GTA San Andreas player finds real-life Grove Street easter egg

Alec Mullins
Grove Street's Carl Johnson is the main character of GTA San Andreas

Grand Theft Auto fans have gathered to marvel at a real-life GTA San Andreas easter egg that commemorates the home street of the game’s protagonist Carl Johnson. 

It’s not every day that video game references pop up out in the real world, but when they do show up, it’s easy to predict that dedicated fans of whatever the property is are going to flock to the site and share it with their friends.

That’s exactly what’s happened with this lonely tag that represents the Grove Street Families gang in the fourth installment in the Grand Theft Auto franchise.

GTA fans react to real-life San Andreas easter egg

GTA San Andreas Definitive edition logo
First released in 2004, 2021’s Definitive Edition brought players back to Grove Street again.

The little easter egg in question appears to have been painted on the inside wall of someone’s backyard.

There’s no way to tell how long it’s been there, but there’s no mistaking where it comes from, as the Grove Street 4 Lyfe tag from San Andreas is familiar to anyone who has played the game.

On top of being the sign of the GSF gang, this iconic phrase is also referenced in-game as the name of a mission (Grove 4 Lyfe) that CJ takes from Sweet where they reclaim some territory from the rival Ballas gang.

In response to this find, one commenter joked that anyone visiting this neighborhood should take stock of what clothing they have on as to not offend whoever painted it in the first place: “Hope you’re not wearing any purple.”

Another user mentioned that the San Andreas tags have had an incredibly far reach, with another of the game’s tags making it all the way to Turkey: “I remember one time I went to Istanbul, and I saw some graffiti on the wall that read ‘Ballas gang’ and it was sprayed in purple.”

These kinds of IRL easter eggs are incredibly easy to miss but it’s clear that dedicated fans of the franchise refuse to let their favorite games go unremembered.