Vancouver and Toronto gangs expanding reach through rap and social media
B.C.'s Brothers Keepers and Toronto's Driftwood Crips are collaborating in music and crime, with operations now spanning Canada and beyond, a police expert warns.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
Canadian street gangs have broadened their reach across the country and internationally over the past six to eight years, with groups like B.C.'s Brothers Keepers and Toronto's Driftwood Crips working closely together in both the rap music business and criminal activity, according to Andrew Hammond, a sergeant with the Toronto Police Service and president of the Organization for National Gang Information and Awareness.
"The reach of these gang members now, it's national, it's international," Hammond told reporters this week.
After the Brothers Keepers formed in B.C. over a decade ago, key members including Surrey's Naseem Mohammed—who rapped under the names Certi2x and Wlatt—began connecting with Toronto rappers linked to the Driftwood Crips. Mohammed, 27, was murdered in Surrey in January while under investigation as a suspect in multiple killings across B.C. and Ontario.
Mohammed gained significant credibility in gang circles partly through his ties to rapper Pressa, whose father Mark Gardner was a Driftwood Crips member convicted of first-degree murder and now lives in B.C. Mohammed travelled with Pressa to Russia on tour in 2019 and posted extensively on Instagram—firearms, cash, luxury purchases, and violent lyrics—often while wanted by authorities.
Hammond said "bragging on social media about crimes you've committed is a thing now," but courts have struggled to use social media posts and rap lyrics as evidence. In a 2023 trial of Toronto rapper Top 5, an Ontario judge disallowed the defendant's videos and social media posts as evidence, leading the Crown to stay the charge in September 2024. Conversely, a B.C. Supreme Court judge ruled in an earlier case that incriminating rap songs by Brothers Keepers hitman Tyrel Nguyen were evidence of his role in murdering rival gangster Randy Kang; Nguyen was convicted.
While connections often begin through music, Hammond said they expand into criminal activity as gangs operate across provincial lines.