It follows four black youths growing up in Harlem, following their day-to-day activities, their struggles with police misconduct, rival neighborhood gangs, and their families.

[4] Roland Bishop, Quincy "Q" Powell, Raheem Porter, and Eric "Steel" Thurman are four teenage African-American friends growing up together in Harlem.

They regularly skip school, instead spending their days hanging out at Steel's apartment, at a neighborhood arcade, and also a record store where they steal LPs for Q's DJ interests.

Fed up with the harassment he and his friends have endured, Bishop decides that the group must go on to do bigger things in order to win respect.

One night, under Bishop's persistence, the friends decide to rob a local convenience store owned by Fernando Quiles.

However, Q is unsure of the plan, and also fears that it will affect his chances of participating in a DJ competition which he has yearned to compete in for years, although he is eventually pressured by his friends.

In the alternate ending, instead of Bishop accidentally falling to his death, he voluntarily loses grip of Q's hand after hearing approaching police sirens.

[6] Treach and Faison landed cameo roles as a rival gang member and a high school student, respectively.

[8] Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B+" grading, based on how it depicts four young characters who try to gain complete self-control over their surroundings.

Like Boyz n the Hood and Straight Out of Brooklyn, it asks: When every aspect of your environment is defined by violence, is it possible to avoid getting sucked into the maelstrom?