Decepticons (gang)

The Decepticons were a Brooklyn street gang around from the late 1908s into the early 1990s.  Originating as a bond of “brotherhood” soon escalated into one of the most feared gangs of their time with their flash mob style attacks and muggings. Although their rein was for a limited time, they managed to terrorize the streets of New York enough to leave their mark on them, even relevant to today's society.

History

The Decepticons were a Street gang or Street Organization that thrived from from the late 80s through the early 90s. Their members were teenagers and young adults ranging from  15-early 20’s. The Gang was most prominent in Brooklyn, but at their peak the group consisted of multiple branches, or legions, all across The Boroughs of New York. In an interview with former Decepticon “General Steele” its mentioned that there were legions of Decepticons in Clinton Hills, Flatbush, East Flatbush, and  Bed Stye Brooklyn; even Harlem, in Manhattan and parts of Queens. Steele references in his interview how the Decepticons were all over the place in patches due to the groups upbringing. The legions would initially begin as a formation of a bond of bullied kids who needed strength in numbers. The original group of Decepticons started in Brooklyn, New York with 3 boys from 2 different schools. Two of the boys, who went by the names of Cyclonis, and Rumble went to Bushwick High School, and the other, called Megatron, went to Brooklyn Technical High School. They formed their bond in order to make sure no one would harm them. As those founding fathers found more people with common mindsets in the 2 schools they went to, their numbers grew and soon after their small group morphed into a feared gang. ^[1][2]

Impact on Society

Their presence began to fade in the early 90’s yet the Decepticons indeed left their mark on New York City, and even on culture today. A few members went on to notable rap careers. Most notably Sticky Fingaz, Fredro Starr, Rock and Sean Price. Sticky Fingaz was in the rap group Onyx and Fredo Starr was a protégés to Jam Master Jay. Sean Price and Rock frequently collaborated together on albums such as Price’s Monkey Barz and Smiff-N-wessun’s Smiff-N-Wessun: Reloaded. Rock even had his songs put into video games: I Am Rock" for Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and "This Is Me" for Blitz The League II and "I Am Rock" for NFL Street 2. Although, while living the Decept life, Rock found himself arrested for assault and an attempted murder charge for allegedly shooting a rival pimp, while he worked as one.^[1] Even hip-hop icon Jay Z has made reference to The Decepticons and LoLifes in song. In B.K Anthem Jay says “Wasn’t safe on the A-Train/ in G or the F/Decepticons, LoLife niggas/Snatch the polos off your chest.” ^[3] (Jay Z).

Divisions

The Original Decepticons, or Decepts, were Megatron, from Brooklyn Technical High School, as well as Rumble and Cyclonis, from Bushwick. ^[4] However from there, the group quickly expanded and multiplied. Lacking a formal structure, groups would often spring up and claim that they were Decepts. Latin groups of Decepts formed in the Bronx and Queens, therefore expanding the territory that Decepticons occupied. In Brooklyn, local offshoot groups of Decepticons would often sprout up; one of the larger ones being a group called the LoLifes. ^[1] There were even female counterpart to the Decepticons called the deceptinettes, whom were said to be equally as mischievous as the men. They had brutal initiation rituals for new members. In order to gain admittance to the Deceptinettes, one would have to either “Jump In” by getting beaten by every member of the gang, or “Sex In” by having sex with multiple members of the Decepticons in the same night ^[5]

Motive

As a whole, the Decepticons had no primary goal. They were poor kids living in impoverished neighborhoods who came together in order to try and make the tough situation in which they were dealt easier for on another. Acts of violence would most frequently come in the form of robberies. The gang would converge on the Subways and from there hangout on the corners of streets by neighboring schools. If a physically weak looking target approached them, the gang would surround them and swiftly mug them. ^[6] Another common spot for their robberies were on the subways themselves. Being a very small, crowded, noisy setting, the Decepticons would rush into the room, robbing people of whatever they can and then rushing out like a gust of wind (Terry). The female counterparts of the Decepticons, the Deceptinettes, would play games such as “One Punch Knockout” for fun. In this game they would throw a punch at a random, unsuspecting person to see if you could knock them out. A horrible pass time thought to have been played by both the girls and the boys. ^[5] Certain offshoot groups of Decepticons, such as the LoLifes, would have specific targets for their robberies. They would rush into Ralph Lauren stores and take everything from Ralph Lauren shirts to Ralph Lauren toilet paper. They did this to keep up with the fashion statement set by their name. The Lo in LoLifes come from the LO in Ralph Lauren POLO’s.^[1]

References