Brotha Lynch Hung Talks Joining Crips at 16, Getting Shot by Bloods

If rap lyrics have taught us anything, it's that gang members don't become gang members just because. In many cases, their decision to jump into the lifestyle is a result of communal ties and a desire to escape poverty and a troubled home life.

That's an idea Sacramento, Calif. rapper Brotha Lynch Hung—who joined the Crips at the tender age of 16—touches on in a new interview with DJ Vlad. Hung says being a Crips made him feel like he belonged.

"You felt like you had a family," the West Coast legend reveals after confirming he joined the Crips at 16. "You know, more than your family at home—especially when your mom and dad's on crack. It made you feel like you had somewhere to go. You know what I mean? I had to be out of the house a lot because I don't like that type shit."

In a world where a white picket fence and a typical home life wasn't possible, Hung says the gang life offered a sort of refuge. "It was a good environment for me to go [and be] with the homies instead. They feed you. Give you beer. All that."

Elsewhere in the interview, Hung recounts a time when he and his friend were shot by Bloods. The trouble all started at a friend's birthday party. "We ran into some Bloods. We went up, sweated them. Nothing really happened. We kinda backed up and just went to the party—that's what we were there for," explains Hung, whose lyrics LeBron James rapped earlier this year.

Hung says he and his friend Heist left the party after they'd gotten too drunk. The trouble jumped to a serious level when they got into their car to go home.

"One of the guys that was with [the Bloods] ran up to the driver's side window where he was driving and shot through the window," Hung remembers. "Hit him three times, and me once in my ribs. And we took off, ran a whole bunch of red lights. Went over to my Blood brothers' house—and I was a Crip—I still had Blood brothers. I grew up with them. And, you know...[we] did our thing."

Peep Hung's revealing interview for yourself below. The bit about his joining his neighborhood Crip set begins at around the 2:20 mark. His story about being shot by Bloods starts at 4:05.

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