Second Generation Queens Gangster

“Ground zero for gangsters- the Southside of Jamaica, Queens. Home to multi platinum rappers like 50 Cent and legendary crack era druglords like Fat Cat and Supreme. This borough has bred some of the most progressive, notorious and brutal gangsters of the 20th century. Dudes that are on the Al Capone, John Gotti level in the black underworld. The dudes from Queens are being written about in Don Diva magazine; the original street bible. They’re the ones being profiled on BET’s American Gangster. They’re the ones that Troy Reed’s Street Stars and Shabazz’s AS Is are making street DVD’s about. Dudes from Queens just epitomize what the word “gangster” means. It’s just how they carry it. The list includes the aforementioned Fat Cat and Supreme, Prince, Corley Wall, Tommy Mickens, Pappy Mason, Pretty Tony, Tuck, Bing and Adee; A second generation Queens gangster. Gorilla Convict sat down with the kid from the mean streets of South Jamaica who counts Fat Cat’s sons as his main men and kicked about where he grew up, South Jamaica. He’s in the federal now doing time but he’s ready to hit the streets and do his thing…

GC- Tell us about yourself?

A- My name is Adam Bennett. I’m 33 years young. Right now I’m on the verge of wrapping up a 12 year 7 month bid. My prior beef include drugs and robbery. I’m from that hood that’s known as South Jamaica Queens.

GC- What prisons have you done time in?

A- I’ve done time on Rikers Island, jails up north in New York, Allenwood Medium, FCI Loretto and Baltimore City Jail,

GC- Where did you grow up at?

A- I grew up on 142nd St. and lllth Ave. and all blocks in-between. I first started getting money on lllth Ave. and 127th St. then they moved us to Rockaway Blvd. and 133rd St.

GC- Who did you come up under?

A- I came up under some dudes by the name of Parish (RIP) and Lenny. Those were the first dudes to ever put work in my hands. The dude Parish got killed in ’87, so I switched to some other cats on the same block. They started jerking us at one point so I took like a 1000 bundle and did my own thing. I was only 14 at the time. The dudes I looked up to the most were my brother Todd and my heart that’s in the town right now, Father Taheem Allah. Those were the dudes I was really_ intrigued by. My brother Todd use to be on some robbery shit. Him and my other brother Mark and I use to dig thay shit as a shorty. The dude that taught me the game and bought me amongst Parish and them dudes was my comrade Ibn Josiah Robinson. He’s been back in the essence of life for the past 16 years. That’s the dude that gave birth to my gangster without question.

GC- What was jumping off in your hood back in the days?

A- When I was a shorty I wasn’t really too concerned about what was poppin in my hood only cause I was a shorty you know. All that was on my mind, was coppin’ me the new black and gray pinned stripped Lees with the black and gray suede Adidas and the black and white Lumber Jack jacket so I could go to school and shine you know. It wasn’t until later that I began to understand that money made the world go round.

GC- Looking back did you know you were coming up in a legendary place under some legendary dudes?

A- Looking back I didn’t realize I was corning up in a legendary place that was qonna make dudes rich and their names legendary household names you know. It just wasn’t that type of situation. Dudes were just getting money and I don’t believe they themselves knew they were gonna be legends. How do I feel in retrospect? I love my past and I’m glad I’m still on the set to bare witness to how shit popped back then you know, and am able to speak about it. A lot of my cronies ain’t make it out that era to see my hood rise to legendary status as far as getting money. I’m appreciative that out of mad hoods in New York’s five boros, my hood was able to distinguish itself from the rest you understand what I’m saying. And that appreciativeness has to go in the direction of Cat and Preme and them dudes cause they the ones that really made that happen, Real talk.

GC- What kind of stuff were you and you peeps into way back when?

A- Back in like ’86 we was on some stolen car shit real hard. That’s what was popping then. Then we started robbing dudes and broads at the high schools for their nugget rings and their acid wash Cotler jackets and shit like that. Then we turned to the drug scene in ’87. We were dibbling and dabbling but nothing major. Like I said I took that G pack from them niggas and did my own thing but I fucked it up. We went back to robbing. In ’88 that’s when shit started to pop for us real serious on the drug tip. We made a bad decision at one point and fell off like a bad bag of dope. We went back to robbing and that’s when I caught a robbery beef in ’89. I came home in ’90 and it was strictly drug money from then on. Basically, it was a mixture of drugs and robbery.

GC- Describe the philosophy you learned growing up?

A- Stand firm on principle, never cross your people, honor your family and show forth honor and respect in all instances. That’s the philosophy I grew up on. I always say I could’ve been real prosperous in this life of ours had I been a disloyal dude you know. But I never stepped on no toe, always dealt fairly and kept it authentic all around the boards. Trust me when I tell you, I will die for my dudes or fall back behind these walls for eternity for my dudes if so be the case, ya dig. I know to a lot of dudes that may come across as sounding crazy or what have you but that just the loyal dude I be. It’s in my DNA to move with the utmost loyalty and love my niggas regardless of what. I know a cross can come in the mix along the line but I’m prepared for all that. I saw a lot of love and loyalty coming out of Fat Cat’s camp towards his son and dude was in the can for 6 years already. In 1991, his son (MEL) had a little issue with a dude that gets bizzy on the low. The comrade gets bizzy himself make no mistake but he got on the phone with some of his fathers loyalists (THE FUTADO BROTHERS) and being who they were they ran up on dude and the situation was settled instantly. That’s loyalty and love at its finest.

GC- What was your MO on the streets?

A- My MO on the streets has always been getting money and letting that 7-21-14 ring always.

GC- Who were the dudes you ran with back in the days and where are they now?

A- A lot of the dudes I ran with back then are either back in the essence of life or tied up in the joint and have been for years, My two comrades that’s back in the essence of life IBN and OCTAVIOUS RIP, and my man FATHER TAHEEM ALLAH that’s in the town right now. That’s been my heart for l9 years hard body and I’ll kill something for son. My two comrades that I love till the death of me, Cat’s two sons, Jemel (DON MEL} Tyler, been up-north 16 years, and his brother BIG RAHEEM tied up in VA. My blood brother TODD, up north with 21 years, rider without question. My lil comrade up north in Oneida, James aka JB, was right on my side when I almost got assassinated. And my comrade in the struggle with BIG SQUEEK DOG locked in FCI Fort Dix.

GC- Give us a glimpse of Queens back in the days?

A- Queens back in the days was a nice environment. Houses, kids playing in the streets and shit like that. Mr. Softee earning through and all the kids asking moms and pops for money to buy an ice cream cone with sprinkles. It was just a good place for me to live as a shorty. Then the drug thing emerged like a TSUNAMI. I recall back in like ’84, ‘85 walking to go shopping on Jamaica Ave. and the short-cut you would take would be through 150th St. and 107th Ave. Fat Cat made that block infamous and will forever be known as the “BLOCK”. But I was walking through this block and I saw this kid sitting on the steps of Cat’s store with a big ass bag of coke. I mean a BIG ass bag and for real that shit scared the shit out of me. That’s when I realized them Mr. Softee days were finished.

GC- What’s up with all the gangster craze nowadays?

A- All this gangster shit means nothing to me personally. All this gangster talk is coming from these rapper dudes that don’t know nothing about being a gangster you know. Don’t know nothing about being confined and oppressed by these oppressors for years and years on end. They talk that shit but trust me they ain’t ready for this life of ours. Then you got dudes getting caught up in that shit. It’s madness.

GC- What does it mean to you to have big heart and be your brother’s keeper?

A- To be able, if shit hits the fan, to come back behind these walls for eternity for the sake of being your brother’s keeper you know, moving accordingly in any situation without wavering one bit, and standing firm on principle regardless of the consequences.

GC- What events made you who you are?

A- The event that shaped my life and made me who I am today is when my comrade got savagely murdered when he was 18 years young on December 3lst, 1990. My comrade IBN. His murder had a devastating effect on me then and still does to this day When he was in the casket I told him I will forever carry his legacy as long as I’m alive, and I’ve held that vow 16 years later, aside from that though I’ve always been around older dudes like my blood Taheem and a host of other God bodies back in the days. So even though I was young my mental has always been a little older which lead me to move like an older dude you know. As an example of this, I had my own work with mad worker and fucking older broads when I was a youth of only 14, driving uptown in the ‘88 box Corolla coppin !25 and shit like that. That’s the shit that really made me who I am today.

GC- Why has Queens bred so many legendary gangsters?

A- In my hood just as in any hood, dudes are trained to go, meaning dudes will murder something in a second. Real talk. I’ve been pinned up in the can now for a substantial amount of years now but I still keep my ear to the street and know ain’t nothing sweet out there. Queens has bred so many legendary dudes because I guess it’s the cloth we’re cut from and I guess that’s the cloth I’m cut from. Shout to all my cronies tied up. We almost there. Stay strong, firm and move with the precision of an F-16 Fighter Jet, ya heard. Salute to all the comrades never returning to civilization, stay strong and maintain elevation…