With rumors and an investigation into the possibility that a shooting at Chris Brown’s pre-VMA party was gang related, Tray Deee of the Tha Eastsidaz reacted to Brown and other celebrities’ ad hoc gang affiliations in an interview with VladTV.
In August, Suge Knight was shot at the VMA party and TMZreported that a police investigation was “interested in a common denominator [between] Chris Brown, Suge, and Game.” The same article cites eyewitness reports that Brown “was throwing up gang signs before the shooting…and he was performing with a red bandana.” In July, Brown posted a since-deleted video to his Instagram account showing himself throwing Fruit Town Piru gang signs.
Speaking with VladTV about the possible reasoning behind a celebrity musician like Chris Brown wanting to be affiliated with the set despite his wealth, Tray Dee offered, “It makes no sense to me.”
“I feel it has to either be a psychological defect to where you don’t wanna enjoy your life and enjoy your wealth and you know, ride around on boats and pop bottles, just live a stress-free life as far as attracting unwanted attention and aggression upon yourself,” he said. “Why would you wanna be rich and start fighting people? It makes no sense to me. I see it as the peer-pressure aspect is that, ‘Is this what you really want for yourself? Or do you feel that this is the only way that you’ll be secure in certain areas?’ So are you buying into it for protection? That’s the only logical conclusion that I can come to. I can’t see somebody waking up one day [and saying], ‘Okay, the Bentley’s in the driveway. Couple mill in the bank. Let me go to the hood and get shot at. Let me go stand on the corner and get shot at so people could say, “Oh, man that’s a tough guy.”’ People gon’ say you stupid as—you already know. So, I don’t get it.”
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Offering his own stance on the celebrity affiliations, Tray Deee said “it don’t bother me” but went on to clarify that many don’t understand what the life entails.
“The only thing about it that bothers me is that they don’t know what they’re really getting into or could be getting into,” he said. “People make themselves targets. If you a person out there in the gang life that you really out there, about that life, dropping bodies, all that. You know they gonna be coming for you in a minute…You have guys out there on the hunt like that. They know their time is numbered, so it’s like, ‘Wait a minute, Chris Brown banging? I can go kill Chris Brown and my name gon’ live on forever.’ You just a strike. You not thinking about your family, you not thinking ahead. You can’t be thinking ahead wanting to be a grown man joining a gang and obligating yourself to a lifestyle that you really know nothing about and obligating yourself to people who wouldn’t give a damn about you if you was just Charlie Brown walking in off the streets.”
Addressing Suge Knight’s infamous history as a member of the Mob Piru Bloods, Deee spoke about the realities of walking away from gang life.
“You always gonna be a target from your enemies, former rivals, whatever,” he said. “Just because you feel like now, ‘Oh, I’m at the stage in my life where I’m not worried about that stuff anymore.’ Man, you killed my uncle dude? Damn where you at. I’m still looking for vengeance. On that note you always gonna be a target regardless. As far as being able to walk away and say you cool, that’s totally up to the homies. You have to been earned that much respect and regard as a real, real homie that put everything in that was expected of you and, ‘You wanna go this other direction in your life? Alright homie we support that. We love you. You ever need us it’s all good, we right here.’ But, you can’t just stick your toe in and then, ’Okay, that was enough for me.’ It’s enough when the homies say it’s enough.”
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