Original subtitles

[Scott] When the Flenory family

arrived in Detroit in 1969,

the lights had really already been turned out in the city.

[Roland] The Flenorys,

they get they gas cut off-- Terry and Demetrius...

[Rick] They got involved in the drug business to try

and help their parents pay their bills.

[E.D.] You could see in his eyes--

I mean, he- he wanted money. He was hungry.

They turned to the streets.

Everything changed at home.

[Derick] You could be having a wonderful time,

and somebody come by and blow your brains out.

[Scott] The number one villain is Layton Simon.

Now it was all-out war.

[dramatic hip-hop music plays]

[Meech] E-everybody move like brothers.

[echoing] Like brothers. Like brothers.

♪ ♪

Everybody's shining like new money.

[echoing] New money. New money. New money.

♪ ♪

It ain't no other crew like this in the world,

and never will be another.

[echoing] Never will be another.

[tense music plays]

[distant sirens wailing]

♪ ♪

[reporter] The Wild West had cattle rustlers,

but one Midwestern city has rustlers of another kind:

drug dealers and crack addicts.

♪ ♪

[Troy] When crack hit the community,

it was everywhere.

It hit our neighborhood like a bomb.

[thunder rumbling]

We weren't really prepared for it.

It seemed to be a blessing and a curse.

[reporter] Crack cocaine.

In Detroit, the problem has reached epidemic proportions.

People were losing houses, cars, homes.

I mean, it just degraded the city, all that.

[thunder rumbling]

[Scott] The city itself was already on the ropes.

Crack cocaine was the knockout punch.

I mean, I saw it as a kid.

♪ ♪

It affected kids, mothers, lawyers, doctors.

Crack didn't discriminate.

[Derick] I have seen women and men do stuff

for this crack that you never thought you would see--

do in your life.

It's a shame.

And I thought about it, I was like,

"Damn, I'm probably the cause of this shit."

I'ma say this, you know.

I-I don't glorify selling drugs, okay?

♪ ♪

It was a option.

For some Black men,

that's what they had to do to eat.

[Troy] Man, looking back on it, man,

it was the worst thing that ever could have happened

to the community.

But because people now had money

and they could fix certain things with money,

you know what I'm saying,

it seemed like the thing to do.

[upbeat music plays]

♪ ♪

Money is a drug, okay?

You know, you can't never get enough of it.

On a bad day, the 50 Boyz would do

about $6,000, $7,000.

Depends on how long they was out there.

And when you talk about Friday, Saturday, you know,

it was- we talking about $10,000, $20,000, okay?

I was making, yeah, you could say in the millions.

With the weight and all that, yeah.

Yeah, I was a millionaire.

[Roland] We was Edrick's suckers.

We was getting paid $750 every week.

Plus, on a Sunday,

he'd give us a limousine for all day.

People was telling us that's our downfall

because we don't see no money

because E.D. keeping his foot on our neck.

♪ ♪

[Derick] We also had to worry about Layton

every five minutes.

You know, like the boogeyman is coming.

Layton's the boogeyman. He gonna come.

[tense music plays]

[Troy] Layton was the OG, you know what I'm saying,

that really didn't play.

Nobody crossed him. Nobody fucked with Layton.

♪ ♪

He was something to be feared.

He was definitely something to be feared.

[Derick] Layton was like a kingpin hisself,

but we took his territory,

and he was losing a lot of money.

[distant sirens wailing]

♪ ♪

Our neighborhood is small.

So if- if the beef ain't about drugs,

it's about a woman.

[Scott] In addition to butting heads

with Layton Simon over the drug game,

Demetrius and Layton were romancing

some of the same women,

and this began to play a- a big role

in the rivalry.

♪ ♪

[Roland] One night, Layton and his brother Elvis

come into the club.

He talking to Meech.

"Yeah, young motherfucker,

you think you doing something fucking with my ho."

This and that and that and that.

You know, Meech don't want to hear that shit.

"Man, fuck you, man."

Then now it's a problem

because a young guy told a OG, fuck him.

You can't do that, but Meech didn't give a fuck.

So they got into it.

[indistinct shouting]

[Scott] And then all of a sudden,

someone in the crowd shoots

Layton's brother Elvis,

and then Layton himself was shot.

Everybody ran out of there.

Elvis was the only person laying on the ground.

♪ ♪

And Elvis end up dying.

♪ ♪

And Layton got shot in the groin

to where he had to have- where now, he had to wear a bag.

[gun cocks, fires]

Layton didn't take that kindly.

[producer] Layton lost his brother and was shot as well.

Mm-hmm.

[producer] Do you feel comfortable

-talking about that? -No.

[producer] Okay.

I- I don't speak on that. I plead the fifth on that.

♪ ♪

[producer] Layton's brother gets shot, right?

He gets shot at some point.

Yeah, yeah. Yes he- yes he did.

[producer] Were you there for that?

No, I wasn't there for that.

♪ ♪

[automated voice] This call is from a federal prison.

After that happened, you know,

it became all-out vengeance from that point forward.

After his brother got shot, you know,

then he, uh, I guess, turned up the heat

to, you know, avenge his brother.

♪ ♪

It began a two-year war

between Layton Simon and the Flenory brothers.

[Troy] From the outside looking in,

it looked like it mainly was towards Demetrius.

T seemed to still move pretty freely

without, you know what I'm saying,

the threat of what Layton would do to him.

But, you know, Meech had his guard up

at all times once, you know what I'm saying,

that happened.

[solemn music plays]

♪ ♪

By 1988, you had a pretty big void

that needed to be filled in the Detroit drug game.

[reporter] Whenever police raid a crack house,

they say they're also bound to find some heavy firepower.

[Scott] Almost every major drug organization

had been dismantled by federal prosecutions

or internal warfare.

[reporter] Drugs and guns are a deadly mixture,

and together, they've given Detroit

the highest murder rate of any American city.

[Scott] You had bodies littering the streets

tied to drug violence.

[reporter] More than 500 shootings

reported in two months.

This is a war. This is a epidemic.

I- I've been to Vietnam, but this is a war right here.

This is our Vietnam.

The first "corporate" drug gang,

the Young Boys Incorporated, fell apart

and went to war with each other.

Another kingpin, Demetrius Holloway,

was gunned down at the Broadway

in downtown Detroit buying a pair of socks.

[gunshot]

His right-hand man, Maserati Rick Carter,

was murdered in his hospital bed.

It was the end of one era but the beginning of another,

and this provides Demetrius and Terry

an opportunity to take over.

Demetrius and Terry saw brighter futures

for themselves on the horizon by graduating, let's say,

from the retail game, uh, into the wholesale game.

[Roland] Demetrius' dream was getting money.

Meech would come home

maybe, like, one o'clock or two o'clock.

He always would call me and say,

"Ro, come on out, man.

Smoke this joint before I go to bed."

So I'd come outside in my pajamas,

and we'd sit on the step or sit in his car.

We'd smoke, and he'd tell me how his night went.

He would tell me before he'd go in,

"Man, Roley, I'm gonna be rich, man.

"I might go to jail, but I damn sure

ain't gonna die broke."

[E.D.] They said, "Well, do you mind if we got weight

on our own and did our own thing?"

I said, "Look, man, I knew this time was coming

"sooner or later 'cause I raised y'all to be bosses,

"and, look, y'all- y'all bosses now,

and you want to do your own thing."

Edrick didn't take it too hard

because he had two other suckers

to uh, take over after we left him.

I gave them, you know, all the respect, and I said,

"Man, look, do what you do, man.

"That's what you- that- that's what you was raised to do in this game,

"be a boss, and I see you ready for it.

Go forward."

[Roland] And we went our separate ways,

and that's when everything changed.

You know, that was the turning point.

[funky music plays]

[Alexander] I had always been around the game

because my father and mother was in the game.

I started selling nickel rocks on the corner

and just graduated from there.

We got to be really, really big in the drug trade.

I introduced my brother Lawrence

to T and Meech around 1989.

[Roland] After E.D., we started messing around

with Lawrence.

Everything changed for us when we met Lawrence.

[Alexander] Lawrence could be a nice guy,

but you mess his money up, you gonna have a problem.

My brother was dealing with the Colombians.

You had to be very lucky to get a Colombian plug--

very lucky.

[Rick] Getting a drug plug in Colombia

was like hitting the lottery ticket overnight.

You know, like, it was like hitting lotto.

Miami was the pipeline.

In the '80s, it was definitely theScarface era.

Pablo Escobar, the Medellín Cartel,

they had direct lines to Miami,

and Miami was flooded.

At one time,

when a kilo was $36,000 in Detroit,

it was $18,000 in Miami.

So do the math.

If you can get 'em from Miami to Detroit,

you were doing pretty well.

[Alexander] When Terry and Meech met my brother,

the sky was the limit.

Whatever you wanted, he gave it to 'em.

They jumped up to, like, a key or two keys,

but when they got with him, it was 10, 20, 30...

whatever.

[upbeat music plays]

[Roland] We would wholesale it to people in the neighborhood,

other guys who was hustling.

We would sell it to them cheaper

than what they was getting it for.

That's how we got it.

We had more quality and better prices.

When Lawrence came along, the money came.

[Troy] Demetrius was the first one I saw

that had the cell phone...

with the big rope chain.

I was like, man, yeah.

♪ Here we, here we go Fiends on the corner ♪

♪ And the drugs gonna flow ♪

♪ Mo' money, money, money Money, money, mo' ♪

[Troy] Everybody dressed fly.

We emulated everything that we saw onYo! MTV Raps

and all of that.

So whatever Run wore, we wore.

♪ Stop by the cop Five-O, here we go ♪

[rapping indistinctly]

[Troy] Whatever Big Daddy Kane and Rakim wore,

we wore.

People would say, "Money changed you,"

but you'd be in denial.

"Money ain't changed me. It ain't changed me."

But you can't see yourself.

Thinking back, I did change,

because it gives you a sense of power.

I can do anything I want to do.

I can go where I want to go.

I can have any woman I want to have.

[tense music plays]

All the women loved us.

So we would go to a party and be dancing--

you know, like, they say

dope men don't dance or whatever?

We'd gangster boogie. We did it all.

I mean, we was the life of the party, you know?

[Roland] Me and Demetrius would spend $100 every day

just on a bottle of champagne,

just to ride around in the car, smoke weed,

but Terry would only just save his money.

He didn't mess with no girls, no weed, no drugs,

no liquor, nothing.

T and Meech personality is like night and day.

T was always the man who took care of the business part.

Meech was just like a front man.

They opposite from each other.

One like to have fun, one don't.

One take work easy, one don't.

You know, they love each other,

but they bicker with each other,

argue with each other.

Meech was the one that- that want to shine.

He even made a statement--

"If they don't know about me, it ain't worth doing it."

Meech never wanted to stop.

He always wanted more.

When you a addict, you can't stop.

That green paper is the same way.

[Roland] Really, all the beef with Layton,

it's all about jealousy.

Demetrius knew Layton was out for blood.

[distant sirens wailing]

[Alexander] The more money you get,

the more problems you gonna have.

The more you gonna have.

It's just that simple,

'cause people gonna try you.

And if you show any signs of weakness, any,

the wolves are coming.

[suspenseful music plays]

They don't know how they gonna come,

but they coming...

especially when you get to that level.

You gonna get tested.

♪ ♪

[Roland] One night, me and Demetrius was

at the Coney Island.

[Roland] To me, it was, like, a eerie night

'cause it was only me and Demetrius,

and I'm saying, "Damn, for one, where everybody at, you know?"

Then Layton ride past...

and I say, "Meech, you think we ought to leave?"

Meech say, "No, I'm tired of running from him.

Fuck him."

Next thing you know,

Layton done pulled in the Coney Island parking lot.

He said, "Man, I ought to ram this motherfucker."

I'm saying to myself,

"Man, this little car ain't gonna do shit."

Next thing you know, his window come down.

♪ ♪

And I ain't seen a gun that big.

It was a big motherfucker.

All you see is fire.

And he tearing Demetrius up.

You know, wherever Demetrius move, he gets shot.

I'm in there--ain't no bullets come on my side.

All them bullets hit Demetrius.

While he gets shot, I'm hearing...

[grunts]

At this time, there's nothing you can do.

I don't have a gun. He don't have a gun.

You know what I'm saying?

So I don't want to get out and run

'cause I-I don't want to leave him.

But he end up pushing me out the car and took off.

[tires squealing]

♪ ♪

[sirens wailing]

And that's when the police came.

[Roland] Demetrius got out the car drenched in blood

from his neck to his shoulder.

♪ ♪

[Lucille] It was shocking, you know?

If any of your children are harmed,

you know that- that's a nightmare.

I always turned to my faith every time a hospital

or someone call me and said my child was harmed.

I would immediately turn to my faith and ask God,

"Please, you know,

take- take care of my child and don't take him."

[somber music plays]

[Nicole] There was pain, and we shed tears,

a lot of tears.

But again, our faith, being Christians,

we prayed a lot, and um...

we endured, and we got through it.

We got through it.

[Lucille] What parent goes through

to receive that phone call,

no parent wants to go through that.

You know, that's a nightmare no parent wants to experience.

And I always told them that God forgives,

but sometimes it's hard for man to forgive.

You know?

And we could only, you know, just hold up and pray

that they would be granted a second chance,

that they can go down the straight road--

straight and narrow,

and they can obtain

and be blessed just the same.

I heard that he had got shot at- at Coney Island in the neck,

but amazingly, like, maybe a day or two later,

I see him coming down the block in a Suzuki...

with two bandages on his neck.

If it fazed him, he sure didn't show it.

And I'm like, "Man, dude, you good?"

And he's like, "Yeah, man, you know, I'm good."

[Roland] Police wanted Demetrius

to come to the police station, press changes.

Demetrius told them,

"Man, I ain't pressing no motherfucking charges

against him, man."

Demetrius like, "I don't give a fuck.

He ain't do shit to me."

You know, and they like,

"All right, when your ass get killed, young motherfucker,

that's- that's on you."

[tense music plays]

[Derick] Once Meech got shot, everywhere you go,

you got to have--like, okay, if I went to the bathroom,

I had to have a weapon.

If I went to the restaurant, I got to have a weapon.

You know, if I jumped out the car,

I got to have a weapon,

because there's always, like, a price on your life.

Everybody got a machine gun or, you know, whatever.

The stress level--

I'm surprised more drug dealers don't die from heart attacks.

It- it's just...

it's stressful, man.

Even when you go on vacation,

you're not really relaxing

because you're always wondering,

"They coming to get me?"

You're worried about the police.

You're worried about stickup kids.

You're worried about haters.

You're worried about everything.

[Scott] The year that Demetrius was shot,

he saw that he was either gonna be murdered or arrested.

Demetrius saw the only way

to put an end to this was to leave town.

You know, kitchen got too hot, so he bolted.

Demetrius was worried about the mama and daddy and sister

because, you know, Layton wasn't gonna stop.

[Nicole] At times, it was very scary,

especially when Demetrius got shot.

You know, he was like, "Hide."

They always assumed that a person would know

where we lived.

So it was just like,

hide away for a moment

until the storm is over.

I- I don't believe this rumor or- or whatever they say--

he left Detroit running from Layton.

That's bullshit. Meech ain't ran from nobody.

He wasn't no gangster, but he wasn't no bitch.

♪ ♪

1989 was the last time Demetrius lived full-time

in the city of Detroit.

♪ ♪

Terry, on the other hand, stayed behind,

and he was one of the biggest wholesalers

in Detroit,

preparing with Meech to take the next step together

as drug bosses.

♪ ♪

[Roland] They threw a big party,

a going-away party.

You know, they had pounds of weed you could smoke,

liquor, champagne.

They just set it out for everybody.

[Derick] And that was the last time I seen him,

and we sat there for two hours

and had the best time of our life.

So I love you, Big Meech.

[ominous music plays]

[Roland] He told me to do him a favor

and look after his mama.

You know, and that's a honor

for somebody to tell you to look after they mama,

'cause they trust you, you know?

And I was like, I told him, "I'ma do that anyway."

You know, that's my mama, too, so...

[Lucille] Family means a lot, lot to me, you know?

It's hard to just explain.

It's hard to explain.

It was sad to see him leave Detroit,

but, I mean, what could I say to my child?

Demetrius was more ambitious.

[somber music plays]

[Scott] The Flenory brothers had made money

and were living

bigger and better than they were

before they entered the drug game,

but now they were on the radar of law enforcement.

[tense music plays]

[Rick] The first time I heard about Meech and Terry,

I think I was in federal prison,

and their names started ringing.

"Meech and Terry, Meech and Terry, 50 Boyz."

When your name starts ringing like that

on a federal prison system telephone line,

people take those phone calls, and they give them to DEA,

or they give them to a prosecutor.

♪ ♪

[Scott] Everybody had heard about Jack Harvey.

He's this legend, this hero...

a badass federal agent.

If somebody came to me and said,

"Hey, Jack Harvey is investigating you,"

I'd have shot myself.

♪ ♪

He's never going to let you go.

You don't fuck with Jack Harvey.

♪ ♪