Decepticons (gang)

The Decepticons were a street gang or street organization that thrived from the late 80s through the early 90s. Their members were teenagers and young adults ranging from the age of 15 to early 20s. The gang was most prominent in Brooklyn, but at their peak the group consisted of multiple branches, or legions, all across New York City. In an interview with former Decepticon “General Steele” it’s mentioned that there were legions of Decepticons in Clinton Hills, Flatbush, East Flatbush, and Bed Stuy Brooklyn, Harlem, Manhattan and parts of Queens. Steele references in his interview how the Decepticons were all over the place in patches due to the groups upbringing. The legions would initially begin as a formation of a bond of bullied kids who needed strength in numbers. The original group of Decepticons started in Brooklyn, New York with 3 boys from 2 different schools. Two of the boys, who went by the names of Cyclonis, and Rumble went to Bushwick High School, and the other, called Megatron, went to Brooklyn Technical High School. They formed their bond in order to make sure no one would harm them. As those founding fathers found more people with common mindsets in the two schools they went to, their numbers grew and soon after their small group morphed into a feared gang.[1][2]

Their presence began to fade in the early 1990s yet the Decepticons indeed left their mark on New York City, and even on culture today. A few members went on to notable rap careers such as Sticky Fingaz, Fredro Starr, Rock and Sean Price. Sticky Fingaz and Fredro Starr were in the rap group Onyx. and Fredro Starr was a protégé to Jam Master Jay. Sean Price and Rock frequently collaborated on albums such as Price's Monkey Barz and Smiff-N-Wessun’s Smiff-N-Wessun: Reloaded. Rock even had his songs put into video games: "I Am Rock" for Need for Speed: Most Wanted and NFL Street 2, and "This Is Me" for Blitz The League II. Although, while a member of the Decepticons, Rock found himself arrested for assault and an attempted murder charge for allegedly shooting a rival pimp, while he worked as one.[1] Hip-hop artist Jay-Z has made reference to The Decepticons and LoLifes in song. In B.K Anthem Jay says “Wasn’t safe on the A-Train/ in G or the F/Decepticons, LoLife niggas/Snatch the polos off your chest.” [3]

The Original Decepticons, or Decepts, were Megatron, from Brooklyn Technical High School, as well as Rumble and Cyclonis, from Bushwick.[4] However, from there, the group quickly expanded and multiplied. Lacking a formal structure, groups would often spring up and claim that they were Decepts. Latin groups of Decepts formed in the Bronx and Queens, therefore expanding the territory that Decepticons occupied. In Brooklyn, local offshoot groups of Decepticons would often sprout up. [1] There were even female counterpart to the Decepticons called the Deceptinettes, whom were said to be equally as mischievous as the men. They had brutal initiation rituals for new members. Contrary to popular belief the Deceptinettes were already a group of friends even before meeting the Decepticons. There was never a time in the history of the Decepticons, that a Deceptinette had to sleep her way into the gang- membership was earned through loyalty and violence.[5]

As a whole, the Decepticons had no primary goal. They were poor kids living in impoverished neighborhoods who came together in order to try and make the tough situation in which they were dealt easier for one another. Acts of violence would most frequently come in the form of robberies. The gang would converge on the subways and from there hangout on the corners of streets by neighboring schools. If a physically weak looking target approached them, the gang would surround them and swiftly mug them.[6] Another common spot for their robberies were on the subways themselves. Being a very small, crowded, noisy setting, the Decepticons would rush into the room, robbing people of whatever they can and then rushing out like a gust of wind. The Deceptinettes would play games such as “One Punch Knockout” for fun. In this game they would assault a random, unsuspecting person to see if they could knock them out with one punch- a pastime thought to have been played by both the girls and the boys.