The Bloods (Black Liberation Organization Of Defense) are one of the Los Angeles,
California street gangs. The Bloods are identified by the red color worn by their members. The gang is largely composed of African Americans, although
the Bloods are more racially mixed than the Crips, their rivals. The Bloods are made up out of various cliques known as "sets" or "trays" between which significant differences exist such as colors, clothing and operations. Since their formation the Blood gangs have branched out throughout the United States.
The History
The Bloods were formed in response to the growth of the Crips, which at one point had outnumbered non-Crip gangs by
3 to 1.When several members of the LA
Brims, Black P. Stones, and the Pirus were killed by Crips in 1973, the embattled gangs met to form an alliance called the Bloods, joining an existing gang nation called "The People." Knowing that the Crips used the color blue to identify each other, this group decided to use an opposing color, red, to identify each other. Today, groups located in the territories once held by these older gangs will use Piru or Stones in the name of their set.
During the 1990s, there were reports of Bloods gang members in New York City. The
UBN, United Blood Nation, was founded by O.G. Mack, who had been sent to
Rikers Island, New York City's largest jail facility. While in New York, these groups became infamous for various
slashings of non-gang members in an attempt to emulate the LA sets. Abdul Sev Kabah, member of Red Family-Black P. Stones, was responsible for educating many of these new gangs and stopping the random slashing.
Following several months of gang violence that killed 40 people, the
Tookie Protocol For Peace was negotiated between the Bloods and the Crips in May of 2004. Former Crips member and founder, the late Stanley
Tookie Williams helped negotiate the "perpetual
peace treaty".
Example:
Bloods and hip-hop
Well Known Harlem Born Artist, Jim Jones is one of the world's more well known Blood gang members, repping what they have carried on call the
Purple City Gang. A number of popular West Coast rappers claim to be affiliated with Bloods gangs or use speculation about their ties to gangs to generate media attention. Ex-G-Unit rapper The Game has said he was caught up in the gangs in his
Cedar Block neighborhood, But the reality is, The Game's older half brother "
Big Fase 100 was a real blood member, and The Game just used that as a background story. . Due to employing several known Bloods members, the media has speculated that Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight maintains an association with the gang . Rapper/producer
DJ Quik, also a Compton native, has talked about growing up as a member of the Tree Top Piru Bloods. In 1995, Los Angeles producer Ron "Ronnie Ron" Phillips produced the self-titled debut album of the Damu
Ridaz, a rap group consisting of gang members from the Denver Lane Bloods