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{{infobox character|
{{infobox character|
|image =BigSmoke-GTASA.jpg
|image =BigSmoke-GTASA.jpg
|games = [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]]
|game_1 = GTA San Andreas
|name = Melvin Harris
|name = Melvin Harris
|aka = Big Smoke<br>Smoke
|aka = Big Smoke<br />Smoke
|status = [[End of the Line|Deceased]]
|status = Deceased
|gender = M
|gender = M
|dob =  
|dob =  
|pob = [[Los Santos in GTA III Era|Los Santos]]
|pob = [[Los Santos in GTA III Era|Los Santos]]
|dod = [[1992]]
|dod = 1992
|home = [[Ganton]], [[Los Santos in GTA III Era|Los Santos]]<br>[[Big Smoke's House]] in [[Idlewood]], [[Los Santos in III Era|Los Santos]],<br>[[Big Smoke's Crack Palace]]
|dod-comment = (<small>during [[End of the Line]]</small>)
|nationality = American
|home = [[Ganton]], [[Los Santos in GTA III Era|Los Santos]]<br />[[Big Smoke's House]] in [[Idlewood]], [[Los Santos in III Era|Los Santos]]<br />[[Big Smoke's Crack Palace]]
|nationality = United States
|family =  
|family =  
|affiliations = [[Grove Street Families]]<br />[[Sweet]]<br />[[Carl Johnson]]<br />[[Ryder]]<br />[[OG Loc]]<br />[[Big Bear]]<br />[[B Dup]]<br />[[C.R.A.S.H.]]<br />[[Ballas]]<br />[[Los Santos Vagos]]<br />[[Russian Mafia]]<br />[[San Fierro Rifa]]<br />[[Loco Syndicate]]
|affiliations = [[Grove Street Families]]<br />[[Sweet]]<br />[[Carl Johnson]]<br />[[Ryder]]<br />[[OG Loc]]<br />[[Big Bear]]<br />[[B Dup]]<br />[[C.R.A.S.H.]]<br />[[Ballas]]<br />[[Los Santos Vagos]]<br />[[Russian Mafia]]<br />[[San Fierro Rifa]]<br />[[Loco Syndicate]]
|vehicles = Black [[Perennial]]<br />Blue [[Glendale]]
|vehicles = Black [[Perennial]]<br />Blue [[Glendale]]
|businesses =  
|businesses =  
|voice =[[Clifton Powell]]
|voice = [[Clifton Powell]]
}}
}}
{{also|''This article is about the character. For the mission in GTA San Andreas, see [[Big Smoke (mission)]]''}}
'''Melvin Harris''', better known as '''Big Smoke''' or '''Smoke''', is a character in the [[3D Universe]] who appears as a main character in [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]] (set in [[1992]]). Big Smoke appeared as a high ranking member of the [[Grove Street Families]] who later joined forces with the [[Ballas]], [[Los Santos Vagos]] and [[Russian Mafia]], becoming the biggest criminal in the underworld of [[Los Santos in GTA III Era|Los Santos]]. He is voiced by [[Clifton Powell]], who has also appeared in ''Menace II Society''.


:''This article is about the character. For the mission in GTA San Andreas, see [[Big Smoke (mission)]]''
==Character history==
{{spoiler}}
===Background===
Big Smoke was born in [[Los Santos in GTA III Era|Los Santos]], and grew up on the Grove Street cul-de-sac in [[Ganton]] next door to [[Sweet]], [[Brian Johnson|Brian]] and [[Carl Johnson]], as well as [[Ryder]] and [[OG Loc]]. He and his childhood friends were founding members of [[Grove Street Families]]. In [[1987]], Brian somehow died with Carl's negligence to blame, and Carl left for [[Liberty City]].


'''Melvin Harris''', better known as '''Big Smoke''' or '''Smoke''', is a character in the [[Grand Theft Auto]] series who appears as a main character in [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]] (set in [[1992]]). Big Smoke appeared as a high ranking member of the [[Grove Street Families]] who later joined forces with the [[Ballas]], [[Los Santos Vagos]] and [[Russian Mafia]], becoming the biggest criminal in the underworld of [[Los Santos in GTA III Era|Los Santos]]. He is voiced by [[Clifton Powell]], who has also appeared in ''Menace II Society''.
Grove Street Families went downhill over the next five years. Smoke tried to convince Sweet to let the gang sell crack cocaine, though Sweet was vehemently opposed to it. Smoke began to secretly sell it under the guidance of corrupt [[LSPD]] officer [[Frank Tenpenny]], which saw Smoke secretly work with the rival [[Ballas]] gang. Smoke made enough money to buy a [[Big Smoke's House|new house]] and a vintage black [[Perennial]], which he told his friends he paid for with an inheritance from his dead aunt. Smoke's old house on Grove Street, next door to the Johnson residence, was still used as a regular hangout. Before long, Big Smoke is supplied large amounts of cocaine by the [[Loco Syndicate]] from [[San Fierro]].


==Character history==
In [[1992]], Big Smoke let Ryder in on his secret dealings with crack. In the same week, Tenpenny organized a hit on Sweet - the assassins, Ballas behind the wheel of a green [[Sabre]], spray the Johnson residence with machine gun fire but accidentally kill [[Beverly Johnson]] instead. Carl Johnson returns to Los Santos for the funeral, which is when GTA: San Andreas begins.
{{spoiler}}
===Early life===
Big Smoke was born in [[Los Santos in GTA III Era|Los Santos]], likely in [[Ganton]] due to his close relationship with [[Sweet]] and [[Carl Johnson]], and he later became a member of the [[Grove Street Families]]. He rose through the ranks of the gang until becoming the right hand man of Sweet, being helped by the departure of Carl in [[1987]] after his [[Brian Johnson|brothers]] death. Smoke also, at one point, lived in Ganton, which may have been from birth, but moved to [[Idlewood]] some time prior to [[1992]], purchasing a [[Big Smoke's House|house]] with his 'aunt's money' from a will. The Grove Street Families, however, begin to lose influence and status amongst the city gangs, noticing that the [[Ballas]], who control Idlewood, are selling drugs to fuel their rising influence. He then starts trying to persuade Sweet to allow the Grove Street Families to sell drugs, although this fails. At some point Big Smoke forms an alliance with the Ballas and begins to secretly work for them. Smoke later includes the [[Los Santos Vagos]] and the [[Russian Mafia]], who were hoping to get a foothold in [[Los Santos in GTA III Era|Los Santos]], into his new alliance. They also form an alliance with the [[Loco Syndicate]] who began supplying them with various drugs from their base in [[San Fierro]], although he doesn't realize that an [[Mike Toreno|undercover government agent]] is involved in the operation.


=== Life with Carl Johnson===
===Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas===
In 1992, after failing to convince Sweet, he goes to [[Ryder]] and convinces him to join forces with the [[Ballas]], who later attempt to kill Sweet but fail, instead killing his [[Beverly Johnson|mother]]. The death of Beverly Johnson leads to her son, Carl, returning from [[Liberty City in GTA III Era|Liberty City]] and Carl meets Smoke inside his old [[Johnson House|house]]. Smoke initially fails to realize Carl but immediately accepts the return of an old friend, contrary to Sweet who remains initially hostile. At the funeral a Ballas [[Voodoo|car]] appears and performs a drive-by shooting, forcing Smoke, Carl, Sweet and Ryder to use [[Bicycle|bicycles]] in their effort to escape. The Ballas, however, only chase and shoot at Carl and Sweet, due to Smoke and Ryder's alliance with the gang, a fact that is missed by the Johnson brothers. Smoke likewise refuses to shoot at Ballas gangsters, who were performing a [[Drive Thru|drive-by]] on the gang, claiming that he did not want to waste the food.
====Gang Activity====
Smoke is the first to welcome Carl home, and brings him to the funeral to meet Sweet, Ryder and [[Kendl Johnson]]. While Smoke welcomes Carl back with open arms, Sweet and Ryder remain bitter about Brian's death. The funeral is attacked by Ballas in a purple [[Voodoo]], which the four of them escape on [[Bicycle|bicycles]]. Smoke's Perennial is destroyed in the process, which he promptly replaces with a teal [[Glendale]]. A week or two later, when the four of them are at a fast-food [[Drive Thru|drive-thru]], they are targeted by the same hitmen. Sweet, Carl and Ryder kill them with no help from Smoke, who instead continued eating his meal. The rest of the gang is angry at him, though he passes it off as a simple personal eccentricity and it's more or less forgotten.


Smoke continues his life as normal within the Grove Street Families, often being found around Sweet. He begins to hire Carl to do various tasks, the first being to pick up [[OG Loc]] from prison, which ends with Carl and Loc chasing down [[Freddy]], a [[Los Santos Vagos]] gangster, in a motorcycle chase, eventually killing him. Carl later goes to see Smoke at his house but is disturbed to find [[Frank Tenpenny]] and [[Eddie Pulaski]], two [[Los Santos Police Department|police]] officers involved in [[C.R.A.S.H.]], which Smoke states is because they are 'nosy', although it is another sign of his true allegiances. C.R.A.S.H. are seen [[Wrong Side of the Tracks|again]] exiting Smoke's home.
[[Image:BigSmokeVagosMember-GTASA.JPG|thumb|left|Big Smoke making contact with a Vagos member's head using a [[baseball bat]].]]


Carl and Smoke then go to [[East Los Santos]] in search of ''Mary'', his 'cousin', although when there he attempts to take some cannabis from a Los Santos Vagos gangster. He is blown off but hits one of the gangsters with a [[Bat|bat]] with Carl chasing and killing the second. The two later work together to [[Wrong Side of the Tracks|kill four]] Los Santos Vagos gangsters as they leave a meeting with the [[San Fierro Rifa]] on the [[Brown Streak]] train. The two work together one last time when they [[Just Business|kill]] a number of [[Russian Mafia]] gangsters, although Smoke gives no reason for this encounter, which may have been to have Carl killed due to his continued success in attacking the Ballas and the Los Santos Vagos, both allied with Smoke.
Carl helps Big Smoke outside of official gang business, which is when he first begins to suspect Smoke is hiding something. Two incidents in particular, [[Wrong Side of the Tracks|chasing down]] a train full of [[Los Santos Vagos]] en route to meet the [[San Fierro Rifa]], and a [[Just Business|large shootout]] with the [[Russian Mafia]], peak Carl's curiosity while Big Smoke is reluctant to answer his questions.


Smoke continues his friendship with Sweet and Carl, although he and Ryder both refuse to enter the [[Jefferson Motel]] during the [[Reuniting the Families|attempt to re-unite]] the divided Grove Street Families, knowing that the meeting was to be interrupted by the police. Sweet and Carl, however, both manage to escape and the four evade the police before going their separate ways when returning home.
Eventually, Grove Street Families regains the influence it had in the mid-1980s. Carl proves to be a great asset to the gang, which earns him Sweet's respect back. At their peak, they plan to [[Reuniting the Families|re-unite]] with their former allies, Seville Boulevard and Temple Drive Families. Their meeting at the [[Jefferson Motel]] is stormed by LSPD [[SWAT]] - Smoke and Ryder urge Carl to flee the scene with them, though Carl insists on saving Sweet. When Carl reaches Sweet, he first expresses distrust in Smoke and Ryder, saying "they shook on us!". However, Smoke and Ryder actually return to Sweet and Carl's aid, and all four of them escape unharmed.


===Betrayal and rise===
[[File:TheGreenSabre-GTASA2.png|right|thumb|250px|Big Smoke, [[Ryder]], [[Frank Tenpenny]] and [[Eddie Pulaski]] with the green [[Sabre]] used to kill [[Beverly Johnson]], as [[The Green Sabre|witnessed]] by [[Carl Johnson]] and [[Cesar Vialpando]], during [[The Green Sabre]].]]
[[File:TheGreenSabre-GTASA2.png|right|thumb|250px|Big Smoke, [[Ryder]], [[Frank Tenpenny]] and [[Eddie Pulaski]] with the green [[Sabre]] used to kill [[Beverly Johnson]], as [[The Green Sabre|witnessed]] by [[Carl Johnson]] and [[Cesar Vialpando]], during [[The Green Sabre]].]]
[[Cesar Vialpando]], the boyfriend of Sweet and Carl's [[Kendl Johnson|sister]], later [[Cell Phone|phones]] Carl to come to an alleyway in [[Verdant Bluffs]]. While there the two witness Smoke and Ryder working with [[Frank Tenpenny]] and [[Eddie Pulaski]], with the green [[Sabre]] used to kill his mother being driven by Pulaski. Carl finally realises Smoke's true allegiances but is forced to go to [[Mulholland Intersection]] to save his brother from a Ballas ambush. Sweet is shot and later arrested, being taken to prison upstate while Carl is taken to [[Whetstone]] by Tenpenny, Pulaski and [[Jimmy Hernandez]].
Very soon after, the newly-united Families are on their way to seize Ballas territory under the [[Mulholland Intersection]]. [[Cesar Vialpando]], Kendl Johnson's boyfriend, summons Carl to [[Verdant Bluffs]] where he witnesses Smoke, Ryder, Tenpenny and Ballas conferring around the infamous [[Green Sabre]]. Carl rushes to save his brother, but ultimately fails - Sweet is shot and mended in a prison hospital, while Carl is abandoned in [[Whetstone]] by Tenpenny.


In the absence of both Sweet and Carl, Smoke and Ryder take control of the Grove Street Families and add them to their alliance. The Ballas take control of Ganton and other Grove Street Families territory. The Grove Street Families gangsters, meanwhile, begin working as drugs smugglers, taking them from the Loco Syndicate factory in [[Doherty]], [[San Fierro]] back to Los Santos. Cesar Vialpando, however, discovers this and alerts Carl Johnson, who stops a number of the supplies from reaching Los Santos. Carl and Cesar later photograph Ryder with three men, later identified as [[Jizzy B.]], [[T-Bone Mendez]] and [[Mike Toreno]]. Carl, upon returning to his [[Doherty Garage|garage]] in San Fierro has [[Wu Zi Mu]] and his [[San Fierro Triads|Triad]] allies discover more about the trio.
====Drug Baron====
No longer weighed down by the Johnson's, Big Smoke becomes the most powerful drug lord in [[Los Santos]]. Former Ballas, Vagos and GSFs disregard their gang ties and unilaterally work for him. Former GSFs Ryder and [[B-Dup]] both become wealthy in his employ, though Smoke does not trust B-Dup enough to make him a "lieutenant", so to speak. Twice a week, Big Smoke takes in a backpack full of cocaine from the [[Loco Syndicate]], and sends back money in a [[Patriot]]. OG Loc has since become a successful rapper, and Smoke launders drug money by becoming his manager. Smoke takes on the public image of a benefactor to orphanages and anti-drug campaigns, further concealing his drug operation. Aside from his public charity appearances, he is extremely paranoid and rarely ventures out of a [[Big Smoke's Crack Palace|fortified apartment tower]] he owns in [[East Los Santos]]. He owns a white [[Feltzer]], license plate "IMY AK", but rarely gets to enjoy it because he is a shut-in.


Carl then begins to work for Jizzy B., attempting to gather more information on the operation, and later gains his trust. Carl, however, later kills [[Ice Cold Killa|Jizzy]], San Fierro Rifa leader [[Pier 69 (mission)|T-Bone Mendez]] and undercover agent [[Mike Toreno]](as it seemed), as well as Ryder, before [[Yay Ka-Boom-Boom|destroying]] their drug manufacturing factory, stopping the supply back to Los Santos. Smoke, however, is undeterred and instead starts his [[Big Smoke's Crack Palace|manufacturing plant]] in [[East Los Santos]]. He also begins working as the manager of [[OG Loc]], a rapper and childhood friend of both Smoke and Carl, who helped him by sabotaging the career of [[Madd Dogg]]. He also attempts to show himself as a philanthropist when telling [[West Coast Talk Radio]] that he is using his money to try and stop the sale drugs in Los Santos, despite being the drug baron of the city.
Carl gets back on his feet in [[San Fierro]], destroys the Loco Syndicate and kills Ryder. Word of Ryder's death runs wild in Los Santos (according to Cesar in [[Yay Ka-Boom-Boom]]), though Smoke is undeterred and finds a new supplier of raw cocaine. Carl later finds his way back to Los Santos, and manages to have Sweet [[Home Coming|freed]] from a supposedly unsurmountable life sentence (ironically by [[Mike Toreno]], an undercover US government agent who organized the Loco Syndicate in the first place). Sweet and Carl build Grove Street Families from the ground up a third time, while [[Cut Throat Business|OG Loc]] and [[Beat Down on B Dup|B Dup]] are shaken down but left alive. As Tenpenny's acquittal for corruption hits national news, riots break out all over Los Santos. Carl and Sweet use this opportunity to gain even more turf, and Sweet eventually find a high-ranking Vagos member who spills Big Smoke's location to them.  
 
===Final days===
In the meantime Carl is re-united with Toreno, who used a decoy on his scheduled departing flight, and begins working for him attacking those harming [[United States of America|American]] interests. As a reward, Toreno gets Sweet paroled from prison and the two [[Home Coming|return home]], taking [[Ganton]] back for the Grove Street Families, who once ally themselves with the formerly absent leaders. By this time, however, Smoke had become a recluse and extremely paranoid, hiding away in his [[Big Smoke's Crack Palace|drug manufacturing plant]]. Sweet and Carl continue their attack on the Ballas, re-taking both [[Glen Park]] (in [[Beat Down on B Dup]]) and [[Idlewood]] (in [[Grove 4 Life]]).


====Death====
[[File:EndoftheLine-GTASA3.jpg|right|thumb|250px|[[Carl Johnson]] confronting Big Smoke in his [[Big Smoke's Crack Palace|drug manufacturing factory]], shortly before a shoot-out and Smoke's death, during [[End of the Line]].]]
[[File:EndoftheLine-GTASA3.jpg|right|thumb|250px|[[Carl Johnson]] confronting Big Smoke in his [[Big Smoke's Crack Palace|drug manufacturing factory]], shortly before a shoot-out and Smoke's death, during [[End of the Line]].]]
The Johnson brothers then decide to take down Big Smoke and his operation, using a [[SWAT Tank]] to break into his drug manufacturing plant. Carl then proceeds to shoot his way past the many Ballas, Los Santos Vagos and Russian Mafia gangsters in the factory until reaching the top floor, where he finds Big Smoke. The two become involved in a gun fight, which is won by Carl, who manages to talk to Smoke about his betrayal before his death. Smoke, showing remorse for his actions, tells Carl that he got caught up in the money and power he was able to obtain. He reminds Carl that when he is dead people will remember his name before dying from the gunshot wounds inflicted by Carl. Carl shows remorse for Smoke but is interrupted by Tenpenny, who he later chases before he drives a [[Fire Truck|fire truck]] off a bridge into [[Grove Street]] and dies.
Carl [[End of the Line|ventures]] into Smoke's apartment tower alone, in order to prove a point to himself and Sweet, and makes his way to Big Smoke's penthouse. Smoke is at first slow to respond to Carl, saying "I knew you was coming, and I don't give a shit". They then have a short argument, in which Smoke is somewhat jealous and resentful of Carl but relishes his own success, telling him "Look at you, you got the whole world! I ain't got no regrets, man!". After shooting him, Carl tries one last time to reason with Smoke as he dies. Smoke admits "I got caught up in the money, the power" and "I had no choice, I had to do it. I just see the opportunity". Smoke's last words are filled with vanity, however, and he proclaims "When I'm gone, everyone gonna remember my name - Big Smoke!". Carl somberly whispers to himself "Damn, man. What a waste." before he is confronted by Tenpenny. The apartment tower is burned down (by Tenpenny), which causes the media to rule Big Smoke's death as an accident. After an epic car chase throughout Los Santos, using Smoke's white Feltzer, Carl and Sweet kill Tenpenny in a supposed accident as well.


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
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:Some believe it to be a reference to the [[:wp:Cypress Hill|Cypress Hill]] song 'A to the Motherf*ckin K', which was released in [[1993]] (a year after GTA San Andreas).
:Some believe it to be a reference to the [[:wp:Cypress Hill|Cypress Hill]] song 'A to the Motherf*ckin K', which was released in [[1993]] (a year after GTA San Andreas).
*Big Smoke's favorite radio stations are [[Bounce FM]] and [[Radio Los Santos]].
*Big Smoke's favorite radio stations are [[Bounce FM]] and [[Radio Los Santos]].
*The beta version of Big Smoke is shown wearing a white jersey and black trousers, with Smoke having a bald head, which can be seen on the statute of Smoke in the [[Big Smoke's Crack Palace|drug manufacturing factory]] in [[East Los Santos]].
*The beta version of Big Smoke is shown wearing a white jersey and black trousers, with Smoke having a bald head, which can be seen on the statute of Smoke in the [[Big Smoke's Crack Palace|drug manufacturing factory]] in [[East Los Santos in GTA III Era|East Los Santos]].
*Big Smoke quotes the Bible on many occasions, hinting that he may be deeply religious.
*Big Smoke quotes the Bible on many occasions, hinting that he may be deeply religious.
*In replay mode, Smoke, along with [[Sweet]] and [[Ryder]], appear as pedestrian character models. [[File:Replay-GTASA-Drive-By.png|thumb|right|Smoke's character model seen in replay mode during the mission [[Drive-By]].]]
*In replay mode, Smoke, along with [[Sweet]] and [[Ryder]], appear as pedestrian character models. [[File:Replay-GTASA-Drive-By.png|thumb|right|Smoke's character model seen in replay mode during the mission [[Drive-By]].]]
*Big Smoke, like Ryder, continues to wear green clothing after his betrayal of the [[Grove Street Families]] becomes common knowledge. This is because Big Smoke and Ryder only have one coded outfit
*Big Smoke, like Ryder, continues to wear green clothing after his betrayal of the [[Grove Street Families]] becomes common knowledge, even despite Big Smoke having a separate character model depicting him wearing body armor.
*Big Smoke is shown to have two bullets in his chest following the shoot-out during [[End of the Line]], regardless of how he is killed.
*Big Smoke is shown to have five bullets in his chest following the shoot-out during [[End of the Line]], regardless of how he is killed.
*Big Smoke makes multiple references to his desire to be remembered following his death.
*Big Smoke makes multiple references to his desire to be remembered following his death.


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</gallery>
</gallery>


{{GTA San Andreas Characters}}
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[[Category:Characters|Harris, Melvin]]
[[Category:Characters in GTA San Andreas|Harris, Melvin]]
[[Category:Characters in GTA San Andreas|Harris, Melvin]]
[[Category:Characters in 3D Universe|Harris, Melvin]]
[[Category:Bosses|Harris, Melvin]]
[[Category:Bosses|Harris, Melvin]]
[[Category:Deceased Characters|Harris, Melvin]]
[[Category:Deceased Characters in 3D Universe|Harris, Melvin]]
[[Category:Gangsters|Harris, Melvin]]
[[Category:Gangsters|Harris, Melvin]]

Revision as of 08:53, 24 April 2014

Character
Melvin Harris
{{{caption}}}
{{{caption}}}
Appearances GTA San Andreas
Full Name Melvin Harris
Aliases Big Smoke
Smoke
Status

Deceased

Gender Gender::Male
Place of Birth Los Santos
Date of Death 1992 (during End of the Line)
Nationality American
Home Ganton, Los Santos
Big Smoke's House in Idlewood, Los Santos
Big Smoke's Crack Palace
Main Affiliations Grove Street Families
Sweet
Carl Johnson
Ryder
OG Loc
Big Bear
B Dup
C.R.A.S.H.
Ballas
Los Santos Vagos
Russian Mafia
San Fierro Rifa
Loco Syndicate
Vehicles Black Perennial
Blue Glendale
Voiced by Clifton Powell
ADVERTISEMENT

This article is about the character. For the mission in GTA San Andreas, see Big Smoke (mission)

Melvin Harris, better known as Big Smoke or Smoke, is a character in the 3D Universe who appears as a main character in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (set in 1992). Big Smoke appeared as a high ranking member of the Grove Street Families who later joined forces with the Ballas, Los Santos Vagos and Russian Mafia, becoming the biggest criminal in the underworld of Los Santos. He is voiced by Clifton Powell, who has also appeared in Menace II Society.

Character history

Spoiler Warning: Plot and/or ending details are in the text which follows.

Background

Big Smoke was born in Los Santos, and grew up on the Grove Street cul-de-sac in Ganton next door to Sweet, Brian and Carl Johnson, as well as Ryder and OG Loc. He and his childhood friends were founding members of Grove Street Families. In 1987, Brian somehow died with Carl's negligence to blame, and Carl left for Liberty City.

Grove Street Families went downhill over the next five years. Smoke tried to convince Sweet to let the gang sell crack cocaine, though Sweet was vehemently opposed to it. Smoke began to secretly sell it under the guidance of corrupt LSPD officer Frank Tenpenny, which saw Smoke secretly work with the rival Ballas gang. Smoke made enough money to buy a new house and a vintage black Perennial, which he told his friends he paid for with an inheritance from his dead aunt. Smoke's old house on Grove Street, next door to the Johnson residence, was still used as a regular hangout. Before long, Big Smoke is supplied large amounts of cocaine by the Loco Syndicate from San Fierro.

In 1992, Big Smoke let Ryder in on his secret dealings with crack. In the same week, Tenpenny organized a hit on Sweet - the assassins, Ballas behind the wheel of a green Sabre, spray the Johnson residence with machine gun fire but accidentally kill Beverly Johnson instead. Carl Johnson returns to Los Santos for the funeral, which is when GTA: San Andreas begins.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Gang Activity

Smoke is the first to welcome Carl home, and brings him to the funeral to meet Sweet, Ryder and Kendl Johnson. While Smoke welcomes Carl back with open arms, Sweet and Ryder remain bitter about Brian's death. The funeral is attacked by Ballas in a purple Voodoo, which the four of them escape on bicycles. Smoke's Perennial is destroyed in the process, which he promptly replaces with a teal Glendale. A week or two later, when the four of them are at a fast-food drive-thru, they are targeted by the same hitmen. Sweet, Carl and Ryder kill them with no help from Smoke, who instead continued eating his meal. The rest of the gang is angry at him, though he passes it off as a simple personal eccentricity and it's more or less forgotten.

File:BigSmokeVagosMember-GTASA.JPG
Big Smoke making contact with a Vagos member's head using a baseball bat.

Carl helps Big Smoke outside of official gang business, which is when he first begins to suspect Smoke is hiding something. Two incidents in particular, chasing down a train full of Los Santos Vagos en route to meet the San Fierro Rifa, and a large shootout with the Russian Mafia, peak Carl's curiosity while Big Smoke is reluctant to answer his questions.

Eventually, Grove Street Families regains the influence it had in the mid-1980s. Carl proves to be a great asset to the gang, which earns him Sweet's respect back. At their peak, they plan to re-unite with their former allies, Seville Boulevard and Temple Drive Families. Their meeting at the Jefferson Motel is stormed by LSPD SWAT - Smoke and Ryder urge Carl to flee the scene with them, though Carl insists on saving Sweet. When Carl reaches Sweet, he first expresses distrust in Smoke and Ryder, saying "they shook on us!". However, Smoke and Ryder actually return to Sweet and Carl's aid, and all four of them escape unharmed.

Big Smoke, Ryder, Frank Tenpenny and Eddie Pulaski with the green Sabre used to kill Beverly Johnson, as witnessed by Carl Johnson and Cesar Vialpando, during The Green Sabre.

Very soon after, the newly-united Families are on their way to seize Ballas territory under the Mulholland Intersection. Cesar Vialpando, Kendl Johnson's boyfriend, summons Carl to Verdant Bluffs where he witnesses Smoke, Ryder, Tenpenny and Ballas conferring around the infamous Green Sabre. Carl rushes to save his brother, but ultimately fails - Sweet is shot and mended in a prison hospital, while Carl is abandoned in Whetstone by Tenpenny.

Drug Baron

No longer weighed down by the Johnson's, Big Smoke becomes the most powerful drug lord in Los Santos. Former Ballas, Vagos and GSFs disregard their gang ties and unilaterally work for him. Former GSFs Ryder and B-Dup both become wealthy in his employ, though Smoke does not trust B-Dup enough to make him a "lieutenant", so to speak. Twice a week, Big Smoke takes in a backpack full of cocaine from the Loco Syndicate, and sends back money in a Patriot. OG Loc has since become a successful rapper, and Smoke launders drug money by becoming his manager. Smoke takes on the public image of a benefactor to orphanages and anti-drug campaigns, further concealing his drug operation. Aside from his public charity appearances, he is extremely paranoid and rarely ventures out of a fortified apartment tower he owns in East Los Santos. He owns a white Feltzer, license plate "IMY AK", but rarely gets to enjoy it because he is a shut-in.

Carl gets back on his feet in San Fierro, destroys the Loco Syndicate and kills Ryder. Word of Ryder's death runs wild in Los Santos (according to Cesar in Yay Ka-Boom-Boom), though Smoke is undeterred and finds a new supplier of raw cocaine. Carl later finds his way back to Los Santos, and manages to have Sweet freed from a supposedly unsurmountable life sentence (ironically by Mike Toreno, an undercover US government agent who organized the Loco Syndicate in the first place). Sweet and Carl build Grove Street Families from the ground up a third time, while OG Loc and B Dup are shaken down but left alive. As Tenpenny's acquittal for corruption hits national news, riots break out all over Los Santos. Carl and Sweet use this opportunity to gain even more turf, and Sweet eventually find a high-ranking Vagos member who spills Big Smoke's location to them.

Death

Carl Johnson confronting Big Smoke in his drug manufacturing factory, shortly before a shoot-out and Smoke's death, during End of the Line.

Carl ventures into Smoke's apartment tower alone, in order to prove a point to himself and Sweet, and makes his way to Big Smoke's penthouse. Smoke is at first slow to respond to Carl, saying "I knew you was coming, and I don't give a shit". They then have a short argument, in which Smoke is somewhat jealous and resentful of Carl but relishes his own success, telling him "Look at you, you got the whole world! I ain't got no regrets, man!". After shooting him, Carl tries one last time to reason with Smoke as he dies. Smoke admits "I got caught up in the money, the power" and "I had no choice, I had to do it. I just see the opportunity". Smoke's last words are filled with vanity, however, and he proclaims "When I'm gone, everyone gonna remember my name - Big Smoke!". Carl somberly whispers to himself "Damn, man. What a waste." before he is confronted by Tenpenny. The apartment tower is burned down (by Tenpenny), which causes the media to rule Big Smoke's death as an accident. After an epic car chase throughout Los Santos, using Smoke's white Feltzer, Carl and Sweet kill Tenpenny in a supposed accident as well.

Trivia

  • Big Smoke drives a blue Glendale, with a white roof, which has the license plate A2TMFK. Opinions on the meaning of this are varied:
Some believe it to be an acronym for 'a two-timing motherfucker, in reference to his betraying the Grove Street Families.
Some believe it to be an acronym for 'a two-ton motherfucker', in reference to him being overweight.
Some believe it to be a reference to the Cypress Hill song 'A to the Motherf*ckin K', which was released in 1993 (a year after GTA San Andreas).
  • Big Smoke's favorite radio stations are Bounce FM and Radio Los Santos.
  • The beta version of Big Smoke is shown wearing a white jersey and black trousers, with Smoke having a bald head, which can be seen on the statute of Smoke in the drug manufacturing factory in East Los Santos.
  • Big Smoke quotes the Bible on many occasions, hinting that he may be deeply religious.
  • In replay mode, Smoke, along with Sweet and Ryder, appear as pedestrian character models.
    Smoke's character model seen in replay mode during the mission Drive-By.
  • Big Smoke, like Ryder, continues to wear green clothing after his betrayal of the Grove Street Families becomes common knowledge, even despite Big Smoke having a separate character model depicting him wearing body armor.
  • Big Smoke is shown to have five bullets in his chest following the shoot-out during End of the Line, regardless of how he is killed.
  • Big Smoke makes multiple references to his desire to be remembered following his death.

Mission appearances

GTA San Andreas

Gallery

  • Artwork of Big Smoke.

    Artwork of Big Smoke.

  • Alternative artwork of Big Smoke depicting an unused model.

    Alternative artwork of Big Smoke depicting an unused model.

  • The beta version of Smoke.

    The beta version of Smoke.

  • The statued beta version of Smoke.

    The statued beta version of Smoke.

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