Unlike GTA Vice City, which is heavily based on multiple iconic movies, GTA San Andreas has numerous references to real-life events that took place in 90s Los Angeles. At the time, Los Angeles was hit by the crack epidemic, where a lot of its population got addicted to cocaine.

Given the spike of the demands, major gangs were competing to take over the market. This competition wasn’t a healthy one. Considering the nature of this particular business, many gang members were killed in the process.

But that’s not all, corrupt members of the police like Officer Tenpenny were rampant in Los Angeles. Even National Geographic and History Channel have made documentaries regarding the dark history of the Los Angeles police force. On this occasion, I’d like to point out several events in GTA San Andreas that are based on real life.

1. Ballas

In GTA San Andreas, Ballas is an adaptation of the Crips, one of the most notorious gangs in California. This gang is synonymous with purple clothing.

Aside from that, the Crip also has a subset called the Grape Street Crips, which sounds a lot like Grove Street.

2. Grove Street Families

The Grove Street Families is an adaptation of another gang called the Bloods, whose members affiliate with the color red. However, the Bloods also has two subsets: the Lime Hood Piru and Tree Top Piru, which members wear green.

The two subsets have control over Compton, California. In this area, you can also find several streets that share some resemblances with Grove Street in GTA San Andreas. The Bloods also has fewer members compared to the Crips. This is similar to the beginning of the storyline in GTA San Andreas, where Ballas has more members than the Grove Street Families.

3. Gang Territories

The picture above is a comparison between the gang territories in real-life and GTA San Andreas. As you can see, Bloods/Grove Street has control over the southeast region of the map, surrounded by Crips/Ballas. To the southwest, we can also see patches of territories that Bloods/Grove Street has control over.

Given that some things tend to be reversed in GTA San Andreas by Rockstar, including the names and/or colors. Bloods is more similar to Ballas, yet in terms of territories, the Grove Street Families is a much more suitable gang to represent Bloods. Whereas the Grape Street Crips is a subset of Crips/Ballas, and not Bloods/Grove Street.

4. A Rivalry Between Two Rappers

GTA San Andreas also tells the story of a rivalry between two rappers, Madd Dogg and OG Loc. This rivalry eventually led to Alan Crawford, Madd Dogg’s manager, getting killed.

Many believe that this rivalry is loosely based on the rivalry between the two legendary rap artists, 2pac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G.

5. C.R.A.S.H.

With the gang rivalry getting out of control, the Los Angeles police eventually formed a special unit to tackle the issue. The unit is called C.R.A.S.H. (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums), and GTA San Andreas also has the same unit with the same name.

Its most famous members are Officer Tenpenny, Officer Pulaski, and Officer Hernandez. They are notorious for being corrupt and getting involved in illegal activities with gangs.

But that’s not all, in the game, there’s also a line that Officer Tenpenny delivers, which is also a motto for C.R.A.S.H. in real life:

“We intimidate those who intimidate others.”

6. Officer Tenpenny & Rafael Perez

Rafael Perez is a former member of C.R.A.S.H. who was arrested for stealing 2.7kg of c****ne from LAPD evidence lockers. During the interrogation, Rafael Perez revealed the criminal acts that he’s done alongside other members of C.R.A.S.H.

In total, there are more than 200 cases that these corrupt officers manipulated. This means hundreds of people were wrongly convicted for the crimes that these officers have done.

Perez also framed a teenager, Javier Ovando, for his crime. Just like what Officer Tenpenny did to CJ at the beginning of GTA San Andreas. But that’s not all, Rafael Perez is also accused of being a member of the Bloods, just like Tenpenny, who worked with Big Smoke and Ryder.

7. The 1992 LA Riots

In GTA San Andreas, Officer Tenpenny gets arrested for the murder of another police officer, Pendelbury. But, shortly after that, Tenpenny gets released of all charges. This eventually trigger the riots all across Los Santos, in a mission called “Riot”.

Well, in the same year that GTA San Andreas is set, there’s also a huge riot that occured in Los Angeles that lasted for a week. However, the riots started because of the oppressive action displayed by police officers in the arrest and beating of an African-American man.

Check out this article on latest GTA cheats by Dunia Games.