Big Smoke


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

"Respect has to be earned, Sweet - just like money."

- Big Smoke

Melvin "Big Smoke" Harris is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as a main character and the secondary antagonist of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Big Smoke was voiced by Clifton Powell, who has also appeared in Menace II Society.

Description
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.

Big Smoke makes multiple references to his desire to be remembered following his death.

Big Smoke seemingly understands some Spanish, as in the mission Running Dog, one of the Vagos says "Chinga a tu madre, pendejo" which roughly translates into "Fuck your mother, dickhead". It is possible that Smoke understood this, and attacked the Vago for this reason, but it is more likely that he was annoyed with their lack of cooperation.

Big Smoke's favourite radio stations are Bounce FM and Radio Los Santos.

Interestingly, Big Smoke's intials are "BS", an abbreviation of "bullshit", which could be a reference to his deception and betrayal of Grove Street Families.

Early Life
Big Smoke was born in 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 brothers death.

Big Smoke quotes the Bible on many occasions, hinting that he may be religious.

Joining the Ballas
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 house with his 'aunts 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, 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 realise that an undercover government agent is involved in the operation.

Carl's Return
"CJ? Ooohh my dog! Whassup? Hahaha! Hey baby, you okay, man?"

- Big Smoke

In 1992, after failing to convince Sweet, he goes to Ryder and convinces him to join forces with the Ballas, who later attempts to kill Sweet but fails, instead killing his mother. The death of Beverly Johnson leads to her son, Carl, returning from Liberty City and Carl meets Smoke inside his old house. Smoke initially fails to realise Carl but immediately accepts the return of an old friend, contrary to Sweet who remains initially hostile. At the funeral a Ballas car appears and performs a drive-by shooting, forcing Smoke, Carl, Sweet and Ryder to use 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-by on the gang, claiming that he did not want to waste the food.

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 police officers involved in C.R.A.S.H., which Smoke states is because they are 'nosey', although it is another sign of his true allegiances. C.R.A.S.H. are seen again exiting Smoke's home.

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 baseball bat with Carl chasing and killing the second. The two later work together to 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 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.

Smoke continues his friendship with Sweet and Carl, although he and Ryder both refuse to enter the Jefferson Motel during the attempt to re-unite the divided Grove Street Families, knowing that the meeting was to be interupted 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.

Betrayal and rise
"Shit, Smoke...C.R.A.S.H. makin' you sell us out!"

- Carl Johnson

Cesar Vialpando, the boyfriend of Sweet and Carl's sister Kendl, later 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.

In the abscence 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 garage in San Fierro has Wu Zi Mu and his Triad allies discover more about the trio.

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 Jizzy, San Fierro Rifa leader T-Bone Mendez and undercover agent Mike Toreno, as well as Ryder, before destroying their drug manufacturing factory, stopping the supply back to Los Santos. Smoke, however, is undetered and instead starts his 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 (which can be heard on the radio anytime after the mission Pier 69) that he is using his money to try and stop the sale drugs in Los Santos, despite being the drug baron of the city.

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

Fallen and Death
"I had no choice, I had to do it. I just see the opportunity. When I'm gone, everyone's gonna remember my name...BIG SMOKE!"

- Big Smoke's dying words

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 American interests. As a reward, Toreno gets Sweet parolled from prison and the two 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 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).

The Johnson brothers then decide to take down Big Smoke and his operation, using a SWAT Tank to brake 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 interupted by Tenpenny, who he later chases before he drives a fire truck off a bridge into Grove Street and dies.

Big Smoke is shown to have two large bullet holes in his armour following the shoot-out during End of the Line, regardless of how he is killed. It is even possible to kill him in a single punch if the "Super Punch" cheat is turned on, and the bullet holes will still show up on his armour.

Vehicle

 * Big Smoke drives a blue Glendale, with a white roof, which has the licence 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 his weight, and some believe it to be a reference to the Cypress Hill song 'A to the motherfucking K', which was released in 1993 (a year after GTA San Andreas).

Big Smoke also had a black Perennial, which was blown up by the Ballas in the mission Sweet & Kendl.

Development
The beta version of Big Smoke is shown wearing a white Los Santos Saints 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.

Mission appearances

 * GTA San Andreas
 * The Introduction
 * Big Smoke (Boss)
 * Sweet & Kendl
 * Tagging Up Turf
 * Cleaning the Hood
 * Drive-Thru
 * Nines and AKs
 * Drive-By
 * OG Loc (Boss)
 * Running Dog (Boss)
 * Wrong Side of the Tracks (Boss)
 * Just Business (Boss)
 * Reuniting the Families
 * The Green Sabre (Betrayal)
 * End of the Line (Killed)

Gallery
Big Smoke Big Smoke Big Smoke Big Smoke (homonymie) Big Smoke Big Smoke Melvin Harris Big Smoke