The best replacement for folks is crips.

The best alternatives to folks are rated as following:
★★★★★  crips
★★★  bloods
★★★  guys
★★  folk
★★  latin kings
★  vice lords
★  folx
  white folks
  folks
  peoples
  we folks

Your alternative for folks is not listed? Suggest!
Speaking about folks, one probably shouldn't forget about different strokes.

Other search terms related to folks and their ratings are:
★★★★★ different strokes
You have in mind a companion for folks and it is not yet here? Propose!



Google Trends

Scale is based on the average worldwide traffic of folks in all years. Click on graph for more.
folks
crips
bloods