May 04, 2006 @ 3:23 pm

Black Mafia Family - Mo' Money, Mo' Problems

Ethan Brown

Just after 9 p.m. on a hot and muggy night in late July 2005, a pair of chartered tour buses pulled up to Vision Nightclub & Lounge on Atlanta’s Peachtree Street for a party celebrating the release of Young Jeezy’s major label solo debut, Let’s Get It: Thug Motivation 101. Yet when the bus doors opened, it was not Jeezy who emerged but members of the storied ATL street crew Black Mafia Family (BMF).

Dressed in head-to-toe black, the hundreds-strong posse strode toward the megaclub in almost choreographed unison. “They moved like one mass, one organism,” remembers one of the party promoters. “I had never seen anything like that.” The club had expected BMF in force—they were even comped on the guest list as “+100”—but it was not prepared for an army. Panicked promoters hustled BMF through a special side entrance, VIP treatment that even Jay-Z, Ludacris, Fabolous, and Slim Thug did not receive.

Once inside, BMF awed partiers by tossing fistfuls of cash as they awaited Jeezy, who, though not officially a crew member, was considered “family.” And by the time he arrived, just after 1:30 a.m., the crowd was stoked and ready to receive him as A-town royalty. Jeezy took the stage surrounded by BMF members and employees of his Corporate Thugz Entertainment label and tore through songs like “And Then What” and “Go Crazy” with such swagger that the success of Let’s Get It seemed all but assured. Indeed, the 25-year-old rapper would move an impressive 172,000 copies of the album in its first week.

For BMF, such displays of extravagance were nothing new. Everything the group did fulfilled a fantasy of hip hop excess to the point of parody. Though BMF had established itself in Atlanta only four years earlier, it was only the latest beachhead of what the feds have called one of the most extensive illegal drug networks in America—riches that BMF’s leader, Demetrius “Meech” Flenory, 37, was only too happy to lavish on his crew.

Whenever BMF arrived at a nightclub, Meech paid everyone’s cov- er and insisted that each member have a bottle of champagne. With the group often numbering in the dozens, this sometimes meant buying out a club’s entire stock of Cristal. When the revelry pushed past dawn, Meech would invite everyone back to the presidential suite at the Swissôtel (now the Westin Buckhead Atlanta), where he would order room service for everyone, washed down with more Cris. His free-spending ways swelled the crew’s membership. “You’ve got guys coming from St. Louis, Detroit, Los Angeles, Georgia, Brooklyn, the Bronx,” said one former BMF member, who rolled with the crew in Atlanta from 2002 to 2003 and requested anonymity. “Any movement like this is gonna draw people.”

Young Jeezy was a key to their future plans. Though the rapper signed with Def Jam, his solo career would have stalled without the help of BMF’s over-the-top promotion. In 2004, Jeezy scored a deal ith Diddy’s Bad Boy label as a member of Boyz N Da Hood but struggled to get noticed in Atlanta’s mixtape scene. His independently released CD, Come Shop Wit Me, had sold a respectable 50,000 copies.

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Article tags: Black Mafia Family, Bmf, Yung Jeezy, Mo' Money, Mo' Problems

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Comments

Presidgang says:

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People are people but the bottom line is we are black people we gotta work much much harder for out shit and yeah I feel what meech was doing in a way was wrong but we can't just blame meech this shit was much bigger than just meech, white people be doing the same shit so it ain't just us I in a way agree we have a little more oppourtunity then we did in the 80's but the drugs is still out their and ain't going no where shoot for the stars my people don't be a slave to society f**k a 9 to 5 get it da way meech did but legal peace and luv.

August 13, 2008 at 12:53 am

hans says:

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I agree with Ace. By the way why so much hate spewed against whites? People are people. From the outside looking in, seemingly too many young blacks glorify wanna be gangstas, thugs, drug dealers, criminals, rappers, ballers and the like and not the hard working black people all over this country. Like the men and women who work two and three jobs just to put food on the table, that is character and the qualities that all people should aspire to have, not slangin' and killin'. Selling dope is easy, so is shooting someone over some nonsense. All people need to earn things the right way, nothing in life comes easy, and the things that do will fade away quickly when behind bars or six feet under (Just ask the late great Sean Taylor's family, I am not implying he was leading a sordid lifestyle, because according to those closest to him he was becoming a man and maturing as a person prior to his life being unnecessarily shortened, but he is now gone).

Anyway, someone respond so we can have an intelligent discourse, not some nonsensical conversation about "palefaced motha f**kas."

November 27, 2007 at 2:32 pm

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November 14, 2007 at 9:50 am

young buddah says:

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BMF free big meech a fucc all white moutha fuccas i aint got no luv 4 pale face succ my dikk bkitches blaccs will for eva rule c's^ cause white bkitches is blobksters $outhside G.D.

November 14, 2007 at 8:12 am

ace says:

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BMF sucks beacuse they did not help they just hurt..............

November 10, 2007 at 4:40 pm

michael Bowie says:

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Got mad respect for yall. im michael bowie III, i was born and live in frederick,MD . nothing really else to say but would really like to meet you all.

November 8, 2007 at 9:43 am

jay says:

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why do crackers lookup shit on rappers then leave comments, how bout we go back in history and reverse the cruelty lets start hangin sum palefaces..

October 19, 2007 at 12:26 am

bill says:

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YALL IS SOME b**ch ASS NIGGAS f**k THE BLACK MAFIA FAMILY...IM GONNA ROLE ON YALL FOOLS ANYWAY SHITT f**kIN PUSSY ASS JEEZY OR ANY OTHER OF THOSE RAPPERS CANT EVEN RAP..1 BLOOD b**ch ASS ni***rS (WHITE POWER)

October 16, 2007 at 7:24 am

young buddah says:

Member Name

Man i down wit the black mafia family im a southside g.d reppin dat bessemer alabama i been wit bmf sice i was 15 ya dig im bmf bg on da rise free big meech

October 8, 2007 at 7:55 am

10.

amber says:

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hey wat it do!!!

September 13, 2007 at 12:53 pm

11.

b_mike says:

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keep shit movin like ya"ll do get money thats whats up G's &Loc's

September 7, 2007 at 6:01 pm

12.

cortez says:

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6 up cuz im out

August 17, 2007 at 10:53 am

13.

Luxury-Luxurie says:

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BMF is in the building !!!
Showing love back at home in Detroit to Meech and T. Much LOVE we miss ya and good Luck on the other cases
Shout out to the other members who got indicted and still holdin it down. Always remember DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR SITCHES!!!!!!!!

July 23, 2007 at 7:29 pm

14.

*Babi D* says:

Member Name

Dwayne.....It's Yo Gurl *Babi D*
Tell Blacc I said (WAZ UP)
I Love Yall!
~HOLLA~
*Babi D*
***Black Mafia***
PEACE

June 20, 2007 at 2:54 pm

15.

*Babi D* says:

Member Name

Waz up?
you Kno who it iz....*Babi D*
Juz thought i would HOLLA & give a shout out 2 ma man Dwayne Redd!!!
Love Ya....*Babi D*

June 20, 2007 at 2:48 pm

16.

52 Hoova says:

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Jeezy da bezt cuzz... 6' z up

June 15, 2007 at 6:42 am

17.

Desi says:

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How many years was Meech sentence?

June 10, 2007 at 6:06 pm

18.

young bmf says:

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what up yall my cousin is in bmf i can get any information about big meech yall want

May 3, 2007 at 9:02 am

19.

T says:

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THIS RETARTED CAR STUFF IS ONLY SO THAT YOU CAN WASTE MORE MONEY HOW SLOW IS THE BLACK COMMUNITY

May 2, 2007 at 11:30 am

20.

T says:

Member Name

WHAT IS THE SENSE OF THIS YOUR ONLY ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO BE MORE VIOLENT BECAUSE YOUR GETTING ALOT OF MONEY THE ONLY THING THAT ANY ONE CAN THANK YOU FOR IS MAKING OUR WORLD WHICH THE WHITE MAN DONT GIVE TO SENSE ABOUT MORE PROBLEMS AND FOR ALL THOSE THAT COMMENT ON THIS AND THINK THAT ITS OKAY Y DONT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS WHITE PEOPLE ARE GETTING MORE JOBS AND LIVING LARGE NOT WORRIED WETHER YOULL SURVIVE THE NEXT DAY YOUR VOTE DONT COUNT IN THIS b**ch AND IF IT DID IT WOULD ONLY COUNT AS THREE FIFTHS BECAUSE THEY DONT CHANGE THINGS THAT THERE FATHERS HAVE MADE AND YOU BEST BELIEVE THEY ARE MORE HAPPY THAT YOU ARE KILLING YOURSELVES EVERYDAY AND NOT HAVING A CHANCE TO PRODUCE ANY CHILDREN THEY ARE CANCELLING YOU OUT RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE RETARTS!!!!!!THE KKK DONT NEED TO DO ANYTHING TO USE NO MORE THERE JUST GONNA SICK BACK AND LET US MAKE FOOLS OUT OF OUR SELVES AND REMEBER WHERE ONLY THREE FIFTHS OF A MAN SO THE MORE YOU KILL US THE MORE OUR WONDERFUL GROUP OF PEOPLE DIE EVERYDAY WHY DONT YOU GUYS LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE THIS IS ONLY ENCOURAGING US TO ROB AND STEAL FROM EACH OTHER DAMN WHY BLACKS CANT EVA SEND OFF A POSITIVE WORD

May 2, 2007 at 11:27 am

21.

MZTHANG says:

Member Name

i need meech's prison address!! lmao!!

April 11, 2007 at 2:32 pm

22.

Agustin says:

Member Name

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April 3, 2007 at 8:56 am

23.

ciao bemeyi says:

Member Name

ciao mean sons,let make dis fings,u know the more fings the more enjoyment 4 our mean sons and men.ciaoooooooooooo all ciaoooooooooo

March 24, 2007 at 10:49 am

24.

ciao bemeyi says:

Member Name

black cosa nostra,i greet all the ciao sons.i love cosa nostra.
am in castertra mob in nigeria.any ciao in abroad or in nigeria can all me on +8037971590 or 08037971590.
M 4 life.

March 24, 2007 at 10:29 am

25.

ciao bemeyi says:

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hey all ciaoooooooooo,am ciao (uncle) bemeyi,i greet all ciaos in nigeria an abroad.

March 24, 2007 at 10:20 am

26.

ciao bemeyi says:

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hey all ciaoooooooooo,am ciao (uncle) bemeyi,i greet all ciaos in nigeria an abroad.

March 24, 2007 at 10:19 am

27.

ms.lashae says:

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alot of dese yung dudes n memphis look up 2 dem dudes. but i aint hatin let dem get they $$money$$

March 23, 2007 at 1:16 pm

28.

CG says:

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shout out to the mafia. CRIP game

March 23, 2007 at 9:43 am

29.

Bloody Money says:

Member Name

Black Mafia Family, you got to be kidding me, a bunch of black ni***rs with no future, ballin

March 21, 2007 at 8:38 pm

30.

chris redman says:

Member Name

what's da point of writing an article on this?? Dry snitching?? Let niggaz get they money

March 18, 2007 at 5:58 pm

31.

CoV says:

Member Name

Yo,any niggas dat really got the B.M.F
connects then get at me man,
Kane_nt@hotmail.com
all bout business

March 16, 2007 at 7:03 am

32.

SEXY BLACK says:

Member Name

BMF THE SHIT DOG MY COUSIN SHAY IN THAT SHIT DOG ,MY FUTURE BOO LANCE A YOUNG BMF

February 23, 2007 at 10:42 pm

33.

serena nisha sattar says:

Member Name

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January 31, 2007 at 3:49 pm

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