Fellow Herschelwood Crips Duke and Trap greet each other with the Herschelwood/Houston H. Photo by Peter Beste
Setting aside for a moment the cred supremacy of inner-city housing projects—if the ghetto had a ghetto of its own, it would be Herschelwood. It is basically your favorite ghetto’s favorite ghetto. Herschelwood’s parent neighborhood is South Park, a primarily black post-WWII development on Houston’s south side where the late DJ Screw, Fat Pat (RIP), H.A.W.K. (RIP), Lil Keke, K-Rino, Z-Ro, and the entirety of the South Park Coalition and the Screwed Up Click were spawned. It is the birthplace of Syrup (codeine cough syrup mixed with soda) and Screw’s trademark chopped and screwed mixtapes. It is also one of the most dangerous areas in Houston.
“The kids here grow up watching us,” says Duke, a Crip and member of the rap group Herschelwood Hardheadz, “Wondering why we’re wearing blue clothes and whatever. It’s a big influence. We just gotta guide them in the right direction so they don’t get mixed up in all of that. We got coaching to do.”
The Crips run the neighborhood. Blue is not a prominent color—it is the only color. By this point the Crips’ control has become a simple matter of reality rather than a nuisance or a threat, and the neighborhood accepts it as such. When we were there on a Saturday afternoon, two gunshots went off no more than a block away and no one fucking blinked.
“There’s crime everywhere, bro,” Duke says. “That right there’s the ghetto. It’s just like any neighborhood—ain’t no telling when something’s about to jump off.”
“It’s crazy out here,” says Trap, a 24-year-old Herschelwood denizen who sports a trickle of ice-pick puncture wounds along his right ribcage. “Everybody trying to eat and survive. People don’t wanna be around here, man—real talk. We shed blood out here. Before Lil Keke, back before rap even came around this motherfucker, we be doin’ some gorilla-type shit.
“A real nigga is a lower-type dude that’s gonna stick in your corner and never turn his back on you,” he tells us. “That’s what’s real. A real nigga’s gonna be there through thick and thin. There’s some hood love out here. This here is a jungle—I know I’m gonna need other people’s help, and other hoods’ help when I drop. A lot of gorillas running around, straight silverback. I’m telling you, if I ain’t locking them up, they doin’ something. But we’re running the race—real talk. We done got rid of all the roaches, everything sprayed. I done killed this block off. It’s a blessing. Lord gave me a sign, and I ain’t get too many signs cause it’s hardball. I’m gonna play my cards right and I ain’t gonna give up. I’m gonna make it up out this motherfucker.”
LANCE SCOTT WALKER
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Photos by Peter Beste Our buddy Duke shows us how to make the Herschelwood H and W. Keep in mind these are for other folks to read, so they should be backward to you.
Here Duke and his pal Knock do two variations of the Crip Cs. How you throw your C can say a lot about your personality. See how Duke’s are all rigid and compact while Knock’s fan out like the wings of a soaring eagle? If you’ve got a drink or gat in one hand or just have a really good lean going you can just throw W for “the Wood.” Folks will know what you’re saying. Same as above, but Duke is using the H as a pointer to emphasize the W. The H can also stand for Houston if you’re signing at an out-of-towner. This knuckly little number is a double BK for “Blood Killa.” Trap shows us his Cs while Duke shows us an advanced Herschelwood sign in which a crossed double H forms the W.