JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Seth Ferranti, author of Street Legends: Vol 1
(Gorrilla Convict Publications)
(click the pictures to see this book on Amazon.com)
Joey Pinkney: Why were you inspired to write Street Legends: Vol 1 about these famous drug dealers even though they are household names in the hood right now?
Seth Ferranti: I’ve been doing stories for Don Diva since the jump, like 2000 or so. I was doing little pieces about dudes in prison for the Behind the Wall section. In 2004 I was transferred to FCI Gilmer in West Virginia, and Kenneth “Supreme” McGriff was there. He was corresponding with Don Diva regularly about possibly doing an interview or story with them.
Through our mutual acquaintance with Don Diva, we hooked up and started hanging out. By the time he was indicted on the Murder Inc. case he had decided to let me write the piece about him for Don Diva, so I did. That was my first cover story. From there I just ran with it doing several more cover and feature stories for Don Diva and other magazines.
I was always intrigued by all that gangster stuff and the mystique surrounding these guys. As I looked around I found that a lot of these dudes’ co-defendants, homies and relatives were all around me. So it was almost like a natural progression for me. I want to do for these dudes what the writers back in the old west did for Billy the Kid and their ilk because for real these guys are heroes in a way, outlaw heroes. America has always been fascinated with its outlaw-heroes, just look at Pablo Escobar and John Gotti.
JP: How are you able to get up close and personal and secure what seems to be incriminating information about people who are well connected?
SF: I’m in prison and have been for the past 16 years. I know a lot of dudes, dudes who were down with these legends and come from the same hoods they do, the same eras. I get most of my facts, if you want to call them that, from court records and newspaper articles. But I don’t just write the mainstream media side, I go to their homies, co-defendants and partners to get the real story.
I want to portray these street legends in a human light, to look past what the government says about them and what was proved in court. I want to give an overall picture of the person and their circumstances. I cover the story from all angles and tell it from the criminal side, and I always seek to get permission or get as close to the source as possible. Like I said, I know Supreme he is a personal friend of mine and some of these other dudes I know their co-defendants or dudes that ran with them on the streets.
JP: It’s been said that Life is stranger than fiction. Will Street Legends: Vol 1 hold true to this statement?
SF: Definitely, some of the stuff in this book you will not believe. I give it to you raw and uncensored, live from behind the wall. These dudes are all real life movie stars. They are modern day Billy the Kids. F*ck Frank Lucas and American Gangster, these guys are the real O.G.’s.
JP: How long did it take you to gather and compile the information that became Street Legends: Vol 1?
SF: Not long, maybe about a year. I just reached out to dudes I know and got it all together. They either wanted to be a part of the project or not. I’m in here, so dudes know I’m not out to exploit them or twist their words I’m here to cement their legends. This is history. This is no different then all the Italian mafia stuff and Colombian cocaine cartels stuff. These dudes were real legit ballers who played for keeps. They are legends, and I am the gangster chronicler. I do it like Don Diva, Street Elements and Feds, but I go deeper and provide the whole story for readers.
JP: What’s next for Seth Ferranti?
SF: I am working on Street Legends Volume 2 and a Supreme Team book. I have a street lit book, Murder Capital that I am putting the finishing touches on also. I’m trying to build my name and my brand from the penitentiary. Order my books and check out my blog at www.gorillaconvict.com.
Thank you.
www.gorillaconvict.com
www.myspace.com/gorillaconvict
www.myspace.com/soulmanseth
www.prisoner083.com
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