in abandon building, with the police thinking it was suicide and not a gang recruiting ceremony.

Gang influence on Hip Hop

 MUSIC
In every aspect of HIP HOP culture there is a connection of some sort of gang influence. in many cases HIP HOP heads were gang members them selves. lets take the DJ for example. while KOOL HERC gained respect from gangs by doin his thing, he was also shoutin them out on the mic, and keepin the peace in his jams. he developed a respect from these gang members by giving them respect during his jams. Gangs were also used as protection for DJ's and guarding equipment, and collecting money at the doors of jams. Then of course we have one the South BRONX's biggest gang leaders who  turned his gang  into the biggest hip hop movement in the streets of new york and eventually the world. I am talkin about AFRIKA BAMBAATAA and the mighty ZULU NATION. BAM gained his street movement with the BLACK SPADES, and soon turned the SPADES into the ORGANIZATION, and eventually the ZULU NATION. they were the the biggest and most feared as well. Aside from BAM  there was DJ DICE from CHUCK CHUCK CITY CREW, DJ FLASH and the CASANOVA CREW, and many other DJ affiliations. gangs would show up to jams often to gain there respects, and if that didn't happen, to break sh%t up. but one of the most famous chants to come off during a ZULU jam was when a gang called THE GESTAPO would show up. and back the the ZULU mc's would get the crowd to chant ZULU!, but the Gestapo crew would respond GESTAPO!, in the end the mc would chant ZULU! and the whole crowd would chant back GESTAPO! and it became a popular chant during ZULU jams.
GANG INFLUENCE IN DANCE/UPROCKING (not to be confused with BBOYING)
  now in dance, there is  a significant amount of information that points to the fact that gangs had a major influence in a dance called  UPROCKIN. one such fact is that all the gangs in NYC had a certain dance that they did before going to war. it was sort of like a gang member imitating what he will do to his enemy when they rumble. the dance involved strikes and movements of violence between two dancers. imitating (miming) weapons such as zip guns, knives, bats, and fists. This dance would later be emulated by a brother in BROOKLYN named "RUBBER BAND"  (also a brother named "APACHE") who was eventually murdered over a dance battle gone bad. It is said that he was one of the greatest dancers on the streets. RUBBER BAND was also said to have laid the foundation of the dance with JERKS and BURNS and was responsible for takin the gang style dance to the clubs and made it popular with the DISCO CROWD and it eventually became a dance done all over the city by gangsters and non gangsters alike. But it was common knowledge that BROOKLYN mastered this dance with such crews as DYNASTY ROCKERS. (for more info on uprockin "UNITEDUPROCKERS").
   GANG INFLUENCE IN  WRITING/GRAFFITI
  This is probably the easiest connection to make in reference to gangs inspiring elements in HIP HOP. the truth is evident in other cities where gangs marked there turf with there tags and signs and claimed there hoods with graffiti. allot of writers came from gangs, and while writing can be argued as being an element of HIP HOP, there were tons of writers that had nothing to do with HIP HOP and weren't even black or Latino. One of the first writers on record to hit up in NYC was a writer with GREEK origin named "TAKI", but also what needs to be noted is that the earliest writers that started the movement in NYC were in Philly, a writer named CORNBREAD wanted to please a girl he was after, so by taggin her name on her bus route he figured he can get her attention, and before you know it , writing flourished it's way to NYC. but aside from this history, writing was a one of the best ways to let any outside gangsters know what hood they were in so they can watch there step, and remove there colors (jacket with there names on it) before they would enter any other rivals area. This would be the same in almost every ghetto in America, from cholo gangs in LA , to the gangs in Chicago, as well as NYC. Well known WRITING CREWS from the early 70's included THE EBONY DUKNE , EX VANDALS.

History of Uprocking

Throughout the mid-60's and 70's; Brooklyn was home to many Street Gangs. Rubberband Man and Apache were all too familiar with these violent times as they grew up in the Bushwick area. They often associated with the Devil's Rebels and other local Brooklyn Gangs. Although they socialized within a dangerous circle of friends, getting into trouble was not their ultimate goal. They loved to dance; mainly to Salsa, Soul and Funk music and wanted to channel their energy and talent towards something new. So, they created a new dance-form called "Rocking". Rubberband Man and Apache would dance in public while listening to the radio. They used a mixture of moves from Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Salsa and later the Hustle. As the dance developed, body movements called "Jerks" and hand gestures called "Burns", would be added to imitate a fight against an opposing dancer. Rubberband Man and Apache morphed these dance styles, movements and gestures together to create a unique and original street dance. Many gangs began to perform this dance. It became a commonplace to see gang members hanging out in corners Rocking against each other. Thus, Rocking became a competitive dance that caught on very quickly. By the early 70's Rocking became a true local dance form - not just  Many non-Gang-related youths from around the area learned to Rock and created their own Uprock Crews. You could witness Rocking at block parties, teen dances and many other festive gatherings. A man by the name of "Crazy Rob" organized the first Rock Contest in existence. Competition was fierce and Brooklyn became a breeding ground for intense dance contest or "Battles".The dance caught on so quickly, and had spread so widely, that the name had to be changed. The term "Rock" in a "Rock Contest", would confuse many "Rock Music" enthusiasts.  
They would arrive at Battles expecting a Rock & Roll concert. Therefore, Rocking became "Uprocking". It was the same dance with a different name. The name change did not affect the rate of dance growth and popularity. Many young men were competing and many Uprock Crews were organized. Crews like Touch of Rock, Nasty Rockers, Mysterious Rockers, MTC Jitterbugs, Dynamic Spinners, Non Stop Rockers, All Star Rockers, Symphony Rockers, IND Dancers, Supreme Rockers, Down to Rock, Fast Rockers, Disco Rockers, Fantasy Rockers, Just Begun Rockers, Romantic Rockers, Holy Rock Smokers, Lil Dave Rockers, Rock With Class, Universal Dancers, One On One Rockers, Phazzic Rockers, Floor Master Dancers and the Latin Timbales.  By the mid-80's Uprock began to wither down. Bboying or Breakin became more popular, especially by the younger generation. Many Uprockers got married, acquired full-time jobs, became Bboys themselves or had other situations that took them out-of-the-game. The only way that Uprock was present during this time was in a modified form called "Top Rock", which was done by Bboys as their Break intro. Top Rock is not the original form of the Brooklyn Rock Dance but it was the end of an era. Thus, Uprocking became dormant.

The Uprock Resurgence
In the early 1990's, two dancers; Burn 7DS and Numbers, started a search for original Brooklyn Uprockers. Numbers was breaking with a crew called The Tripping Notorious Toppers (or T.N.T). He had a mild interest in Uprock not knowing much about the subject,  but knew the idea of two people battling each other face to face in this manor appealed to him. He was influenced by his cousins and some of his fathers friends.
These were members of motorcycle clubs such as the Invaders, the Outlaws and the Hells Angels. Numbers frequently asked questions about the dance but never recieved the answers he was looking for. Numbers started making regular trips to NYC in 1995, breaking at events like the Rock Steady 18th Anniversary. There he met many people and one of them was none other than Burn One. King Uprock was also present, although Numbers hadn't met him yet. The following year, Numbers was in NYC, this time for the Zulu Nation Anniversary, which ended up being cancelled. So instead Numbers went to a jam at the Wetlands called "Break Beats". Halfway through the jam, in walks about 8 or 10 guys wearing Crew Colors on their shirts. Unbeknownst to Numbers these Uprockers had beef with Bobbito Garcia over the content of a "Stress Magazine" article about Uprock. So King Uprock and Burn each gathered various Uprockers such as Gary Crumb, Spice FMD, Mr. Loose, Mike, Charlie Uprock etc. Their purpose was to show and prove to anyone and everyone that the real Uprockers are from Brooklyn and still in effect. That was the first time Numbers had witnessed real Uprockers in a Apache line and also participated.

wanna learn more about early NYC gangs and how hip hop came about...go to this link

http://hometown.aol.com/nystreetgangs/ny-street-gangs.html