Nicky Barnes RIP -- Last of the Real OGs

If you've ever seen the 1991 movie New Jack City about the Harlem crack wars, you might be surprised to learn that the main character -- a violent but extremely smart drug lord -- is based on a real-life 1970s Harlem heroin gangster named Nicky Barnes.

Like John Gotti -- in fact, years before he came to power -- Nicky was a "celebrity" criminal. Nicky dressed fancy, appeared in public at hot spots around NYC, and loved to tease the Feds that they could never bust him. Nicky became known as "Mr Untouchable" -- until, in the late '70s -- he was busted and spent years in prison before vanishing into the Witness Protection Program. (Barnes has been dead since 2012 and, only now, is his death becoming public.)

It's hard to imagine that, today in NYC, criminals would dare to fashion themselves "celebrities." The city has become so safe and square, policing has become so sophisticated and tech heavy, the media is so obiquitous and diffuse, any big shot criminal would be caught and sent to jail ASAP if he (or she) dared live a public life. In a way, big time criminals are doing the inverse of what everyone else is doing -- instead of living on social media, instead of gleefully giving up their privacy, professional criminals have never been more DL than ever, totally on the QT.

An OG like Nicky Barnes couldn't and wouldn't exist today -- in NYC or anywhere.

P.S. A couple of interesting things: besides being the inspiration for New Jack City, the character of Nicky Barnes appears in the moving American Gangster, about Barnes sometimes rival, sometimes partner Frank Lucas (who just died too). Also, there was talk back in the 1980s -- after Barnes went to jail -- of making a movie about him starring Eddie Murphy, but obviously it never happened. There was also, apparently, some talk about basing the plot of Godfather III around Barnes-inspired character who gets involved with the Corleones (Barnes did get involved with the Italian mob thus increasing his wealth, power, and protection). 

RIP Nicky. We'll never see your likes again -- and that's a good thing.