"When the crack era jumped off in the 1980s, many street legends were
born in a hail of gunfire. Business minded and ruthless dudes seized the
opportunities afforded them, and certain individuals out of the city’s
five boroughs became synonymous with the definition of the new era black
gangster. Drugs, murder, kidnappings, shootings, more drugs, and more
murder were the rule of the day. They called it “The Game,” but it was a
vicious attempt to come up by any means necessary. In the late 1980s,
the mindset was “get mine or be mine,” and nobody embodied this attitude
more than the Supreme Team.
The Supreme Team has gone down in street legend and the lyrical lore
of hip-hop and gangsta rap as one of the most vicious crews to ever
emerge on the streets ofNew York. Their mythical and iconic status
inspired hip-hop culture and rap superstars like 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Biggie,
Nas and Ja Rule. Born at the same time as crack, hip-hop was heavily
influenced by the drug crews that controlledNew York’s streets. And the
cliché of art imitating life and vice versa came full circle in the saga
of the Supreme Team’s infamous leaders- Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff and
Gerald “Prince” Miller. In the maelstrom of the mid-80s crack storm and
burgeoning hip-hop scene, their influence and relevance left a lasting
impression.
Going from drug baron to federal prisoner to hip-hop maestro to life
in prison, Supreme was involved in hip-hop and the crack trade from day
one. His run stretched decades, but in the end he fell victim to the
pitfalls of the game like all before him had. His nephew, the enigmatic
Prince, who had a rapid, violent, and furious rise in the streets also
fell hard and fast to the tune of seven life sentences. The Supreme Team
has been romanticized and glorified in hip-hop, but the truth of the
matter is that most of their members are currently in prison for life or
have spent decades of their prime years behind bars. This book looks at
the team’s climatic rise from its inception to its inevitable fall. It
looks at Supreme’s redemption with Murder Inc. and his relapse back into
crime. This book is the Supreme Team story in all its glory, infamy,
and tragedy. It’s a tale of turns, twists, and fate. Meet the gangsters
fromQueenswhere the drug game influenced the style and swagger of street
culture, hip-hop and gangsta rap and made the infamous cast of
characters from the Supreme Team icons in the annals of urban lore."