gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

terminology, a set refers to a subgroup within a larger gang alliance. Sets vary in size and internal structure, and different sets within the same gang are known to fight one another.

Structure and activities

A large gang alliance, such as the

Crips The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips ...

Bloods The Bloods are a primarily African Americans, African American street gang which was founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for Crips–Bloods gang war, its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn ...

, is usually composed of many smaller subgroups known as "sets". Despite being part of the same gang alliance, sets differ from one another in terms of internal structure, membership, and gang symbols.

Hierarchy

Within the same gang alliance, different sets have been known to have varying levels of

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy ...

. For example, some Bloods sets have been noted for having various ranks within the set, while other Bloods sets have little to no hierarchy.

Membership

Sets vary considerably in membership size. For example, some of the larger Crips sets, such as the Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips have over 1,000 members and are present in multiple cities across the United States. In comparison, smaller sets such as the Butler Block Crips have 8-10 members and are limited to a particular neighborhood.

Gang signs and colors

Sets within the same gang alliance may differ in their

gang sign A gang sign, also known as a gang signal, is a verbal or visual way gang members identify their affiliation. This can take many forms including slogans, hand signs, colored clothing, and graffiti to indicate that the signaller favors, or is a ...

and

colors Color (or colour in Commonwealth English; see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though color is not an inherent property of matter, color perception is related to an object's light absorpt ...

. For example, even though Bloods sets will often use red as a gang color, some Bloods sets use other colors, such as the Lime Hood Piru, who use green.

Relationship with other sets

Each set in a gang has a unique relationship with every other set within the overarching gang. Sets within the same gang have been known to fight one another. For example, the Rollin 60's Neighborhood Crips and the Eight Trey Gangster Crips have been rivals since 1979, despite both being Crip sets. Furthermore, the relationship between two sets from the same gang can change over time. For example, the Mob Piru Bloods and the Lueders Park Piru Bloods were allies until April 2009, when a feud erupted between the two Bloods sets. In some cases, a set from one gang may form an alliance with a specific set from a rival gang. For example, the PJ Watts Crips are known for their alliance with the Bounty Hunter Watts Bloods. This alliance formed due to mutual opposition to the Grape Street Watts Crips set. Conflict between rival sets is referred to as "set tripping".

Portrayals in media

Rappers Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing b ...

often make references to sets when describing gang activities in their music. For example, Tupac Shakur's ''

Hail Mary The Hail Mary or Ave Maria (from its first words in Latin), also known as the Angelic or Angelical Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the ...

'' (1997) makes references to "set tripping".

References

{{Bloods Bloods Crips Gangs in the United States