G.Dep speaks on Growing Up in Harlem During Crack Era, Selling Drugs as a Teen

In this VladTV sit-down, Harlem rapper G. Dep reflects on his early years before Bad Boy Records, “Special Delivery,” and “Let’s Get It.”

Born to a young mother and raised between Washington Heights and Harlem’s James Weldon Johnson Projects, he recalls coming of age as crack reshaped New York street life in the late ’80s and early ’90s. G. Dep discusses finding a gun as a kid, seeing figures like Rich Porter, Azie Faison, and Alpo Martinez in the neighbourhood, and how flashy cars, jewelry, and fast money influenced teenagers around him. He also opens up about selling drugs at 13 or 14, making “get fresh money,” avoiding heavier drug use, and navigating street politics as a young man. The conversation adds context to his later Bad Boy career and the 2010 police confession tied to a 1993 murder case.

G. Dep recounts the night of October 19, 1993, when he was 18 years old and carrying a .40-caliber handgun during a failed robbery attempt that turned fatal. He explains how street image, drug culture and “idle time” influenced his choices before he approached 32-year-old John Henkel at 1 a.m. while riding a bicycle. G. Dep describes Henkel grabbing for the gun, the three shots that followed, and his decision to flee without taking any money. He also recalls throwing the weapon into the East River and going home uncertain whether Henkel had survived.

The conversation offers a stark look at fear, guilt and silence in an era before widespread cell phone video, surveillance cameras and modern policing tools, as G. Dep reflects on the choices that changed both his life and John Henkel’s forever.