Photographer Boogie captured what life was like on the streets in the early 2000s. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse Books

“Guns, money and drugs.” You definitely won’t see this side of New York City on any postcards.

Ten years ago Serbian born photographer known as Boogie gained the hard earned trust of people he believed would kill ‘each other over $20.’

After a chance initial meeting, a few gangsters asked him to snap their photos which then exposed him to the gun toting, drug taking dealers and junkies. He even played babysitter to some of their kids.

One of his most heartbreaking photographs features two small children, one pushing the other in a pram along a dirty, graffiti filled street in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

“I was babysitting while their mum went to buy drugs. They are now in foster care. These drug users live on welfare and they have kids and they feed sh*t to their kids and the rest of the money they spend on drugs,” he told Vice.

While some people think gang life is often glamorised in film and on television, he believes that “my shots show there’s nothing glamorous in any of that sh*t.”

In 2006 he released a book titled It’s All Good featuring the photos and stories of his time spent in the projects of Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant (both in Brooklyn) and Queensbridge (Queens).

Take a look inside the gritty lives of these underworld gangsters below:

Projects, Bedford­-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 2004

“This was the first time that I actually held a glock. When I asked one of the guys how much it cost, he told me, “Man, you don’t buy a gun in the projects. You just take it from somebody else.” By the way, you can get one for around $400,” Boogie explained in his book.

Projects, Bedford­-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 2004. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse BooksSource:Supplied

Bushwick, Brooklyn, 2005

“She would be all happy and nice before she shot up, but after she did, her face would change completely. She looked so miserable. I can’t imagine what she was going through.”

Bushwick, Brooklyn, 2005. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse BooksSource:Supplied

Projects, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 2003

“This pit bull was trained to fight by the guy’s uncle. He later bit the guy’s baby sister so they put him down.”

Projects, Bedford-­Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 2003. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse BooksSource:Supplied

Bushwick, Brooklyn, 2005

“This is a warning sign from the Latin Kings to a snitch. I heard that they later killed the guy. When you go to these neighbourhoods, you realise that probably at least 50 per cent of the people who live there have something to do with drugs. They’re dealers or junkies or ex-dealers and ex-junkies,” Boogie explained to Vice.com.

This is what intimidation looks like in the projects. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse BooksSource:Supplied

Bushwick, Brooklyn, 2004

“I was babysitting while their mum went to buy drugs. They are now in foster care. These drug users live on welfare and they have kids and they feed sh*t to their kids and the rest of the money they spend on drugs,” Boogie explained.

Bushwick, Brooklyn, 2004. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse BooksSource:Supplied

Bedford­-Stuyvesant, 2006

“Guns, money, and drugs ... and plenty of them.”

Trifecta — guns, money and drugs. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse BooksSource:Supplied

Bushwick, Brooklyn, 2003

“This guy used to be a crack dealer and then he became a crackhead. He lost his eye in a street fight.”

Bushwick, Brooklyn, 2003. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse BooksSource:Supplied

Photographer Boogie shot this general view of the projects in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse BooksSource:Supplied

Bedford­-Stuyvesant, 2006

“After the first edition of It’s All Good came out, I took it to the gangsters and they loved it. Then they took me to a safe house, an apartment in the projects where they kept their money, guns and ammo, all in a bunch of fireproof cases ... I told them “WTF, I needed that for the book!” then they said: “Well you could’ve put us all in jail and you didn’t, now we know we can trust you.”

Bedford­-Stuyvesant, 2006. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse BooksSource:Supplied

Bedford-­Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 2004

“This guy is doing life for murder now,” photographer Boogie explained about the gang member below.

Jailed for life. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse BooksSource:Supplied

Bedford-­Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, 2005

“There was dried blood all around the house.”

A house in Bed-Stuy showed scenes of blood and struggle. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse BooksSource:Supplied

Queensbridge, Queens, 2004

“I went to this guy’s place and he pulled out his chrome TEC-9 from under the table. It was a beautiful piece. TEC-9s are really popular among gang members because they’re cheap and they look good but they jam a lot and are extremely unreliable.”

Queensbridge, Queens, 2004. Picture: Boogie/powerHouse Books Source:Supplied