5%

Lorimer and Meserole, Brooklyn, NY. 2008
So I knew these guys existed, just not three blocks away from the house.

The group was founded by Clarence 13X (né Clarence Jowars Smith), who was credited with originating the teachings that formed the foundations of the Five-Percenter movement.Clarence 13X was a Korean War veteran who served as a Private First Class between October 1952 and October 1954, receiving a Bronze Service Star, Korean Service Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, and a United Nations Service Medal, and served until 1960 in the United States Army Reserve.

Clarence 13X was also a member of the Nation of Islam and attended NOI Temple Number Seven in Harlem, New York, where Malcolm X was a minister from 1960 to 1963. Multiple stories exist as to why Clarence 13X left Nation of Islam, some have Clarence refusing to give up gambling; others have him questioning the unique divinity of Wallace Fard Muhammad, whom the NOI believed was the True and Living God, or questioning his position due to the fact that Fard was part Caucasian. The story, regardless of version, states that Clarence was then disciplined by the NOI and excommunicated in 1963. This expulsion by the NOI led Clarence 13X to shed his Black Muslim name, and adopt the name Allah, proclaiming himself to be God (an echo of the 1930's black preacher Father Divine). He then began to teach others his views based on his own interpretation of NOI teachings. He found success beginning in late 1964 with the disenfranchised youth on the streets of Harlem.

The members of the Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE) view themselves (men of their Nation) as their own God (both individually and collectively the Original Man). Five Percenters sometimes refer to themselves as scientists, implying their search for knowledge and proof, and not beliefs in theories.