Melvin Harris, better known as Big Smoke, is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as a main character and the secondary antagonist of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Big Smoke was voiced by Clifton Powell, who has also appeared in Menace II Society, Next Friday, and Friday After Next.

Big Smoke appeared as a high-ranked member of the Grove Street Families who later defected to the Ballas, and made deals with the Los Santos Vagos and Russian Mafia, becoming the biggest criminal in the underworld of Los Santos.

Big Smoke makes multiple references to his desire to be remembered following his death.

Big Smoke seemingly understands some Spanish, as in the mission Running Dog, one of the Vagos says "Chinga a tu madre, pendejo" which roughly translates into "♥♥♥♥ your mother, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥". It is possible that Smoke understood this, given that he subsequently attacked the Vago. (Though the tone the Vago took made the general intent clear enough that this may not have been necessary.) His favorite radio station is Bounce FM.

Early life
Big Smoke was born in Los Santos, likely in Ganton due to his close relationship with Sweet and Carl Johnson, and he later became a member of the Grove Street Families. He rose through the ranks of the gang until he became the right hand man of Sweet, Carl's departure in 1987 following his brother's death helped Smoke and Sweet develop a closer relationship.

Big Smoke quotes the Bible on many occasions, hinting that he may be religious. But however, Carl claims he's "still talking ♥♥♥♥."

Joining the Ballas
Smoke also, at one point, lived in Ganton, which may have been from birth, but moved to Idlewood in 1989, purchasing a house with his aunt's money from her will. The Grove Street Families, however, began to lose influence and status among the city gangs, noticing that the Ballas, who control Idlewood, were selling drugs to fuel their rising influence. He then tries to persuade Sweet to allow the Grove Street Families to sell more potent drugs (since the Families already sell marijuana and PCP), although Sweet refuses due to crack cocaine's destructive influence on the areas they are sold in.

At some point, Big Smoke forms a clandestine alliance with the Ballas and begins to work with them. Smoke later includes the Los Santos Vagos and the Russian Mafia, who were hoping to get a foothold in Los Santos, into his new alliance. They also form an alliance with the Loco Syndicate who began supplying them with various drugs from their base in San Fierro, although he doesn't realize that an undercover government agent is involved in the operation.

Big Smoke’s Order refers to a scene in the 2004 action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in which the character Big Smoke orders an enormous amount of food at a drive thru restaurant. Online, the order has circulated as a copypasta, leading many to speculate about its contents.

Big Smoke’s Order refers to a scene in the 2004 action-adventure game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas in which the character Big Smoke orders an enormous amount of food at a drive thru restaurant. Online, the order has circulated as a copypasta, leading many to speculate about its contents.


Voice Comm: Can I take your order please?
Big Smoke: Carl, what do you want? You gotta eat to keep your strength up, man.
CJ: Ey, I’ll take a number 9, fat boy.
Ryder: Give me a number 9, just like him.
Sweet: I’ll have a number 6 with extra dip.
Big Smoke: I’ll have two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s, one with cheese, and a large soda.

On March 8th, 2014, YouTuber ICEnJAM uploaded a sprank call to a McDonald’s restaurant using a Big Smoke soundboard (shown below, right). Within three years, the video gained over 1.5 million views and 2,500 comments. On April 9th, 2015, YouTuber UrbanWildernessGuy uploaded a 1-hour-long remix of the scene (shown below, right).