The Ballas ( also known Ballers ) are a primarily African-American street gang which was founded in Davis city, San Andreas. The gang is widely known for it's rivalry with the Families. It is identified by the purple color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs.
The Ballas comprise various subgroups known as "sets", among which significant differences exist, such as colors, clothing, operations, and political ideas that may be in open conflict with each other. Since the gang's creation, it has branched throughout the United States.
History[]
The Ballas gang was formed initially to compete against the influence of the Families in Los Santos. The rivalry originated in the early 1960's when Families members attacked Daniel Owens and Benson Scott, two students at Davis High School in Davis city, Los Santos. As a result, Daniel formed the Ballers Street Boys, the first Ballas gang. Scott subsequently established the Covenant Street Boys gang. The Ballas was initially formed to provide members protection from the Families, Aztecas and Vagos. Many of the non-Fam gangs used to call one another "balla". On March 1972, shortly after a concert 20 youths belonging to the Families attacked and robbed Robert Ballou Jr. outside the Alhambra club. Ballou was beaten to death after refusing to give up his leather jacket. The sensational media coverage of the crime and the continued assaults by the Families increased their notoriety. Several non-Fam gangs formed during this period were no match for the Families and became concerned with the escalating Fam attacks. The Original Covenant Boys, Hard Stone and other gangs not aligned with the Families often clashed with them. On June 1972, three months after Ballou's murder, Cyrus "Lil Country" Garret was murdered by a Grove Street Families . This marked the first Families murder against another gang member and motivated non-Fam gangs to align with each other. The Ballers struck back on August 1972, by murdering, Thomas Ellis an original Grove Street Families member. By late 1972, the Ballers held a meeting in their neighborhood to discuss growing Fam pressure and intimidation. Several gangs that felt victimized by the Families joined the Ballers to create a new federation of non-Families neighborhoods. This alliance became the Ballas. The Ballers Street Boys are therefore considered the founders of the Ballas.
By 1978, there were 6 Ballas sets. Families still outnumbered Ballas 3 to 1. To assert their power, the Balla became increasingly violent. During the 1980s, Ballas began distributing crack cocaine in Los Santos. Balla membership soon rose dramatically as did the number of states in which they were present. These increases were primarily driven by profits from crack cocaine distribution. The huge profits allowed members to relocate to other cities and states.
Sets[]
The Ballas gang is a network of individual chapters known as "sets". These sets are often loosely connected, having their own leader(s) and operating independently from one another.
Los Santos:[]
East LS Ballas | ELSB (formerly Ballers Street Boys) (1969 - 1996) East Los Santos, Davis City (Deceased)
Original Covenant Ballas | OCB (formerly Covenant Street Boys) (1970 - present) Davis city
Ballas Chamberlain Mob | BCM (1972 - 1980) Chamberlain Hills (Deceased)
Rancho Heights Ballas | RHB (1972 - 1996): Rancho, Banning, and East Los Santos (Deceased)
Innocence Boulevard Ballas | IBB (1972 - 1983) Rancho, Davis city and Strawberry (Deceased)
Orchardville Avenue Ballas Mafia | OABM (1973 - 1985) Cypress Flats (Deceased)
73 Killa Ballas |73KB (1975 - 1996) Mirror Park (formerly), Banning (Deceased)
Magellan Avenue Ballas | MAB (1986 - 1992) Vespucci Beach (Deceased)
East Side Ballas | ESB (1996 - present) Davis
South Rancho Ballas | SRB (1996 - present) Davis and Rancho
Las Venturas:[]
W/S Rockshore Ballas | WSRB (1987 - present) West Rockshore
Chainsaw Redsands Ballas | CRB (1993 - present) East Redsands
New Peachtree:[]
8 Trey BBA Gangster Ballas | TGB (1996 - present) Palace Hill
83 Caps Ballas | 83CB (2000 - present) Sandtown Falls
81 Strawberry Family Balla Gang | SFBG (1999 - present) Hearth Heights
Liberty City:[]
United Balla Nation | UBN
- Carcers Island Ballas | CIB (1993 - present) Carcers Island
- East Liberty Ballas | ELB - (1998 - present) Middle Park East
- Strapped With 9's Ballas | S9B (2001 - present) North Bohan
NOTO Alliance:
- Insane Balla Rillazzz | IBR (also known 33 Gangster Ballas) (2005 - present) Beechwood City (also in UBN)
KOO Alliance:
- 83 Cap Hat Ballas | 83CAP (2006 - present) Firefly Projects (also in UBN)
Upstate Liberty[]
Upstate Killa Ballas | UKB (1999 - present)Upstate (also in UBN)
Alderney State[]
Original Alderney Ballas | OAB (1999 - present) Freeport city (also in UBN)
73 Gangster Ballas |73GB (2000-present) Acter city (also in UBN)
London:[]
Money Made Ballas | MMB (1999-present) Beckham
410 Ballaset | 410B (2004-present) New Carlton
CrapTown Ballas | CTB (2006-present) East London
Influence[]
The Ballas in the HD Universe are based on the Bloods.
Los Santos (Los Angeles)
East LS Ballas
Original Covenant Ballas: Based on Tree Top Piru Bloods in Compton(which Davis is based on) sense they own Grove Street which is based on Spruce Street which the Tree Top Piru Bloods own.
Ballas Chamberlain Mob: Based on Front Yard Ballas in GTA: San Andreas
Rancho Heights Ballas: Based on the Rollin' Heights Ballas in GTA: San Andreas
73 Killa Ballas: Based on the Kilo Tray Ballas in GTA: San Andreas
Magellan Avenue Ballas: Based on the Temple Drive Ballas in GTA: San Andreas
East Side Ballas: Based on East Side Mob Piru due to name and similar clothing
South Rancho Ballas: Based on the Avenue Piru Gang in Inglewood.
Rancho Heights Ballas Based on the Rollin' Heights Ballas in GTA: San Andreas
Las Venturas (Las Vegas)
W/S Rockshore Ballas: Based on W/S 602 Berkeley Square Piru
Chainsaw Redsands Ballas: Based on W/S 1304 West Coast Bloods
8 Trey BBA Gangster Ballas: Based on the 9 Trey BBA Gangster Bloods in Atlanta, GA
83 Caps: Based on the 5'9 Caps in Atlanta, GA
81 Strawberry Family Balla Gang: Based on the 92 Inglewood Family Blood Gang in Atlanta, GA
Character Influence[]
Los Santos:
Some rappers and affiliates in the Balla gang are loosely based on Chicago rappers and gang members.
Big Bird is loosely based on King Lil Jay. This is due to his age being only about a year younger than Lil Jay and his ongoing rivalry with families rapper LS Devil, who is loosely based on Chief Keef. This rivalry is based on the ongoing rivalry of Chief Keef and Lil Jay.
Shoota is loosely based on L'A Capone. This is due to similarities in age (although Shoota is almost a year older that LA) and them both carrying their gang sets (600 and SRB). They both died at 17 years old and were well respected members of their sets. RIP LA.
T.A. is based on K.I. (Gakirah Barnes). This is due to them both dying at a young age (although T.A. is a bit older), and them both being notorious female gangsters in their city. RIP K.I.
Terms/Slang and Signs[]
FK: Family Killer
VK: Vago Killer
AK: Azteca Killer
OG: A well-respected original gangster
Homie/ Home Boy/ Home Girl: Greeting
L's: Formed by keeping the thumb, index, and pinky fingers down and keeping the middle and ring fingers up resembling two l's. The L's stand for love and loyalty and are used by all ballas.
FamilyK: Formed by sticking out the thumb and index finger and leaving the middle finger straight behind them to create an "F", them spreading the other two out behind it to kind of make an "F" with a "K" behind it. This is used by any Ballas beefing with any Families.
Dropping V: Formed by making a V with the index and middle fingers and flipping it upside down. This is used by any Ballas beefing with any Vagos.
Dropping A: Formed by making a v with the index and middle fingers then crossing the thumb through to create an A. They then proceed to flip it upside down. This is used by any Ballas beefing with any Aztecaz.