The Mad Swan Bloods, also known as the Byrd Gang, are a Blood set from the east side of South Los Angeles. They started out in the early 1970s as the Main Street Swans. Back then it was a group of guys from the blocks around 77th Street, mainly along Main Street up toward Manchester. The original name was 77 Main Street Swans, and they were just trying to hold their own in the neighborhood.
Over time the name changed to Mad Swan Bloods. They broke down into subsets on 77th, 79th, 80th, and 84th Streets. A few of the 84th Street guys flipped to the Crips side in the late '70s and became part of the 84 Main Street Crips (later Mafia Crips), which turned into a long-standing rivalry.
Their turf sits between 77th and 84th Streets, east of the Main Street Crips, west of the 76 East Coast Crips, south of the 6 Pacc East Coast Crips, and north of the 88 Avalon Garden Crips. They linked up with the Neighborhood Family Swan Bloods (the 89 and 92 Family sets) and operate together as the Family Swan Bloods. That's been their main alliance on the east side.
One of the well-known stories from their history is from 1988, when a respected member named Derrick “Poo Bear” Young was killed in a gang-related shooting. That incident was the basis for the documentary Dead Homiez, which showed what the streets were like back then.
For your faction thread (straight copy-paste version):
The Mad Swan Bloods (Byrd Gang) started as the Main Street Swans in the early 1970s on the east side of South Los Angeles. Subsets run 77th, 79th, 80th, and 84th Streets. We're aligned with the Family Swan Bloods and hold it down against the surrounding Crip sets. Red flags, swan tags, 77-84.
