The Supreme Team: The Birth of Crack and Hip-Hop, Prince's Reign of Terror and the Supreme/ 50 Cent Beef Exposed (Street Legends)

I was very curious about this book from the first time I saw it. As a huge fan of what some refer to as hip hop's golden era, which depending on who you ask is either mid to late 80s or about 1990-1997, I have heard many of the names mentioned in this book from song lyrics. I have always said how the majority of my favorite artists over the years have come from Queens. As a lil girl, I pretented to be Roxanne Shante' in my room. I love Nas, Mobb Deep, Tragedy, Cormega, Capone-n-Noreaga, Stack Bundles... I could go on for days. I am even a bigger 50 Cent fan than most will admit. A story about the notorious crew that inspired some of my favorite hood tales seemed too intriguing to pass up. This is my first time reading one of Seth Ferranti's boks however I have ready his articles in Don Diva and F.E.D.S Magazine in the past. No doubt he is the ideal candidate to tell the story of the Supreme Team and I enjoyed the way he put it together. It reads easily, more like talkin to one the homies on the block while they walk down memory lane. I don't think this book glamorizes the lifestyle but keeps it real while telling every aspect of the team and how they got it in during their heyday. While amassing large amounts of cash, enjoying the company of countless beautiful womean, and gaining a level of street cred umatched by any other drug crew before them, they set the tone for drug crews after them, they gave many emcees platinum plaque material, and forever elevated the style level in hip hop. It's crazy reading this book when you can see the influence of the Supreme Team in so many areas still today. I remember watching New Jack City as a kid and feeling like it was a fantasy simliar to Avatar or Alice in Wonderland, thinking that no gang could be as ruthless, as determined, and as exciting as the CMB. Truth be told I think the exploits of Supreme and his crew far upstage any fictionalized account that could be conceived in Hollywood or anywhere else. The book digs really deep into the origins of the team and really gives you a look into the mind of Supreme more so than watching American Gangster or listening to a few rap songs. I don't think Mr. Ferranti had to put a lot of work into humanizing Supreme. He's the type of guy whose presence simply commands respect, he is intelligent, calculating, and cooler than the other side of the pillow. It seems almost impossible not to like him if you get to know him personally. He's a Gangter and a Gentleman and he's not too full of himself to show respect to the next man. He's a man of few words yet his presence is so commanding that he can have orders carried out from his prison cell. While New Jack City is based on the Supreme Team, I see Nino Brown as more of a buffoon than the type of leader that Supreme was. His determination to put out his film was admirable and I can't help but think that had Supreme chosen another path, he'd still be mentioned along the likes of Russell Simmons and Diddy, maybe in a profession more endearing than that of a drug lord. This is a true gangster chronicle and I think it is told pretty objectively. The areas of the book that explored Supreme and 50 Cent were a lil biased in my opinion, it seems as though there's always an "I don't like this nigga," type of tone when 50 comes up. Of course I can see his point when 50's and Supreme's relationship is discussed and it makes sense that 50 could have had a vendetta against Supreme solely because Supreme slept on him. 50 seems like the type of dude who would take Preme's disreguard as fuel and also everyone can see how 50 will beat a beef into the gound so I guess it's that truth hurts thing to an extent. I don't like to see him painted in the light of a snitch, an emotional thug, or a sucker waiting on some shred of attention from a tru gangsta to make him feel more legit. However it is what it is and at the very least, I love that this book even explores that aspect of Supreme's existance. It also made me feel like they were sayin to 50 "Stop crying, if we had known you were gonna be the real meal ticket, you would've been chosen!" Not to say that I think Supreme used Irv Gotti and Ja Rule. But I think he capitalized on their envy of him. I doubt that if Irv Gotti didn't have the connections and resources that Supreme needed for his legit endeavors, that he would be associated with such a clown... Just my opinion. I don't knock his hustle at all, I just don't like Irv Gotti and I feel like he and his whole crew embody the word "wanksta," to a T. I actually never cared much for Ja and so watching him get eaten alive by 50 was the most enjoyable time I have ever had watching rap beef to this day. I thought it was just me that gagged at seeing his wack a** on t.v.... I never even knew what to call those clowns til wanksta came out. Back to the Supreme Team. If you like gangster stories, true crime, hip hop, or NY culture, this is a great read! I will definitely be reading more of Seth Ferranti's work and I have to say more authors like him are needed. He's already a force, but once he's released, I believe we will go from seeing his name on pages to in credits. Hopefully on an unfiltered HBO type of series.

The mid-80s was a volatile and explosive time in New York city. The crack era and hip-hop were both jumping off and this book captures that atmosphere perfectly. The history of The Supreme Team, Queens premier crack dealing organization, is detailed here showing how the leaders, characters and figures from the team impacted and influenced their community and the hip-hop world at large with their style, attitudes and actions. The teams leaders Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff and Gerald "Prince" Miller alongside the other big names on the team like Troy "Babywise" Jones, Colbert "Black Justice" Johnson and James "Bimmy" Antney left a mark on rap culture which extends to today. They were the original gangsters that the early hip-hop pioneers looked up to. Run DMC, Curtis Blow, the Beastie Boys, LL Cool J- they all owe a debt to the Supreme Team, who set the trends, styles and fads back in the day so that the rappers could follow in their footsteps and emulate them, blowing the culture up and bringing it to the mainstream. Supremes, Princes and the team's story has been covered before in magazines like Don Diva, AS IS and F.E.D.S. and has also been touched upon in books like Queens Reign Supreme and Copshot but never in the detail that Ferranti's book provides. Also the book has a bunch of photos of all the Queens gangsters from back in the day. Never seen before photos of Supreme in all his gangster glory. If you liked BET's American Gangster series or the film New Jack City, which was based off the Supreme Team's exploits definitely check this book out. It also gives the real story on how and why 50 Cent got shot and how was behind it.

It was an easy interesting read,lot of facts I didn't know.Definitely wish they would hv identified the pics at the end of the book.Could have used more pics of the actual Baisley Projects even tho I'm very familiar with the area and heard the Supreme Team name talked about in the clubs,never witnessed any of the incidents explained in the book,but I did get my car broken into at Rochdale in 88' off Guy R Brewer so the crack crimes were prevelant.I saw all of the hip hop artisits and industry heads mentioned in the book during that period,never knew Irv was that deeply involved with Preme,but I did see them playing the baller game in the clubs.Good book,I'd recommend it if ur interested in the whole Queens drug game experience from 87'-07'..

This book was very good.I enjoyed it tremendously and learned quite a lot about the drug culture during the 80's and 90's.I don't think that I could have lived in that environment and felt safe but I feel that those young men should have not received life sentences.

This was a page turner that I could not put down from begining to end. As someone who has lived in the shadows of the team in Queens I felt this book gave a vivid inside look into the inner workings of Supreme and his unit. The American war on drugs has had countless victims, intentional and otherwise and this book shows the mentality of so many who at that time and still now who are ready to get rich or die trying.

I just finished reading the latest page turner from Mr. Ferranti about The Supreme Team in one day as I just couldn't put it down. Another great read from this author. I would recommend this book to anyone and after purchasing the kindle edition I will be getting the regular book version to put up on my shelf with his Street Legends books which are second 2 none. Great work Seth.. Hope you come home soon man.

This book was interesting as it was intriguing. It's not my typical genre, but I was sucked in from the very first page. Seth Ferranti did excellent job writing this book. All the details written in this book are factual accounts as he had personal access to those he mentioned. He writes with passion and authenticity. This book is the real deal. I highly recommend it.

This book includes a lot of facts and first hand reports from the street soldiers and bosses of the era. The real intrigue though, starts with Murder Inc. and Supreme's relationships with Irv Gotti and 50 Cent. Hip-Hop fans will enjoy this book although the death and violence will upset some.

Author style is very amateur. Keeps repeating himself, uses a lot of ghetto slang which isn't great for anyone not familiar with it, relies too much on first person accounts to drive the story. Doesn't seem to be very impartial either

An okay book, was expecting more from this or did I purchase the wrong book on The Supreme Team?.......

An ok book but not enough personal material very factual and a hard book to finish

Good story but the author kept repeating the same thing over and over again.