Trivia

Wesley Snipes originally wanted to play Scotty Appleton. However, Mario Van Peebles and Barry Michael Cooper insisted that he play Nino Brown, as the part was written especially for him.

On Inside the Actors Studio (1994), Chris Rock claimed that for several years following his acclaimed performance as a crack addict, drug dealers would approach him and put crack and cocaine in his pocket; joking that "they thought it was a documentary." He stated that, although he knew people who used crack at the time, he never did and, in his 1997 memoir "Rock This" had only smoked marijuana twice.

Mario Van Peebles had formed a friendship with Clint Eastwood when the pair made Heartbreak Ridge (1986). When Van Peebles took the "New Jack City" screenplay to Warner Bros., the studio was interested in the material, but weren't keen on having an unknown as the director/lead actor. Eastwood personally vouched for Van Peebles and told Warner Brothers to "give the kid a shot". The success of the film launched Van Peebles's directing career.

Story is largely based on a real-life Detroit gang known as The Chambers Brothers. Writer Barry Michael Cooper got the idea for the film after visiting Detroit and learning about the gang's exploits.

Ice-T recounted in his autobiography that he was cast in the film by being in the right place at the right time. That place was a nightclub, and Mario Van Peebles was also there that night. "Mario said he overheard me talking sh*t in the bathroom," Ice T wrote. "I don't remember this exactly, but apparently I was telling someone: 'The problem is, if they could put me under a microscope and find one molecule of me that gave a f*ck, then they'd have a chance.'" Van Peebles liked what he heard and told someone that "whoever said that is going to be the star of my next movie." He found Ice T in the club, gave him his number, and convinced the rapper to contact him the next day.