The Brooklyn Decepticons (A Real Life Street Gang), Im not slagging you Options

[giga-galvatron]

Im just curious cuz I asked this very same question on tfw2005.com and I kinda shocked folks over there. Im from Brooklyn NY, and just like any other urban area, we had our share of gangs. There were two in particular that pretty much defined the street life in the 80s, one was the Lo Lifes, a gang whose primary function was to run into a Macy's store 809,009,009 deep and steal everything made by the clothes design Ralph Lauren. The Lo in Lo Life came from the last letters in the POLO brand name. They had everything Polo. Bathrobes, toilet paper, whatever.

The cats who rob them on the trains of Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and part of Queens were a gang we might find close to our hearts. They were called the Decepticons aka "The Decepts" for short. They started in the East NY section of Brooklyn and spread out. By 1989, they had about 60-100 members and their primary function was to terrorize high schools and rob people on the trains. Their leader was cat who named himself Megatron but it was started by his friend Rumble who had a problem with some cats from Brooklyn Tech, a high school near Downtown Brooklyn. Him and his friend who called himself Megatron, and few other future Decepts waiting for these cats to come up from the train station and Rumble yelled "DECEPTICONS, ATTACK!!" and everyone including Megatron was like... WTF?

After they beat their targets up, they went back to their Brooklyn headquarters and dissected the Transformers cartoon to find nicknames of their own. There was Headstrong (the self proclaim Whaticon. You know like, what you lookin at son?) the rapper Lord Vital (a Constructicon) Rumble as fore mentioned and Cyclonis. There was even a female sub-team called the Deceptinettes who some say were as ruthless or even more so than the Decepticons. Megatron led them until he was shot in the back of the head in a failed robbery attempted and was in a coma for years until he died in 2001. Cyclonis and Headstrong, Megatron's two brothers now leads them (yea i know irony) and they are trying to lead them into a more positive light. They have start several anti-gang youth programs and help youth centers in Brooklyn to discourage kids from following the path they once took.

But they could and would still probably hug yo ass up if you try them. They have several rappers who claim Decept like Sean Price and Rockness Monster aka Heltah Skeltah. They even have a mixtape out.

After all that, and you still think is some slag, check out these links

http://massappealmag.com/the-vault/issue-45/transformers-brooklyn-decepticons/

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/01/nyregion/a-gang-gives-a-name-to-students-fear-decepticons.html



http://www.suerussellwrites.com/girlgang.html


And here are some Youtube Vids to further bring this to reality

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXU80fr-qy0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha710AATxAo

with that said, DECEPTS BITCH!!!

[Straight-Edge]

I actually knew a couple of Decepts back in the day. Didn't hang with them on that level, but when you take the gangster out of the gang, most of them are decent enough people. We used to go to shows and drink a lot, so I don't remember all that much, but they were always fascinated that I knew so much about the Transformers.

Fascinated in that "Decepticons are cool, so how does white boy here make them seem so uncool?" way.

Good times.

[giga-galvatron]

lets invite em to botcon!

[D Buster Prime]

lets invite em to botcon!

Let's have Botcon in the Bronx!

[Treadshot 2.0]

The Decepticons, from what I understand, were active--and greatly feared--in the 80's. Isn't Rock (of Heltah Skeltah) a former Decepticon?

edit: just read your post more... yup!

[Malikon]

Old old news. They've even made a movie about them. Always figured everyone knew about them.

[TVsGrady]

They've even made a movie about them.

I've heard of the gang before, but not this movie you're talking about.

[giga-galvatron]

If Im not mistaken its a movie based on them starring I think Fredo Starr. It sucked though. Unless their some other documentary out.

[Malikon]

took some digging to find it. (turns out typing Decepticons into search engines gets you.......Decepticons. Who knew?)

But this is the movie I was mentioning earlier.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1337610/

The Eddie Black Story

(*can't say I've watched it however, not my cup of tea)

[Detective Fork]

Maybe old news, but first I've heard of it. The link to the page of the former gang member who is now a social worker was an interesting look inside gang culture and what goes on in the minds of the people involved.