This dude gets attention for all the wrong reasons, and if you know anything about him, you know he definitely loves it. Boonk Gang is a rapper and social media personality who has gained recognition especially from the videos he posts online. In these videos, he is usually doing something stupid from causing a public nuisance, to stealing donuts from a store or even committing a more life-threatening crime.
Gang has said it many times on his videos and during interviews that the happenings in all of his videos are real. He has been arrested for some of the stupid stuff he has done, but this has only served to grow his recognition and following. He has also released an official music video for his song Makes No Sense, where he glories in the fact that he is from the streets and welcomes his incarceration with open arms.
Who is Boonk Gang?
Boonk Gang was born in 1997 and lives in Calabasas, Los Angeles. There is no information about his education or if he attended school. There is also no available information concerning the identity of his family members.
Boonk whose real name is John Robert Hill has lived quite an eventful life. Even though he knew his father’s identity, he never really had anything to do with him as the man was absent from his life. He grew up with his mother and siblings in Jacksonville. Hill’s mother had her own issues too. The rapper has revealed during interviews how he never saw his mother take drugs. However, he disclosed that she suffered from sudden, unexpected bouts of rage. In these moments, she would go about yelling how she was going to kill herself or even kill her kids while they were sleeping.
As a kid, Boonk reveals that they moved around a lot, and never stayed for long periods of time in the same place. He was either with a distant aunt or his mom, or one of his mother’s friends and a bunch of other people. This constant movement is what inspired him years later to tattoo the word “vagabond” on his face as a nod to his nomadic days.
Boonk lived on the streets for a while after his mother kicked him out of the house. She would eventually move to Miami and leave him behind in Jacksonville. Boonk had a girlfriend at the time. He used to shuttle between his aunt’s place and his girlfriend’s. In 2014, Boonk’s girlfriend found out she was carrying his child, unfortunately, she suffered a miscarriage. She would later take in again in September 2017.
A few years later, Boonk Gang contacted his mother and she allowed him to move in with her in Miami. It was here that the rapper decided to start something with social media. He opened an Instagram account, which he grew by following and unfollowing people until he got to 10,000 followers. His following continued to grow after he posted a video of himself stealing a box of fried chicken from a Popeyes Chicken restaurant. He quickly got to a million followers. Boonk celebrated this milestone by making a video of himself dunking milkshakes on his body in a Chik-Fil-A restaurant. He grew into an incredibly successful social media celebrity as he continued making and posting these crazy videos online.
Eventually, Boonk Gang went into music and decided to change his image. He wanted people to see him as an artist and not a stuntman. This made him take the decision to delete all his Instagram posts from his days as an all-around troublemaker.
Boonk did not start making money from his Instagram efforts until he signed up with fellow rapper Lil Pump‘s management agency. Before this time, Boonk Gang was a constant drug user, especially of Xanax and Molly. It got so bad that even Lil Pump and his management became worried about him and his health.
A terrifying experience on the basketball court in November 2017 made Gang decide to quit drugs. He stayed sober for a few weeks but eventually relapsed. In February 2018, he weaned himself off the drugs again after he suffered brief seizures while recording in the studio.
Boonk has released a lot of singles and videos to accompany them. Songs like MAkes No Sense, Facts, and Ventin are some of his most popular songs.
What Does The Name Mean And Why Was He Arrested?
Boonk “Robert” Gang’s mother was the one who gave him the name Boonk because he was getting into too much trouble from his stealing. The term “boonk” is an urban word for stealing or nabbing something or someone.
Gang did not grow up in a well to do home; it was hard to survive, so he started stealing out of necessity, as a means to get by. Boonk began to take clothes from stores if he ran out of clothes, he would steal some snacks if he was hungry. He did reveal years later that some of the times he was caught was because he went in to steal more than he needed.
Eventually, Boonk’s mother got tired of his antics and kicked him out of the house when he was 17. Having nowhere to go, Boonk lived on the streets and continued stealing to survive. He started going into high-profile stores and stealing high-end headphones, selling them at ridiculously low prices to school students. He also used part of the money he made to buy candy – a local drug disguised as sweets – and sell those too. Boonk, at one time and with the help of a friend also learned how to cash fraudulent cheques, which made him a total of $10,000.
Gang’s stuntman videos have gotten him into trouble a lot of times, even getting him arrested severally. He was arrested twice in a space of two months for theft and burglary at a Dunkin’ Donuts in Miami between May and July 2017.
On May 9, 2018, John “Boonk Gang” Hill was arrested in his Calabasas home. The police had received information about a man who was in possession of illegal narcotics and assault weapons. They came with a warrant to search his place after which they arrested him. However, he was booked and released on a $35,000 bail on the same day. In total the social media stuntman cum rapper has been arrested more than four times.
