Innovationist Negro: Reflections of an Ex-Drug Dealer

Abstract

Marquis Glover claims to have been one of the biggest drug dealers in Atlanta, Georgia during the late 1990s. Drawn to the drug trade at 17 years old, he dropped out of high school and passed up a promising future of playing college basketball. For Marquis, selling drugs was a socially illegitimate means to achieve the elusive American dream. Consequently, his criminal actions led to serving time in the US penal system. He was first arrested in 1989 at the age of 16 for snatching purses. Shortly after, he graduated from snatching purses to becoming a drug runner. The guilt and shame of snatching purses from old ladies “weighed on [his] conscience.” The drift between delinquent and conventional behavior ultimately gave way to being a drug runner, and then, eventually selling drugs. According to Marquis in a one-on-one interview, “It was quick, easy money.” The reward was greater than the risk. Thus, a “trap star” was born. “I’m a t-r-a-p-s-t-a-r/ Got the city on lock/ Big shoes on the car … I’m so materialistic/ So well connected/ Just ask about me/ So well respected,” he rapped to me in describing his metamorphosis to “trap star” status.