Ballas

Updated 30 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

The Ballas are a street gang from Los Santos, known by the colour purple. In Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) they are the main enemy of CJ's Grove Street Families and the gang behind the drive-by that kills his mother. They return in GTA V and GTA Online, where they hold Davis and Grove Street itself.

Who are the Ballas in GTA?

The Ballas are an African-American street gang in Los Santos, the series' take on Los Angeles. They wear purple, drive purple cars and treat the Grove Street Families as their sworn enemy. GTA Wiki lists two versions of the gang: one in the 3D universe of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and a separate one in the HD universe of Grand Theft Auto V and GTA Online. The two share a name, a colour and a feud, but not a story.

San Andreas reached the PlayStation 2 in North America on 26 October 2004 and is set in 1992. In that year the Ballas are the strongest gang in south Los Santos, and much of the game's first act is about pushing them back. Our page on the Grove Street Families covers the gang war system in detail.

What are the Ballas sets in San Andreas?

According to GTA Wiki, the gang in 1992 is split into several sets, each tied to a part of town. The wiki also says the Ballas have existed since the 1970s, probably starting in Glen Park or Jefferson, and that their war with Grove Street was in full swing by 1987.

Few Ballas are named. GTA Wiki lists Kane as the leader of the Front Yard set and Little Weasel as a senior member of the Kilo Tray set. Their standard rides are the four-door Tahoma lowrider and the two-door Majestic, and most foot soldiers carry a pistol or a Micro SMG.

What do the Ballas do in the San Andreas story?

The gang sets the plot in motion. GTA Wiki says a Ballas drive-by in a green Sabre on the Johnson house was meant for Sweet but killed his mother, Beverly. That killing brings Carl "CJ" Johnson home from Liberty City, and he lands straight back in the feud.

Early missions trade blows between the two gangs. CJ and Ryder wreck a crack house in Idlewood, a Ballas car ambushes the crew at a Cluckin' Bell drive-thru, and Grove Street hits back with a drive-by of its own. In Doberman CJ takes Glen Park, which opens up gang wars. Later he breaks up a Ballas arms deal with the Russian Mafia, and a shootout at a Ballas funeral in Los Sepulcros ends with Kane dead.

The twist is that the Ballas have friends inside Grove Street. Wikipedia's summary of the game says Big Smoke and Ryder were secretly meeting with the Ballas and the corrupt officer Frank Tenpenny. GTA Wiki adds that both men hired the gang for protection in return for drugs and money. After the mission The Green Sabre, Sweet goes to prison and the Ballas take every Grove Street area, including Ganton itself.

CJ wins it back in the last act. After Sweet's release in Home Coming, the player can retake territory again, and in End of the Line CJ storms Big Smoke's base in East Los Santos and kills him. GTA Wiki says that loss leaves the Ballas much weaker.

Are the Ballas in GTA V?

Yes, as a new gang in the HD universe. In GTA V (17 September 2013) the Ballas are based in Davis, in south Los Santos, and GTA Wiki says they took Grove Street from The Families before the game begins. The wiki names three sets: the Original Covenant Ballas in western Davis, the East Side Ballas in eastern Davis and the South Rancho Ballas, who probably clash with the Vagos.

They are enemies for Franklin Clinton and his friend Lamar Davis, who belong to The Families. GTA Wiki lists their story appearances as Chop, The Long Stretch, Hood Safari, Lamar Down and The Third Way. In Hood Safari, a drugs deal with Ballas on Grove Street goes wrong and Trevor Philips, Franklin and Lamar have to fight their way out. The wiki names an OG called P as the leader of the Original Covenant set.

The Ballas in GTA Online

The gang turns up across GTA Online. Wikipedia dates the Lowriders update, with missions from Lamar, to 10 October 2015, and GTA Wiki says the Ballas are secondary villains in it. In The Contract, released on 15 December 2021 according to Wikipedia, the rivalry is put on hold: GTA Wiki says the Ballas under P and The Families join forces against the Vagos, who have stolen unreleased music from Dr. Dre. The wiki also lists Grove Street Survival and missions in later updates, and notes that beating Ballas in five gang attacks in one session puts a bounty on the player.