Read California Death Row inmate memoir on his days as a Crip in Los Angeles during its inception. Through 38 chapters, he takes you from his birth in New Orleans, to the days when he was the leader of the West Side Crips. He debunks many of the stories and theories that have been well publicized about the history of the Crips. He rejects the premise that the original Crips were an off shoot of the Panthers, he states that it is fiction that the early Crips operated under any C.R.I.P acronym, and sets the record on Raymond Washington, the founder of the Crips.

He talks about his drug use at the age of 12 (p. 59) his days at Washington High School, early Black gangs such as the Businessmen and Slausons (p. 72) and the first time meeting Raymond Washington (p. 77). He also confirms that the original name of Raymond's click was "Cribs" not "Crips" (p. 82) a concept that I expanded on in my 1999 publication Territoriality Among African American Street Gangs and cover in the documentary "Gangsta King" originally produced in 2000. The pronounciation mutated to Crips as recruits just simply mispronounced the name.

If you are seeking a thorough history of Los Angeles gang history from one of the early founders, this is a must read. Chapters include Crip Walk, The Cripplette, Tookie's Law, Compton Ambassador, and Living the Funk