Like most young men the goal is to always make it out the hood with your life and money intact.

Kayson 'Hood' Gold is no different. Big dreams take a lot to turn into reality and he knew if he was gonna get shit shaking then he needed one thing...money. Late nights turned into even later nights as he hustled to provide not only for himself but his mother too. The come up was on the rise and if Hood had anything to say about it he would be the first in line.

Seeing beyond the darkest days has always been Dakota "Ko-Ko' Frazier's greatest gift. She would take the saddest of situations and turn it into something to celebrate. She saw the beauty in the ugly and the greatness in the weak. The tragic part of it all was the sentiment was rarely returned. Responsibility weight heavy on her shoulders with her grandfather and little sister depending on her. What doesn't crumble never falls in terms of Ms. KoKo. If you need it she got and nothing's too pricy for her to boost. She didn't agree with the methods used to finance her life but sometimes you had to do unspeakable acts just to make sure comfortability wasn't no longer a luxury.

From Harlem New York to the South side Jace, 'Harlem' Banks found himself right back where his life began; in poverty. The imprisonment of his father uproots his family and intensifies his ambition. The days of his mother struggling are done in his eyes. He jumps in headfirst but isn't greeted by water in a friendly manner. Misery and confusion crashes into him like a wave.

Never being wanted from birth isn't an easy trauma to live with. River Tyson has been a ward of the state since she took her first coo. The feeling of being unloved and undervalued has haunted her until she found love where it never should've been found. A conversation with the women in the mirror is needed but for River she isn't worthy of having it.

That gutter life was cool when it came to some females but Destini Marcell always saw her life going differently. The hustle and bustle of the hood never intrigued her but in fact disgusted her. She was better and above all of it. Modeling became a passion while fame became an obsession. Who Destini had to step on didn't matter because she was who she was and wanted what she wanted.

Franklin housing projects is notorious on the southside of Chicago and for five friends it's the place they call home. Pissy hallways, crack fiends in and out the buildings, dope boys on the stoop, big body cars, and even bigger money was what their place of residence has to offer.

Greater things have come from worse places but for these five the hood was either gonna humble 'em or crumble 'em.