The Hidden Valley Kings is a neighborhood-based gang in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was formed in the early 1990s, as a branch of the Queen City Kingz, which started in the Cedar Greene housing complex, east of Hidden Valley, near the streets of Craighead and North Tryon. The Queen City Kingz were formed by a 4 Corner Hustlers member who moved to Charlotte from Chicago in the early 1990s. He initially established a 4 Corner Hustler faction in the Cedar Greene and Woodview Apartment Complexes, but as a way to be inclusive of another Vice Lord faction, which was developing in Dalton Village Projects off of West Boulevard, an agreement was made by all parties involved to change the name of the gang to the Queen City Kingz, which played on the nickname of the City of Charlotte, which people dub the "Queen City." The name, according to the Original Kingz, was the gang's affirmation to the claiming of the city, stating: "The Queen City is our bitch, which makes us the Kingz." Shortly thereafter, he was incarcerated on an unrelated offense. A Cedar Greene Apartments resident named "Corn," along with Corn's half-brother, was left in charge. Corn proved to be a very charismatic and dedicated leader, remaining loyal to the movement until his suicide, several years later. The Kingz, which originally stood for Knowledgeable Islamic Nubian Gods, then renamed Krucial Islamic Nubian Gods, was meant to be a Charlotte, home-grown version of the Chicago Vice Lords, which also utilized pseudo-Islamic teaching. Their structure was different than the Vice Lords' structure, however. The Vice Lords were structured with a King (or Chief), Universal Elites (3-5 stars), Branch Elites (3-5 Stars), Minister, Enforcer, Lieutenant, Foot Soldiers, etc. The Kings were structured similar to the Los Angeles gangs, but instead of "Original Gangsta (OG)" or "Baby Gangta (BG)," the Queen City Kingz used "Original King (OK)," or "Baby King (BK)." The original Kings, which were formed in Cedar Greene Apartments, were accountable to Vice Lords in Chicago, were aware of Vice Lord symbols, literature, and rivals, as evidenced by the gang's graffiti in Cedar Greene Apartments, and on the wall near the pool hall/liquor store on Craighead Street. They also wore their hats to the left, and did a gang handshake that was characteristic of Chicago Vice Lords. The only difference outside of the name and structure, was the fact that the Kingz' colors were black and green (Vice Lord colors were black and gold, however the colors black/green [although the color of the Mickey Cobras in Chicago] was nonetheless a tradition of Chicago gangs, which never went by just one color, but always included black as one of their colors). The Kingz chose this color to honor the name of the neighborhood where they started, which was Cedar Greene Apartments. Just as the Vice Lords in Chicago had different branches, or "sets," the Queen City Kingz had a number of small sets as well. These sets were actually small groups of members who lived in different Charlotte communities, who were dedicated to spreading the Kingz to each of these neighborhoods. Some of them were successful, but many of them were unknown in their respective neighborhoods. Among the factions were the Wilmore Kingz (WMK), the Creek Town Kingz (CTK or FOC), The Cedar Greene Kingz (CGK), the Dalton Village Kingz (DVK), the Woodview Kingz (WVK), the Hidden Valley Kingz, (HVK), among others. Of these various sets, the Hidden Valley Kingz became the most prominent.

Eventually, the Hidden Valley Kings (HVK) gained independence as a gang, as the original concept and philosophy of the Queen City Kingz seemed to have died with Corn, the gangs former leader. Corn's half-brother began to get heavily involved in rap and radio (many of the Original Queen City Kingz were actually aspiring rap artists, with a full LP to their credit), seemingly leaving the gang life behind. The HVK now represented themselves with black bandanas. In the 1990s their (QCK's)activities consisted mainly of selling narcotics for profit, though Corn often stated that "There are many hustles outside of selling drugs." In the 2000s they began organizing the neighborhood, mimicking the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, dividing it into three zones. The Hidden Valley Kings don't have too many known enemies but within the neighborhood, some members have been known to have altercations between the United Blood Nation [1]

Around 2003 or 2004, a younger group of Kings that went to high school together started a clique or a subfaction of the gang called the "North Side Valley Boys" or "NSVB" for short. The NSVB originated with younger guys who aspired to become recognized as members of The Hidden Valley Kings. The Valley Boys often emulated the actions of the older members who had reached the status of being called a Hidden Valley King. Members of NSVB were often involved in dealing narcotics with older HVK members and have also been involved in other offenses such as robberies, breaking and entering, and assaults. Over the years a number of NSVB were elevated in the ranks of the gang and became considered HVK.

On November 28, 2005, members of the Hidden Valley Kings ran into a rival drug dealer who refused to pay taxes at Eastland Mall. After a shootout in the mall's food court, the victim managed to escape. Later that night, the Kings lured the dealer into a local motel on North Tryon Street as they attempted to ambush the victim. Once again, the victim managed to escape. The Kings chased him down Tryon exchanging fire between the two vehicles. After colliding with a telephone pole, the victim took off running in a nearby neighborhood. After a brief chase, the Kings eventually caught up to the victim and while cornered, killed him, shooting him point-blank with an AK-47Assault Rifle.[2]

The brutal manner in which the murder occurred, triggered the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department to begin taking action against the gang. The department put together a Special Operations Unit to take down the Hidden Valley Kings. They gathered informants and followed the Kings for almost two years gathering information on how the gang operated. On March 30, 2007, more than one hundred task force agents cracked down on the Kings. They arrested over 20 Hidden Valley King members including the leaders on multiple charges