GLC Intones Respect for Reputed Gang Leader Larry Hoover

By Lora Neng
WWW.STREETGANGS.COM STAFF WRITER
August 10, 2011

GLC, short for Gangsta L. Crisis, recalled the hardship of growing up in Chi-Town, the Windy City notorious for its gang violence. Leonard Harris could very well have fallen into the temptations of the gang lifestyle had he not joined the “Growth and Development” street organization. Even though it was with this street organization that brought about his gangsta sounding name, the experience did good rather than harm.

Reflecting on his escaping that pit now, he credits his long-time friend Kanye West, a well-regarded collaborative relationship, but also reputed leader of the prison gang Gangster Disciples, Larry Hoover. Since his arrest following a 5 year federal investigation involving drug conspiracy and extortion charges, Hoover was credited with turning his influence around when changing the Gangster Disciple moniker to Growth and Development and promoting education to his followers. GLC told HipHopDX,  “In our organization Larry taught us that we were a reckoning powered people, down by no means,” and through personal industriousness would not fall into the trap of easy money. His respect for the intelligence of a man who could bring street thugs together while being locked up since 1973 deserved no less than of being likened to a modern Malcolm X. “At the end of the day, when a man that possesses that type of power to make a motherfucka go into a negative direction, but can also have the same power to make motherfuckas go into a positive direction, you a threat to society.”

In a 2009 interview with Unrated Magazine, GLC said that when he lost his father and mother at a young age, and was diagnosed with diabetes at 14, “I’m not going to say the average person, but 9 times out of 10, if someone had to endure the things I endured growing up, it’s no telling where you may end up. My life was written off as a crisis they would say he’s not going to be able to do nothing (…) When people hear the word crisis they assume that it’s negative, bad. I kept my name to show kids you can come from dire situations and street organizations and evolve into something better.” GLC in no way intends to let these lessons pass by the coming generation.

The full recent interview with HipHopDX can be viewed below.