For the character in the HD Universe, see OG Loc (HD Universe).
Jeffrey Cross (or Jefferey Martin, as on the official GTA San Andreas website), known professionally as OG Loc, is a main character in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
He is voiced by Jonathan "Jas" Anderson.
History[]
Background[]
Jeffrey grew up on Grove Street in Ganton, Los Santos, where he became friends with several members of the Grove Street Families, including Sweet Johnson and Big Smoke. Jeffrey lacked the physical capability to join the Families, but was still enamored of the gangster lifestyle. Somewhere between 1987 and 1992, he started going by the name "OG Loc". Sweet and Big Smoke criticized Jeffrey's behavior, Sweet even advising him to leave the ghetto and attend college, but Jeffrey was set on becoming a rapper and later started committing petty crimes, mostly traffic violations. These criminal offences landed him in jail for a few weeks. While in jail, he built up his street credibility.
Events of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
When Carl Johnson arrived back in Los Santos, OG Loc was still in prison. CJ accompanied Sweet and Smoke to the police station to pick him up, where CJ angered Loc by calling him Jeffrey. Loc immediately enlisted CJ's help in killing Freddy, a member of Los Santos Vagos whom he claimed had "disrespected" him (Freddy had revealed that they had a non-consensual homosexual relationship while in prison). Loc was then ordered to work as a Burger Shot janitor by his parole officer, and in the process of attempting to become famous, ruined Madd Dogg's career by having CJ steal his rhyme book and kill his manager (who called Loc whack). Despite the fact that Loc is a terrible rapper with a squeaky, scratchy voice, he slowly but surely makes a name for himself in the underground by using Madd Dogg's stolen lyrics.
After the downfall of the Grove Street Families, Big Smoke chose to launder his drug money by granting Loc a record contract, making him rich and famous. Using Madd Dogg's rhyme book, he recorded his first (and only) album Str8 From Tha Streetz, immediately paired with a clothing company, Loc-Down (a reference to his prison stint, complete with a handcuff logo) available at Victim. He was interviewed by Lazlow Jones on WCTR. Despite mocking him in the past, Big Smoke goes on with the charade that OG Loc is a real gangster, and juxtaposes it with another falsehood that he (Smoke) is a philanthropist attempting to fight off the crack epidemic - "so either way, you can feel good about yourself listening to this music!"
After the recovery of both Madd Dogg and the Grove Street Families (in a partnership), OG Loc was chased down by Carl and Madd Dogg himself from the set of his music video in Flint County all the way to Blastin' Fools Records in Los Santos, and finally extorted for Madd Dogg's rhyme book and royalties from his album. This is based on Vanilla Ice having been extorted by Suge Knight for a stolen song. Shortly after, his manager, Big Smoke, was killed, and OG Loc did not return to the rap game.
After the Events of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas[]
Downfall and Disappearance[]
In 1992, OG Loc's clothing brand Loc-Down completely lost its popularity and the price of their merchandise sold in clothing stores fell. In 1998, during the events of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, there is not a single mention of OG Loc's album, while Madd Dogg's albums are seen being advertised on billboards in Liberty City.
In 2004, a blogger by the name of "Big Smilky" who owns the blog "Forgotten Legends of West Coast Rap" (as part of the promotional material for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas) posted an article on his homepage reminiscing the rap music from the West Coast in the 1990s. According to his blog, OG Loc vanished right after releasing his only, poorly received album Str8 From Tha Streetz recorded shortly after he got out from the jail during the events of the game.
The reason for his disappearance is likely due to him going back to jail, as in the House Party mission, he quit his job at the Burger Shot restaurant, thus violating his conditional freedom, and subsequently sued by Blastin' Fools Records for stealing Madd Dogg's rhymes and claiming ownership of his unreleased songs.
According to Smilky, there is only one small segment of one his songs that survived, and is considered lost media by 2004 – a demo of the same rap he is seen singing during House Party. The audio is available on his post on the blog/promotional website.
Character[]
Personality[]
OG Loc is best described as a wannabe gangster and self-proclaimed talented rapper. Although he is usually dressed up like a gangster and prefers others to refer to himself as OG Loc instead of using his real name (Jeffrey Cross), he is considered too weak (physically and mentally) to properly join the Grove Street Families, even though he usually hangs out with the high-ranking members of the gang.
Loc has a tendency to exaggerate things to make himself sounds like a "real gangster", such as calling his janitor parole job at Burger Shot as being a "hygiene technician". This tendency is usually met with either sarcastic agreement or dismissive banters by his friends. Despite his "homies'" dismissal, he is still treated as an eccentric, yet good friend by them.
To build up his "notoriety", Loc performed various petty crimes such as joyriding and parking fines simply to have himself jailed. However, he ended up becoming "somebody's bitch" after being raped by Freddy in prison. Loc refuses to admit this out of embarrassment, as he claims that he held a grudge against Freddy for stealing his rhyme book. This fact is already known by Sweet and Big Smoke, who find it humorous. Understandably, Loc is quite angry about whenever this is brought up, as he exacted revenge on Freddy with CJ's help, and later quit his parole job after being made fun of, as he was called "ass technician".
Considering himself as a "player" in the rap game, OC Loc devoted himself to writing and making rap songs, which everyone claimed to be terrible. Although he often refers to his career as being like a "communicator whose messages cannot be heard", Loc is well aware of how bad his songs are, so he uses any means possible to "get heard" and become famous.
To this end, Loc asks his friend Carl Johnson to perform various errands, such as stealing a sound system and Madd Dogg's rhyme book, and later assassinate Madd Dogg's manager to "get into the game". However, Carl only agreed to Loc's requests so that he does not have to hear his terrible songs again. This does not end quite well for Carl, as Loc tricked him into attending his debut party by telling Carl that his microphone is broken.
After Big Smoke betrayed the Grove Street Families, OG Loc became famous thanks to Smoke's patronage and management, even managing to secure a record deal for himself. This newfound fame has made Loc become quite egotistic, making him claim that "Kids want Loc" and that Madd Dogg (whose career he ruined) is "yesterday's news".
While Loc was not involved with the conspiracy against his gang, after knowing his association with Smoke, along with witnessing how bad Madd Dogg's life became due to Loc's antics (though Carl did have an involvement in it), Carl (now a manager for Dogg) agreed with Dogg to confront Loc to put an end to his undeserved fame and restore Dogg's career.
When being confronted by his old friend, OG Loc is shown to be a coward, as he tries to escape from Dogg and Carl, all while claiming that they will be dealt with by Smoke. When he is finally cornered at Blastin' Fools Records, Loc becomes fearful of Dogg and attempts to talk his way out by "crediting" him for his upcoming album and offering him "royalties" to compensate for the trouble Dogg went through.
This did not end well for Loc though, as Carl exposes Loc's antics to the record company executive Jimmy Silverman, who agrees to sign Dogg back and sue Loc for his crimes. It is safe to say that, after he was exposed, along with the failure of his one and only album, OG Loc's brief rap career comes to an end.
Discography[]
- 1992: Str8 From Tha Streetz
Prominent Appearances in Gameplay[]
- The Introduction
- OG Loc
- Life's a Beach (Boss)
- Madd Dogg's Rhymes (Boss)
- Management Issues (Boss)
- House Party (Boss)
- Cut Throat Business (Betrayal)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- OG Loc has a different universe variant of himself in the HD Universe in the new continuity started in Grand Theft Auto IV, along with other previous media personalities.
- Because Carl Johnson, Jimmy Silverman and Blastin' Fools Records had never existed in this universe to ruin his career, OG Loc had a successful life in the music business and consistent fame from the 1990s to the present day.
- OG Loc's beta name was MC Strap. The "MC" radar icon still exists within the game files. OG Loc's missions are marked with "STRAP" in the .GXT files (mission transcript files).
- When Madd Dogg asks CJ on "How does a fake, busta, phony like suck-ass Loc make it in the rap game?," CJ replies that "it's all about showmanship and dance routines," referring to the early 1990s trend of hip-hop by MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice and others, although Loc states on Entertaining America with Lazlow when asked to dance "I ain't down with that shit, it ain't gangsta!"
- When listening to some radio shows featuring OG Loc, his voice is much deeper and doesn't break.
- According to a caller on Entertaining America, OG Loc has a song where he raps about the Louisiana Purchase.
- Katie Zhan dislikes Loc. While on dates with Carl Johnson, she derides him by saying "OG Loc? OG Joke is more like it".
- In the mobile/PS3/Xbox 360 versions of the game, OG Loc's beanie has a pattern on it and he inexplicably has a moustache. The pattern is actually from an earlier version of Loc's model where he wore a bandana, as seen in a pre-release screenshot and his Base 5 poster. This appears to only affect his cutscene appearance, however, as his in-game appearance is the same as his original one.
- The Definitive Edition seems to inherit these changes, but to both of his appearances.
References[]
- ↑ Disappeared without a trace after his album Str8 From Tha Streetz was poorly received upon release in the early 1990s. His whereabouts are unknown as of 2004, according to Forgotten Legends of West Coast Rap blog (promotional website).