Set in the Watts and Crenshaw neighborhoods of Los Angeles, the film follows the life of Caine Lawson (Tyrin Turner) and his close friends.

O-Dog subsequently takes the surveillance tape, robs the dead cashier's wallet and the cash register, and flees with Caine.

After learning the carjackers' whereabouts, Caine, O-Dog, and their friend A-Wax locate and execute them, avenging Harold's death.

O-Dog is released, but Caine is detained as his fingerprints match those on a dropped beer bottle during the liquor store murders.

Influenced by his late parents’ and Pernell's lifestyle of drugs and crime, Caine begins purchasing and cooking large amounts of crack cocaine, soon becoming a hustler.

Originally, rapper MC Ren was set to play A-Wax, but later turned down the role when he joined the Nation of Islam in late 1992.

However, Tupac and Spice 1 were fired shortly into filming, with director Allen Hughes stating that Shakur was causing trouble on the set.

When Shakur was cast in the role of Sharif, described in the film as "an ex-knucklehead turned Muslim", he did not agree with how the character was written.

According to MC Eiht, who played A-Wax in the film: My take on it was, everytime we got ready to rehearse, he had an opinion about his character…He wanted them to write in the script WHY he turned Muslim...Show me why I turned Muslim and they wouldn't do it and that's what angered him...You're not just going to give people that ideal that Tupac is just this yeah you know, "preach my brother", fuck that!

The consensus reads, "Told with grit and verve by the Hughes brothers in their feature debut, Menace II Society is a gangland epic that breathes with authenticity while steeped in style.

"[10] Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 76 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[11] Chicago Reader critic Jonathan Rosenbaum stated, "This is a powerful, convincing, and terrifying look at teenage crime in contemporary Watts.

"[12] Owen Gleiberman from Entertainment Weekly gave it a positive review, stating, "Menace II Society is bleak, brilliant, and unsparing.

"[17] Stephen Holden of The New York Times stated, "If Menace II Society is terrific on ambiance, it is considerably less successful in revealing character.

[19] At the Independent Spirit Award, The film had nominated an for Best First Feature, but lost to El Mariachi (the first installment in the Robert Rodriguez's Mexico Trilogy).

The "4 Film Favorites" DVD package, released in 2013 in Region 1, includes ATL, New Jack City, and Set It Off, in addition to Menace II Society.

[24] In 2013, rapper and record producer Kanye West cited Menace II Society as one of his "most-watched" favorite films on an episode of the Bret Easton Ellis Podcast.