The Ballas is a major African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with The Families. The Ballas are identified by the purple color worn by their members, and the gang comprises various sub-groups known as "sets".
History[]
Origins[]
Members of the Ballas gang in 1992
The Ballas gang was founded by African-American youths from the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Echo Park and Watts during the 1970s. The gang adopted the color purple as its symbol, which was said to denote respect on the streets (it was also a symbol of royalty in the Roman Empire), and its members supported sports teams with purple uniforms (such as the Los Angeles Lakers). The gang became rivals with the Grove Street Families gang of Compton due to Grove Street's opposition to the Ballas' involvement with the crack cocaine trade, as well as due to territorial disputes. The Ballas were heavily involved in the cocaine trade, developed ties with Mexican gangs for their drugs and the Russian Mafia for guns, and became known as an uncontrollable gang. By 1992, the Ballas controlled most of Los Angeles after taking over territories belonging to the Grove Street Families and the Vagos.
Sets[]
The Ballas gang expanded into Inglewood during the early 1990s, and it soon developed four coherent sets:
- The Front Yard Ballas - Los Angeles' most notorious drug dealers, and Grove Street's biggest rivals
- The Rollin' Heights Ballas - Acted as backup and controlled the tiny area of Echo Park, later expanding south into Inglewood
- The Kilo Tray Ballas - Based in northeastern Los Angeles' Wilmington neighborhood, as well as Echo Park
- The Temple Drive Ballas - Based in Venice Beach, later briefly taking over Temple and Santa Monica Beach from the Temple Drive Families set of The Families.
The Ballas would take over the entirety of Grove Street's territories in Los Angeles during the gang war of 1992, with Frank Tenpenny's C.R.A.S.H. squad of the LAPD and the treacherous Grove Street OG Big Smoke assisting them. However, Carl Johnson's return from Las Vegas and Sweet Johnson's return from prison led to Grove Street launching a citywide counterattack against the Ballas. The Ballas-held neighborhoods fell in a series of gang wars, and the Ballas were virtually extinct by the year's end.
Return of the Ballas[]
The Ballas in 2013
At some point in the 2000s, the Ballas made an incredible recovery from their defeat in 1992. The Ballas once more took control of Grove Street and made Compton their stronghold. The Grove Street Families made the Baldwin Hills their new stronghold, and the two gangs resumed their violent rivalry during the late 2000s and throughout the 2010s. Ballas members were known to be brash, as they loved to show off their weaponry, money, and drugs on social media.