Azie Faison on Harlem’s Paid in Full Story

Transcript

all right here we go az faison welcome back to vlad tv yes indeed playboy what's happening man what's what's on your mind what's on your mind black well you know we did an interview five years ago it was a it was a very big interview a lot of people saw it millions and millions of people got to view it but with the recent passing of alpo we thought... Read More

Key Insights

• Azie Faison was born in the Bronx in 1964 and moved to Harlem at age six after a cooking-related apartment fire destroyed his family’s building. His father rescued Faison and his younger sister, and the family then spent about six months living in a shelter.
• Faison’s father supported a household that included children from different fathers. Faison describes him as a dependable man who worked, returned home, avoided drinking and foolish behavior, and cared for the family until his death, despite meeting Faison’s mother after she already had several children.
• Sugar Hill was known for nightlife, bars, gambling locations, after-hours venues, and residents associated with entertainment and street history. Faison says heroin use was more visible in other parts of Harlem, while the hill itself did not display the same level of open drug activity.
• Faison’s family remained on welfare after relocating to Sugar Hill in 1970. He recalls his father climbing through a first-floor window when welfare workers appeared because having a man in the home who provided for the family could cause his mother to lose assistance.
• Rich Porter pursued several ways to make money before becoming established in drug sales. Faison remembers him selling newspapers and passing cooked sage and eggs off as hash to buyers from New Jersey, then later working with a man named Ellison in heroin distribution.
• Faison dropped out during the ninth grade to work full time and help his family make ends meet. Although he expected additional hours at the cleaners to increase his income, he says his regular pay remained $75 per week, supplemented only by occasional tips from clothing deliveries.
• The cleaners where Faison worked had connections to Harlem’s numbers business. Its owner was a number writer rather than a drug dealer, and number bankers brought their collections there on Saturday mornings before the operation gradually developed into a functioning cleaning business.
• Faison’s entry into cocaine sales eventually produced earnings of up to $50,000 per day, according to the interview description. He worked with Alpo Martinez while Rich Porter was incarcerated, and the three began working together following Porter’s release.

Questions & Answers

Q: How did Azie Faison’s childhood shape his later choices?

Azie Faison grew up in a large family that struggled financially. After a fire destroyed their Bronx building when he was six, his family spent about six months in a shelter before moving to Sugar Hill. His mother received welfare, while his father worked to provide for the household. Faison says these conditions made him feel responsible for helping his family survive.

Q: Why did Azie Faison drop out of high school?

Azie Faison dropped out during the ninth grade because he believed working full time would allow him to earn more money and help his family make ends meet. He was employed at a cleaners and viewed additional work as a practical response to poverty. However, he says his regular salary stayed at $75 per week, even after leaving school.

Q: What was Azie Faison’s job before selling drugs?

Azie Faison worked at a cleaners and describes himself at that stage as a good kid who followed a legitimate path. He helped his mother with rent and earned $75 per week, along with occasional tips for delivering clothing. The cleaners had originally served as a front connected to a numbers operation before developing a genuine cleaning business.

Q: How did Rich Porter make money before major drug sales?

Rich Porter tried several small hustles to stay afloat. Faison remembers him selling newspapers and cooking sage and eggs because the mixture smelled like hash, then selling it as hash to white buyers arriving from New Jersey. Faison says Porter later joined a man named Ellison in selling heroin under a stamped bag name called Much Better.

Q: What was Sugar Hill like during Azie Faison’s childhood?

Sugar Hill was a prominent Harlem neighborhood with bars, gambling locations, after-hours establishments, and active nightlife. Faison names places such as the Blue Book, Mark IV, and Triggers Lounge. He also recalls a building where famous residents lived. Although heroin affected Harlem, he says its visible effects were less common on Sugar Hill than in lower nearby areas.

Q: How did welfare rules affect Azie Faison’s family?

Faison says his mother remained on welfare after the family moved to Sugar Hill in 1970. When welfare representatives unexpectedly visited, his father sometimes climbed out of a first-floor window because officials could terminate assistance if a man was present and providing for the household. Faison believed the available payments were still insufficient to support the family adequately.

Q: How much money did Azie Faison make selling crack?

According to the interview description, Azie Faison made as much as $50,000 per day while selling crack. That income represented a dramatic change from the $75 per week he had earned at the cleaners. The account connects his transition to the growing image of cocaine and to the powerful financial attraction of the drug trade.

Q: How were Azie Faison, Rich Porter, and Alpo Martinez connected?

Azie Faison says he knew Rich Porter from their neighborhood when Porter was around 13 or 14. According to the description, Faison later worked with Alpo Martinez while Porter was incarcerated. After Porter was released, the three began working together. Their real relationships and experiences became associated with the story known through Paid in Full.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Azie Faison was born in the Bronx in 1964 and moved to Sugar Hill after a fire destroyed his family’s building. Following six months in a shelter, the family settled in Harlem, where his mother remained on welfare and his father worked steadily to support a large household.

• Faison dropped out of school in the ninth grade because he hoped full-time work at a cleaners would help his family. His pay remained $75 per week, despite longer hours and occasional delivery tips. Meanwhile, Rich Porter progressed from selling newspapers and fake hash to participating in heroin sales.

• Faison recalls cocaine becoming more culturally visible after Scarface and eventually entering the drug trade himself. According to the description, he made as much as $50,000 per day selling crack, worked with Alpo Martinez while Rich Porter was incarcerated, and later participated in an arrangement involving all three men.