What Fitted Hats Have Gang Affiliations?
Certain hats, colorways and how you wear a hat may get you unwanted attention when you step into certain neighborhoods or areas. It's not just fitted hats, but also snapbacks. I have had first-hand experience with this on two separate occasions while visiting Los Angeles, California, which is notorious for gang-related activities. If you are visiting L.A., you definitely need to be color-conscious. These hats are not gang-related in themselves, but gang members adopt certain hats as their own.
Story 1 : East Coast vs West Coast
As a New Yorker, I usually wear a New York Yankees or Brooklyn Nets cap. One summer, I was visiting Los Angeles, California, wearing my New York Yankees outfit. From the moment I arrived at LAX, I felt tension. I rode the subway in L.A. around the North Hollywood area and received dirty looks from people my own age/background who noticed my cap and shirt, which represented the New York Yankees. I brushed it off. On a separate day, a guy walking past me noticed my Yankee cap and gave me a side-eye. When I looked back at him, he stopped dead in his tracks and stared at me in a threatening/challenging way. But I ignored him and kept walking.
What was all of this tension about?
In street culture, there was very real tension between people of the East Coast and West Coast, specifically between New York and L.A. This tension was only amplified when it came to Hip Hop and Rap, especially with the likes of Biggie Smalls (East Coast) and Tupac Shakur (West Coast) when their drama unfolded. There's a video where DJ Kayslay (who recently died due to Covid, may he rest in peace) was rocking a New York fitted in L.A. It was supposedly a big thing.
(Peep the hats being worn in the above video. Location: Compton & Watts area primarily Bloodz territory. Some of those caps being worn are listed below eg. Phillies, Reds)
Initially, I thought it was just music industry drama, but things got weird pretty quick for me when I was wearing that Yankee hat in L.A. It may no longer be a big deal now, but it's something to be mindful of.
*Here's Something I didn't know until recently. A Yankees cap is also Neighborhood Crips in L.A. So I may have received dirty looks and pressed about my hat because people thought I was Crip.
Story 2: I was Mistaken For a Blood
This story takes place in South Los Angeles.(by the way according to Wikipedia the city changed the name "South Central" to South Los Angeles. So I really didn't know I was in South Central at the time, which is a part of L.A. that has a bad reputation). I was walking towards a grocery store down the block when two guys one large, the other smaller, on a bike wearing a Seattle Mariners fitted, approached me. After looking me up and down the guy on the bike asked if I was "banging," which I knew was code for "Are you with the Bloodz gang?" I was wearing a black New York Yankees fitted with a red heart on the front. Similar to this:
I was also wearing a red heart I ❤️ NY black t-shirt and a red watch. I told them I wasn't with Bloodz. He continued the interrogation by asking me where I was from. I told him Brooklyn, New York. Part of the reason they stopped me may have been because of my Yankees hat, but the other reason could have been because I was wearing black and red (which is considered Bloodz colors). They followed me into the store for a while and several moments later they went into a different direction. Three days later coming out of a bodega, about 5 blocks away, a group (6 individuals) of Bloodz approached me after chasing a car in the middle of the street. However, my encounter with them had nothing to do with my hat... I don't think. Later I found out the two guys that approached me was part of the Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips.(Warning: Some derogatory/racial comments are on the linked website)
These two stories are not unique. There are plenty of people that have similar stories to tell with minor variations, especially when it comes to wearing a Yankee cap in L.A. Wearing your hat backwards or sideways may also bring you unwanted attention in certain parts of Chicago. Chicago Tribune reported an incident where a young man was killed because he worn his cap tilted to the side, which has gang meaning in Chi-Town.
Fitted Hats & Their Gang Affiliation
The below list isn't an extensive list of gang affiliated hats. It is important to understand any sports team cap can become gang affiliated especially on the local level.
Baseball caps have been a popular fashion accessory for decades. Whether it's to support a favorite sports team or represent a city. Unfortunately, some of these caps have become associated with gangs in America. Certain teams' snapback and fitted hats, like the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners and Chicago White Sox, have been adopted by gangs to show their allegiance to the members and let other people know in a round about way, what group they belong to. Additionally, paisley patterned fitted hats have also been affiliated with gangs, especially the red, blue and black hats.
Pittsburgh Pirates "Piru Bloodz" & "Latin Kings"- One of the most notorious team caps associated with gang activity is the Pittsburgh Pirates' black and gold "P" logo cap. It has been adopted by the Piru Bloodz & the Latin Kings that operates in Los Angeles, New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and other U.S cities. The Piru Bloodz chosen the cap to show their affiliation because of the "P" letter and the Latin Kings because of the black & gold colorway which is the gang's color.
Boston Red Sox "Bloodz"- In some cities Bloodz affiliated members wear Boston Red Sox hats. This team has been adopted because of the "B" logo on the front, that's usually embroidered in red threads.
Cincinnati Reds "Cedar Block Piru" -The Cincinnati Reds' red and white "C" logo hat has also been adopted by gangs, primarily the Cedar Block Piru in Los Angeles which is a form of Bloodz. Cincinnati Reds' "C" logo represents the "Cedar" of the gang's name. Because the hat is red, the same color as Bloodz it's been adopted as the gangs chosen cap.
Seattle Mariners "Rollin '60s Neighborhood Crips" - As I mentioned in Story 2 one of the guys that approached me was wearing a Seattle Mariners cap. The Rollin '60s Neighborhood Crips adopted Mariners as their chosen hat because of the blue color and the "S" logo which they use to represent "Sixty" or "Sixties."
Paisley - Paisley patterned hats have also become associated with gang activity, particularly in California. The paisley pattern, which is a teardrop-shaped design, is often used in red or blue colors to indicate membership in the Bloods or Crips gangs, respectively. These hats are often worn tilted to the side, a style known as "flagging," to further indicate affiliation. In some cases, the hats may also be worn with a bandana of the same color as the paisley pattern, tied around the neck or face. Some caps have the paisley pattern embroidered onto the hat. As innocent as the design is intended to be, it is largely associated with street gangs.
