| Director | Bruce Brown |
|---|---|
| Budget | $250,000 |
Eric Walker along with his oldest brother Donte Walker and their friend Loco are drug dealers who have a small-time operation selling crack on the corners of Talbert Street in their Anacostia neighborhood in Southeast, D.C. On the street corners, they have to worry about muggers such as 11:30, a mentally-deranged stick-up kid who has served time in St. Elizabeths Hospital and who is fascinated with killing street thugs and then hurrying home to watch the aftermath on the 11:30 nightly news.
Eric's youngest brother Michael is different from the older brothers and is more focused on perfecting his skills in hip-hop and go-go music, along with having dreams of receiving a major record deal. Their mother is very protective of Michael and does not want him going in the same direction as his two older brothers (Eric and Donte) who have become entrenched in the extremely violent drug-infested streets, during a time when D.C. was labeled the "Murder Capital of the United States". As a result, she keeps him on a very tight-leash, so overbearing that Michael feels like he is imprisoned.
Tammy is an unmarried single-mother working as a hairdresser at "Hair Quarters", who neglects her young son. Instead, she parties heavily at the clubs and dates drug hustlers promiscuously. She does not believe there are any good men left in the world, and has chosen to live for the moment.
Her mother encourages Tammy to straighten up her life and provide motherly guidance for her son; else she will report her to the Child Protection Services for child neglect. Tammy eventually turns away from the fast-paced chasing-drug hustler's lifestyle and seeks counseling from the Max Robinson Community Center after thinking long about her mother's advice.
Since "streetlife" is what Donte knows best, he wants to leave the 'nickel and dimes' dealings and use his street knowledge to maximize their presence beyond their neighborhood and into other profitable neighborhoods in the city (including Raymond's lucrative territories in Northwest, D.C.) Donte is irritated by outsiders like Raymond, a drug lord who comes into their neighborhood and make millions of dollars selling crack off of their street corners. Donte convinces Eric and Loco that it is time to go big and expand their footprint into Raymond's territory.
In time, Donte has an unexpected run-in at a crack-house with Raymond's girlfriend Tiffany (an all-girl's prep school educated drug-addict). She came looking for cocaine, since Raymond refused to give her any. Donte offers to provide her cocaine in exchange for sex, which she agrees. After sex, Donte tries to get inside information of Raymond's drug operation. Tiffany instead gives up Raymond's daily whereabouts, including the weekly haircuts every Wednesday at 10:00 AM at Charlie's barbershop.
Donte uses the information to attempt an assassination of Raymond. Donte and Loco go to kill Raymond at the barbershop. However, they mistakenly kill the wrong person. Raymond (who was in the backroom witnessing) recognized Donte and immediately plans retaliation for "The Walker Boys". Members of his crew kidnap Michael and bring him to Raymond, where he is executed. This enrages Donte and Eric as they seek vengeance against Raymond, which climaxes into an all-out bloody street war between Donte, Raymond, and other neighborhood rivals.