The PDC (Pray Days Change, Public Demand Cartel, or Poverty Driven Children, formerly Peel Dem Crew or Pussy Drugs Cash) was a street gang based in

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, mainly the Angell Town Estate. During the 1990s, they were the largest and most prominent gang in the SW9 postcode. Members were known to be involved in the drugs trade, robberies, shootings, stabbings and general violence. The gang associated with the colours red and purple. Following Ja-Ja's release from prison, he encouraged members of the gang to do more positive things with their lives and reformed PDC as a music collective and label. They released an album, Pray Days Change, and several music videos.Kemp, Ross; ''Gangs''; Penguin UK, 2008 A faction of the PDC meanwhile broke off and converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

in search of an identity while still continuing to engage in crime. This group, known as the 'Muslim Boys', caused something of a stir in the media for their lurid mix of

gangsterism A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

and religion and were said to engage in forced conversions at gunpoint.Heale, John; ''One Blood: Inside Britain's Gang Culture''; Simon & Schuster, 2011

History

The prominent gang in the area during the 1980s was called the 28s. Inspired by the 28s, local youths Elijah Kerr, now known as

Jaja Soze Elijah Kerr (born 16 February 1980), known professionally as Jaja Soze, is a British rapper and entrepreneur. Well known for his key role as one of the founders of the biggest U.K street movement and music group PDC (gang), PDC, Jaja released ...

, Nathan Cross (Inch), Michael Deans (Birdie), and Simon Maitland (Phat Si) all grew up around Angell Town Estate in Brixton, South London. Together they formed their own gang as a successor to the 28s called the Young 28s, although they had no actual affiliation with the 28s gang. The gang originally focused primarily on business robberies and drug dealing. In 1995, another local youth known as Tanna came up with the name "PDC", meaning "Peel Dem Crew" or "Pil Dem Crew". "Peel Dem" was Jamaican street slang for robbing or ripping people off. The PDC continued Brixtons longtime rivalry with neighbouring Peckham by committing robberies in the area, causing conflict with local gang

Peckham Boys The Peckham Boys, also referred to as Black Gang (due to its association with the colour black), is a multi-generational gang based in Peckham, South London. The gang is particularly prominent for its members prolific activity in music. Gigg ...

. The gang became known for "steaming", the act of rushing into banks, stores, or trains and taking money from the till, passengers, or anything they could grab. The gang grew through the 1990s and began to control much of

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

dealing in South London. The gang grew to cover not only Brixton, but

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

and parts of

Stockwell Stockwell is a district in south west London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. It is situated south of Charing Cross. Battersea, Brixton, Clapham, South Lambeth, Oval and Kennington all border Stockwell. History The na ...

. The gang generated conflicts with local Jamaican-led gangs in the areas. Jaja Soze, the boss of PDC, ironically referred to himself as the 'boss of bosses' as a nod to the mafia title. In 2002, the police began an undercover surveillance operation that would lead to the imprisonment of various PDC leaders and gang members, including Kojo Cole (caught buying drugs) and his younger brothers Byron (also known as Ribz), who was sentenced to 21 months detention in YOI, and Errol (also known as Skippy), who was sentenced to custody. Three of the original founders of the gang, Nathan Cross, Simon Maitland, and Jaja Soze, were also arrested for supply related offences and all were sentenced to over three years in jail.

Splintering of the gang

By the early 2000s, imprisonment of many PDC leaders led to the gang splintering. Various independent gangs emerged from this splintering, such as the Muslim Boys (as nicknamed by the police and press) and Y28s (not to be confused with Y28s that preceded PDC, which was a different group), the latter of which was formed by former members of the PDC Brats, a subset for younger members. The Y28s would later join up with Tiny OC to form

GAS Gang GAS Gang, also known more simply as GG or GAS, was a British street gang based in Brixton, South London that formed sometime in the late 2000s. The name carries various different meanings, such as Guns And Shanks, Gangsters Always Shoot, Grip A ...

. The Muslim Boys were named as such not by the gang members, but the police and press alike. Police would encounter youth who would claim to be muslim in order to gain preferential treatment (although some members had indeed converted to

). The gang themselves later adopted the name. Some members of the Muslim Boys began to present themselves as

Islamists Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is c ...

and claim links to

Al Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military targets in various countr ...

in order to gain street cred. This group caused a stir in the media for their mix of

and religion and were said to engage in forced conversions at gunpoint, although the substance to these claims of forced conversions and of their threat level has been called into question. Nonetheless, following the claims, the Mayor of London's senior advisor on policing, Lee Jaspar, described the Muslim Boys as a terrorist front "as tough to crack as the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

". On New Years Eve in December 2004, PDC affiliate Solomon Martin (also known as Blacker) was shot dead in

Thornton Heath Thornton Heath is a district of Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is around north of the town of Croydon, and south of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, Thornton Heath was in the Co ...

. Members of PDC that were affiliated with Blacker would dissociate from PDC and form their own gang known as CFR (Certified Riderz or Corelone Family Riderz). Other former members of PDC would form PIF (Paid In Full), and Tanna, who came up with the name "PDC", went and formed the 031 Bloods.

Rebranding as legitimate business

During his imprisonment, Jaja Soze renounced gang life and, around 2005, rebranded the gang into a group called "Poverty Driven Children". In prison, he qualified in business studies. Following Jaja's release from prison, he encouraged members of the gang to do more positive things with their lives and started up a music label instead, called "PDC (Public Demand Cartel) Entertainments", led by Jaja and former gang members Najar Kerr (also known as Naja Soze), Byron Cole, Nathan Cross (Inch), Sykes, Errol Cole, Michael Deans (Birdie), and Simon Maitland (Phat Si). They released an album, ''Pray Days Change'', and several music videos. PDC also formed a clothing line called "Public Demand Cartel", a barbershop called "Pristine Designer Cuts", and a youth engagement project called "Code 7". In 2007, the

Lambeth Council Lambeth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Lambeth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, and one of the 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. The council meets at Lambeth Town Hall ...

falsely claimed that PDC was the boroughs largest gang with 2,500 members. PDC Entertainment at the time had 2,500 fans on one of its MySpace pages. Jaja Soze repeatedly stated in interviews that the gang no longer existed. In 2009,

Danny Dyer Danial John Dyer (born 24 July 1977) is an English actor and presenter. Dyer's breakthrough role was as Moff in ''Human Traffic'', with other notable roles as Mick Carter in EastEnders, Billy the Limpet in '' Mean Machine'' and as Tommy Johns ...

covered the PDC in his documentary series '' Danny Dyer's Deadliest Men''.

Music

Members of PDC started making music in the mid-1990s, releasing popular mixtapes and music videos,

PDC rap group

During his imprisonment,

renounced gang life and, around 2005, rebranded the gang into a group called "Poverty Driven Children". In prison, he qualified in business studies. Following Jaja's release from prison, he encouraged members of the gang to do more positive things with their lives and started up a music label instead, called "PDC (Public Demand Cartel) Entertainments", led by Jaja and former gang members Najar Kerr (also known as Naja Soze), Byron Cole, Nathan Cross (Inch), Sykes, Errol Cole, Michael Deans (Birdie), and Simon Maitland (Phat Si). They released an album, ''Pray Days Change'', and several music videos. PDC also formed a clothing line called "Public Demand Cartel", a barbershop called "Pristine Designer Cuts", and a youth engagement project called "Code 7". Ty Nizzy, a member of the rap group, is the father of

Loski Jyrelle Justin O'Connor (born May 6, 1999), known professionally as Loski (formerly Lil' Nizzy), is a British rapper and singer from Kennington, London. He is part of the Kennington-based UK drill group Harlem Spartans. Beginning his career in ...

, a member of the

Harlem Spartans Harlem Spartans, often abbreviated to HS, also known as Harlem O or simply Harlem, is a British hip hop collective based in Kennington, London. Members of Harlem Spartans have acquired over 100 million streams through their music. The name, "Ha ...

References

{{Authority control Former gangs in London London street gangs Brixton