The war opened up numerous jobs, causing 50,000 Blacks to move into Chicago from 1916 to 1920, with 90% of the population being on Chicago's South Side. Christian had changed his name decades earlier after joining the Nation of Islam, then headed by Elijah Muhammad.

While committing violent crimes -- and often getting caught -- landed many Black Mafia members in jail, what ultimately did the group in was greed with a fair amount of arrogance, said Griffin, who joined the Penn State Abington faculty in August. Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory, leader of the Black Mafia Family, was known to be good friends with Fabolous, Jay-Z, Puff Daddy (Big Meech's bodyguard was Puff Daddy's ex-bodyguard), Young Jeezy, and a number of other high-profile rappers. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. Every time something went down it was Aaron and them that did it as far as the streets were concerned.It is believed that this song led to the murder of Jam Master Jay and the shooting of 50 Cent himself. By the early 1970s, the large narcotics empires created by Nicky Barnes, Frank Matthews, and Frank Lucas began expanding beyond Harlem as Lucas sought to ultimately control a large-scale drug trafficking operation by gaining control of a network from Indochina directly to the streets of ghettos across the country. Louis Gateway Strike Force is a culmination of a 4-year investigation into a world of violence frequently associated with drug trafficking. Black organized crime is a frequent topic in rap and hip-hop music, particularly in the subgenres of gangsta rap.

A secrecy oath was required to be taken by the members to ensure secrecy and that members would not disclose important information.

Before James could be brought back from jail in New York City, where he had been arrested for murder on November 23, 1969, he died of a drug overdose. He earned three college degrees during his sentence and became an expert on gangsters, drug lords, and prison gangs, penning over 20 hard hitting books on the subject. The Black Mafia gained power in local neighborhoods by intimidating people to prevent anyone from reporting the group's activities to the police.