friend vs homeboy

friend and homeboy both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
friend	Yes	No	No	No
homeboy	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, homeboy is a hyponym of friend; that is, homeboy is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than friend:

friend (noun)	homeboy (noun)
a person you know well and regard with affection and trust	a male friend from your neighborhood or hometown
a person with whom you are acquainted	a fellow male member of a youth gang
an associate who provides cooperation or assistance
a person who backs a politician or a team etc.