Grove Street Families

The Grove Street Families (a.k.a Families or GSF) are the oldest street gang in Los Santos, San Andreas, the native gang of Carl Johnson.

As far as street gangs in GTA San Andreas go, the GSF are depicted as more honorable than their rival gangs. Coming from a background of older traditions, they are against hard drugs being sold on their turf. They are well-known, however, for commiting numerous other crimes and violent acts.

Description
The Grove Street Families are headed by Sean "Sweet" Johnson and his previous lieutenants, Lance "Ryder" Wilson and Melvin "Big Smoke" Harris. While Sweet is adamantly anti-narcotic, Smoke believes that the GSF have fallen from power because of his refusal to sell drugs. Their unwillingness to enter the drug trade has dragged the Grove Street Families out of prominence in the years leading up to the game's storyline. The fact that Sweet insits the gang shouldn't deal in narcotics, the deaths of OGs such as Tony (GSF), Big Devil, and Little Devil, and the abandonment of Big Bear, B-Dup, the Temple Drive Familes, and the Seville Boulevard Familes has led to the sorry state of the GSF upon CJ's return from Liberty City in 1992.

There are at least two other distinct sets of the Families: the Temple Drive Families and the Seville Boulevard Families, both of which were originally one with the Grove Street Families, but split up from the GSF during the five years of Carl's absence. Earlier in the game, they are not on good terms with each other, which is why the gang has weakened. Carl will occasionally make reference to Orange Grove Families; gang graffiti tags with the initials "OGF" also exist in the game. This was the gang's original name, though Rockstar changed the name before the release of San Andreas. Some references to this remain in the game, including graffiti that can be seen around Los Santos, tattoos that CJ can get with the name Orange Grove Families, and phrases that CJ will shout out while fighting other people.

The rivalry between the sets mainly has to do with Grove Street's opposition to drug dealing; but later in the game, the Families are once more united in one gang. Grove Street member Carl Johnson is involved in a brief conflict with the Seville Boulevard Families, who try to pin Sweet while he was visiting his girlfriend in Seville. Following this incident, Carl and Sweet Johnson call for an end to "green on green" conflicts.

While Carl's return does help revive the GSF to a certain extent, Ryder and Smoke's betrayal of the gang, coupled with an ambush on Sweet and other high-ranking members by the rival Ballas gang and the police, much of the gang's influence in the city is destroyed. Consequently, the Ballas and Los Santos Vagos seize all of GSF's turf in Los Santos. Sweet is imprisoned, and Carl is forced to continue working for C.R.A.S.H., consisting of a corrupt group of police officers. However, Sweet's release from prison, courtesy of Mike Toreno, allows the gang to rise again (now co-headed by Carl and Sweet Johnson) and regain most of their lost turf from the Ballas and Los Santos Vagos. Depending on the player's actions, it is possible to take some or all of the Ballas' and Vagos' turf for the GSF. If the player successfully takes over the entire turf in Los Santos, then their turfs will no longer come under attack.

Other Info
GSF members listen to Radio Los Santos and are always dressed in green clothing, usually consisting of basketball jerseys, green bandanas, green hats, sweatshirts or plaid button-up shirts.

Trivia

 * The Grove Street Families are based on the real-life Crip gang.