Tupac Shakur was originally cast to play Sharif but was fired, which led to a physical fight with co-director Allen Hughes. Shakur was charged with assault and battery and bragged about the altercation on an appearance on Yo! MTV Raps (1988). A tape of the appearance was played at the trial as evidence against Shakur, and he was sentenced to fifteen days in jail.
Production was shut down for two days when members of the Hacienda Village Bloods (HVB) shot up the set in Jordan Downs (a housing project area, and a place considered Crip territory).
Al Essey was a regular on Crenshaw Boulevard and was used to help choose and "herd" the extras in the movie. He has remained in the Inglewood area.
New Line Cinema mandated that a platinum rapper be cast in the film, and so MC Eiht was cast as A-Wax.