Don Diva Magazine has been the “street bible” for 15 years. During that time,  Don Diva has chronicled some of the best gangsters to ever do it – and their downfall. Unfortunately, as times have changed,  Don Diva has also chronicled some of these new “gangsters” (for lack of a better word.) One thing for sure, these are not the gangsters of yore. Things have definitely changed.

Back in the day, what made a gangster was not his money. It was not his ability to kill either, for anybody can do those things. What made a gangster a gangster, is his principles, his discipline. Things like, not snitching, not working with the police, taking care of your crew, being ironclad in your integrity.  Things like being men of character, of dignity and respect. What made a gangster a gangster, was that he was simply. . . gangster. You either were or you weren’t. Nowadays things are different.

Maybe it’s the result of hip- hop culture tricking them, or maybe because a lot of the real gangstas have gone to visit the ancestors, or have actually legitimized themselves (as all real gangsters should aspire to do.) Either way, whatever the reason,  the result is there is a new type of gangsta being pushed out here on the streets, and its time that we take note and call it out.

The ” gangsters” in the streets now are breaking all the rules to the game. They’re robbing the connnect. They’re banging their man’s wife. They’re telling on their whole team. They’re using media outlets to tell “their” story. They’re using the court system as a come-up. They’re f- ing boys. They’re getting high off their own supply. There are still a few left, but for the most part, they are not Gangsters.

Don Diva Magazine has always repped for the streets. Contrary to what some claim, we do not glamorize the street life. Contrary to what some claim, we do not slander, we do not lie, we do not attempt to defame people. All we do is gather the facts and present them.  We gather them from court documents, actual interviews of the people who were there, and most times, from the subjects themselves. In the rare instance that we may make a mistake, we have always made a correction and/or retracted the statements that were in question. Don Diva Magazine is the original Street Bible, not because we glamorize the streets, but because we detail cautionary tales about what is really going on in the street. We are the Street Bible because we spit the street gospel – the truth.  That being said, we are telling you,  there is a new type of “gangster” in the streets. Beware.