munky.org|v3.0

It about floored me. Looking through the guide, I saw Gangland: Hidden Valley… I knew what it was immediately. HVK, Hidden Valley Kings. The dark reality for thousands of people living in the Hidden Valley community. I cannot claim to be expert on them. But it was a daily part of life, especially during high school. My high school was about 1 or 2 miles away from the Valley, and we did have members there. As for the community? I’ve never come closer than passing by it on Sugarcreek or playing tennis at the Sugarcreek Rec Center. I know better than to get myself shot. Yet it was a man in a motel right behind a Valley that nearly cost it for me 9 years ago. Piece of advice: Never have a dad of  friend (who you’ve never met) of a friend ride with you so you can go buy booze. Especially if they are living out of a cheap motel in the ghetto. You might end up like me, feeling a glock in your side and being told to drive into some bad spots in North Charlotte so he can collect his funds, one way or another.

For those of us here in Charlotte, we know who the Hidden Valley Kings are. We can remember the gun play at Eastland Mall back in 2005, which tipped the scales on the mall’s demise. We remember hearing the next day about the retaliation down N Tryon, with guys shooting at each other in cars. Hell, I remember my boss, Tony, told his wife to go to the Dillard’s at Eastland instead of driving all the way out to Carolina Place. She was at the mall entrance to Dillard’s when the shooting started. I also remember she waited until she drove up to our work before she reamed him a new one.

And then I kept seeing this cat Lil’ Sweet. Back when I still had a job, I kept seeing him uptown by the bus station, trying to hustle CD’s with the “Rude Boyz.” I’ve listened to some of his stuff on YouTube, not my style but at least we know what he’s rappin about. I ain’t gonna knock him for credibility.

I really did enjoy watching this episode. Not that I like my city and my old stompin grounds being smeared in blood on national tv. I’m glad to see that the gang problem here is getting the attention it deserves. We watched for years as the cops denied there was even a gang problem, even though I knew a lot people who were in gangs. If the HVK hadn’t stepped outside the Valley with reckless violence, we probably would’ve been caught sleeping with the MS-13 came into town. So at least those murders weren’t in vain.

I am also glad to hear that Hidden Valley has slowly been working itself back to being a relatively safer community than it was. You can read up on the update at the charlotteobserver.com.