It’s hard to say whether rap music influences gang members, or the gang lifestyle produces rappers. These days gang members are more into flaunting the crimes they have been convicted of, rather than ‘making out of the streets’. It’s a different world than the ’90’s and early 2000’s. When Grolls ‘OGC’ Septus committed his crime last year in May, he had already dug into the rapper lifestyle. But he most likely wasn’t thinking of his future as a rapper.
Grolls Septus, nicknamed ‘OGC’ on the streets of Montreal, short for ‘Original Guns Clapper’ is a member of the ‘Pop Team’ of the vicious street gang Zone 43. In order to be part of the Pop Team, you need to have a reputation as a ruthless gangster, ready to fire shots at any time, similar to the Hells Angels ‘Football Team’. Zone 43 is a street gang with alliance to the color ‘red’, in other words Canadian Bloods, that are located and rep the territory of Montreal-Nord, a borough to the North End of Montreal, well known for gang violence.
Septus had other hobbies than just gangbanging, his other hobby being rapping. Launching a career in 2020 and being dubbed ‘Bloodshot’ as his rapper name. He released a few singles before dropping his album titled ‘Northside Baby’. One of his singles include ‘Free White Ghost’ featuring Icey Da Zoe and LilBentley. White Ghost is another Zone 43 gang member that had been incarcerated, a white member and also rapper.
Zone 43 has been in an altercation with a rival gang named ‘Profit Kollectaz’, better known as The Profit Boyz hailing from the Riviere-des-Prairies borough of Montreal, another poverty stricken part of the island. The altercation has been going on since the mid-2010’s.
There are numerous cliques that lie in Montreal, which seem to be at war with each other, not only the Profit Boyz and Zone 43, but also ’47 Gang’ from the Saint-Michel borough, ‘146’ from the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough on the east end, and the ‘G Baby Gang’ which was formed after the death of a close friend. Supplementary to those, there is the ‘STL’ gang, from Saint-Leonard borough which has been in the news recently and the Anjou Gang. These street gangs seem to be separate from the Montreal Mafia and the Motorcycle Clubs, but are slowly intertwining.
Back to the subject at hear, Grolls ‘OGC’ Septus had seen his day in court, with judge Flavia Longo sentencing the man to 5 years in prison in relation to an incident which took place on the 29th of July in 2020. Septus was apprehended after a series of crimes committed in which one was an attempted murder.
Septus, 23 at the time had been targeted by Montreal’s Tactical Intervention Group (GTI) that day in July. Septus was seen in a BMW parked on Rue Amos in Montreal-Nord that afternoon. A GTI vehicle had parked next to his BMW in which police officers had gotten out of the vehicle and tried to intercept him, hitting his windshield with a rubber bullet. Septus backed his BMW, and pressed on the gas leading way to an intense police chase. The GTI vehicle had not taken chase.
Septus had thrown a Gucci bag out the window, which held a pistol, that landed at the house nearby and the BMW then went on a nearby highway. An air conditioner repairman had picked the bag containing the firearm and decided to call the authorities. This is when Septus decided to record four separate Snapchat videos of his getaway. Septus ditched the BMW, gotten into the passenger side of another vehicle and made his way towards to Ontario border on highway 20 West, which is when police apprehended him in a different vehicle. Aimed at gunpoint, Septus had to be dragged out of the vehicle.
Today, Septus only has 19 months left to do his bid in prison, following his release he still has 3 years of probation to go through. This was not his first rodeo as he was previously charged with possession of a prohibited firearm and drug trafficking in the past.
Recently, the Montreal-Nord street gang had seemed to be extending their hand in British Columbia, mainly in Vancouver, at the heart of the action on the East Hastings strip, dealing drugs. Gunshots were heard on East Hastings near the intersection of Columbia Street on June 7th of 2023. One victim in relation to the shooting was transported to the hospital while the second had made his way, on his own terms.
BC authorities later revealed that 8 suspects had been arrested in relation to this shooting. They also revealed that Zone 43 was in cahoots with the almighty Wolfpack Alliance, possibly the biggest criminal alliance Canada has seen as of yet.
