N.W.A. (
Niggaz with Attitude) were a Compton, California-based hip hop group widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre.
[ Former N.W.A. manager talks gangsta rap] Active from 1986 to 1991, the group endured controversy due to the explicit nature of their lyrics. They were subsequently banned from many mainstream U.S. radio stations and even at times prevented from touring - yet the group has still sold over 9 million units in the U.S. alone.
[http://www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MID=367137231&MemberId=4188145151] Their second album,
Straight Outta Compton, marked the beginning of the new gangsta rap era as the production and the social commentary in their lyrics were revolutionary within the genre.
''Rolling Stone'' ranked N.W.A. eighty-third on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".
[[http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939214/the_immortals_the_first_fifty/ "100 Greatest Artists of All Time"], ''Rolling Stone''.] Although largely unknowns at the group's inception, rappers Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and MC Ren would all go on to be platinum-selling stars in their own right.
History
Jerry and Eazy
Compton drug dealer Eazy-E began Ruthless Records with Jerry Heller, a music industry veteran who recognized Eazy's charisma from their first encounter. Heller, who was already involved in the West Coast hip hop and electro hop scene, abandoned all of his projects for their new venture. A few artists from Alonzo Williams' Kru-Cut Records had been experiencing difficulties getting paid, and jumped ship to Ruthless, including World Class Wreckin' Cru DJs Dr. Dre and Yella, and C.I.A. rapper Ice Cube. Cube was primarily hired as an in-house ghostwriter, and when one of his songs called "Boyz-n-the-Hood" was rejected, label boss OLI, despite not being an emcee, decided to rap it himself.
[Huey, Steve. Eazy-E Biography. All Music Guide. Last accessed 2007-08-17.] Despite his shortcomings, Eazy-E's high-pitched voice had a unique appeal, and a group was formed around Eazy: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and electro artist the Arabian Prince.
Ruthless released
N.W.A. and the Posse in 1987 with Macola Records. Although sometimes seen as N.W.A.'s debut album, it is actually a compilation of Ruthless artists, "the Posse" (which included the Fila Fresh Crew, a group featuring future solo star and N.W.A songwriter The D.O.C.), and many of its songs had been previously released, such as the collaborations between Eazy-E and beatboxer Ron-De-Vu. N.W.A. was still in its developing stages, and only credited on four of the eleven tracks, notably the uncharacteristic electro hop record "Panic Zone", "8 Ball", and "Dopeman", which first brought together (on wax) Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E. Also included was Eazy-E's solo record "Boyz-n-the Hood".
[Henderson, Alex. "N.W.A. and the Posse" - Overview. All Music Guide. Last accessed August 17, 2007.] In 1988 rapper MC Ren joined the group
[Huey, Steve. MC Ren Biography. All Music Guide. Last accessed August 17, 2007.], while Arabian Prince left (but would nonetheless be pictured on their next album cover, between DJ Yella and Ice Cube).
[http://www.discogs.com/artist/Arabian+Prince,+The] This personnel change marked the group's final transition before stardom.
"The World's Most Dangerous Group"
N.W.A. released the groundbreaking
Straight Outta Compton in 1988. Many considered it a wake-up call to the problems that were going on in the West Coast, particularly in their home of South Central Los Angeles.
[Henderson, Alex. "Straight Outta Compton" Review. All Music Guide. August 17, 2007.] With its famous opening salvo of three songs, the group reflected the rising anger of the urban youth ("Straight Outta Compton"), violently protested police brutality and racial profiling ("Fuck tha Police"), and painted the worldview of the inner-city youth ("Gangsta Gangsta"). While the group was later credited as pioneers of the burgeoning subgenre of gangsta rap, N.W.A. in fact referred to their music as "reality rap".
[Duff, S.L. N.W.A. Biography. Yahoo! Music. Last accessed August 17, 2007.]Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, as High Powered Productions, composed the beats for each song, with Dre making occasional rapping appearances.
[http://www.discogs.com/release/335575] Ice Cube and, to a lesser extent, MC Ren both wrote the lyrics. "Fuck tha Police", perhaps the group's most notorious song, brought them into conflict with various law enforcement agencies. Under pressure from Focus on the Family
Milt Ahlerich, an assistant director of the FBI, sent a letter to Ruthless and its parent company Priority Records advising the rappers that "advocating violence and assault is wrong and we in the law enforcement community take exception to such action".
[ Ice Cube biography] Policemen refused to provide security for the group's concerts, hurting their plans to tour. Nonetheless, the FBI's letter only served to draw more publicity to the group.
Straight Outta Compton was also one of the first albums to adhere to the new Parental Advisory label scheme, then in its early stages: the now-iconic label then only consisted of "WARNING: Moderate impact coarse language and/or themes". However, the taboo nature of N.W.A.'s music was the greatest part of its mass appeal. The media coverage compensated for N.W.A.'s virtual lack of airplay and their album eventually went double platinum, selling two million copies.
One month after
Straight Outta Compton, Eazy-E's solo debut was released.
Eazy-Duz-It was dominated by Eazy's persona - MC Ren, appearing on two songs, was the only guest rapper - but behind the scenes it was a group effort. Music was handled by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, and the lyrics were largely written by Ren, with contributions from Ice Cube and The D.O.C. The album was another platinum success for Ruthless (in addition to girl group J.J. Fad in 1988 and singer Michel'le in 1989), also going double.
[ Eazy-E Biography at eazye.info] 1989 saw the re-issue of
Straight Outta Compton on compact disc, and the release of The D.O.C.'s
No One Can Do It Better. The album was essentially a collaboration between "The D.O.C. and The Doctor" and notably free of "Gangsta rap content", but culminated in the N.W.A. posse cut "The Grand Finalé". It would be another number one album for the crew.
"Departure"
Ice Cube, the principal songwriter of the group, left in late-1989 over royalty disputes.
[Leigh, Danny. Chillin' With Cube. The Guardian: February 25, 2000.] He wasted little time putting together his solo debut, 1990's
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, but avoided mentioning his former labelmates. The only possible exception is an interlude dubbed "A Message to the Oreo Cookie", in which samples of racist dialogue from Spike Lee's 1989 film
Do The Right Thing are played, concluded by Ice Cube's "
Think about it... fuckin' sell-out". While the ensuing song is a tirade against "house nigger"-type African Americans in general, in light of Ice Cube's grievances and later allegations, it could have been interpreted as a message to Eazy-E.
N.W.A's next release some five months later, the EP
100 Miles and Runnin', would be equally diplomatic, and merely alluded to Ice Cube's departure in its eponymous single, stating the group "
started with five, but one couldn't take it/
so now it's four, 'cause the fifth couldn't make it". They were now "four motherfuckers goin' crazy", and while the void was filled by The D.O.C. and MC Ren, without Ice Cube's lyrics the group's content descended increasingly into exaggerated violence and misogyny.
[Birchmeier, Jason. "Niggaz4Life" - Overview. All Music Guide. Last accessed August 17, 2007.] The song "100 Miles and Runnin'" is also notable for being Dr. Dre's final uptempo record, which had been a common feature of late-80s hip hop.
The group's second full-length release, 1991's
Efil4zaggin ("Niggaz4Life" spelled backwards), re-established the group in the face of Ice Cube's continued solo success. The album is considered by many Dr. Dre's finest production work, and heralded the beginning of the "G-Funk era". It also showed a clear animosity towards their former member, and derogatory references to Ice Cube are found in several songs. The interlude "A Message to B.A." echoes his "A Message to the Oreo Cookie": in it, Ice Cube is first addressed by the name "Benedict Arnold" (after the infamous traitor of the American Revolution) but then named outright in a torrent of abuse from both the group and its fans: "
When we see yo' ass, we gon' cut yo' hair off an' fuck you with a broomstick", promised MC Ren.
The N.W.A.-Ice Cube feud escalated.
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted had avoided direct attacks on N.W.A., but on
Death Certificate, Ice Cube?s second full-length released later that year, he fired back. He sampled and mocked the "Message to B.A." skit before embarking on a full-blown tirade, the infamous "No Vaseline". In a series of verses Ice Cube addressed the group (and responded to "100 Miles and Runnin'", explaining "
I started off with too much cargo, dropped four niggas now I'm makin' all the dough"), and then MC Ren, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E individually, using homosexual metaphors to describe their unequal business relationship with Jerry Heller. The song attracted controversy for its perceived anti-Semitism (the beginning of such allegations involving Ice Cube) for referencing Heller's religion
[Nuzum, 113.]; the track was omitted from the U.K. release, and later pressings have had the words edited. The alleged slur's use in lines such as "you let a Jew break up my crew" however, could be explained away as the results of writing in rhyme. "No Vaseline" is considered one of the greatest diss records of all time.
The increasingly violent content was reflected in real life as well—on January 27, 1991, Dr. Dre assaulted Dee Barnes, host of the hip hop show
Pump It Up, after its coverage
[Rose, Tricia. Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America. Wesleyan University Press, 1994. p179. ISBN 0819562750] of the N.W.A.Ice Cube beef.
According to
Rolling Stone reporter Alan Light:
[Light, Alan. "Beating Up the Charts." Rolling Stone 8 Aug. 1991. p66.]Despite a lawsuit, the group was unrepentant. MC Ren later stated, "bitch deserved it"—Eazy-E, "yeah, bitch had it coming." As Dre described it: "People talk all this shit, but you know, somebody fuck with me, I'm gonna fuck with them. I just did it, you know. Ain't nothing you can do now by talking about it. Besides, it ain't no big thing—I just threw her through a door."
In this time as well the demographic which were interested in the group also began to change. Although they still rapped about similar themes of the "gangsta life" in Compton and South Central Los Angeles, without Ice Cube they were not as serious and hardly political at all, as they were on
Straight Outta Compton. They turned to more or a self-parody and perhaps as a result their core audience became more whites living in the suburbs.
As Allmusic Guide says, "Initially, the group's relentless attack appeared to be serious, vital commentary, and it even provoked the FBI to caution N.W.A's record company, but following Ice Cube's departure in late 1989, the group began to turn to self-parody. With his high-pitched whine, Eazy-E's urban nightmares now seemed like comic book fantasies, but ones that fulfilled the fantasies of the teenage white suburbanites who had become their core audience, and the group became more popular than ever."
[http://wc09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:0ifuxq95ld6e~T1].
The End of N.W.A
1991's
Efil4zaggin would be the group's final album. After Dr. Dre, The D.O.C. and Michel'le's departure from Ruthless for Death Row Records, in which Eazy-E was allegedly coerced into signing away their contracts (while however retaining a portion of their publishing rights), a bitter rivalry ensued.
Dr. Dre began the exchange with Death Row's first release, 1992's "Fuck Wit Dre Day ", and its accompanying video featured a character named Sleazy-E who ran around desperately trying to get money. The insults continued on
The Chronic with "Bitches Ain't Shit". Eazy-E responded in 1993 with the EP
It's On 187um Killa and the tracks "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" and "It's On". Eazy-E accused Dr. Dre of homosexual tendencies, calling him a "she thang", and the music video for "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" shows promo pictures of him wearing make-up and a sequined jumpsuit. It should be noted however that these photos were from Dr. Dre's World Class Wreckin' Cru days, and the fashion was in the style of the West Coast Electro hop that been popular before N.W.A.'s pioneering of Gangsta rap.
After Eazy-E's AIDS-related death on March 26, 1995, all bad blood between the group ceased. Dr. Dre and Ice Cube would later express their re-evaluated feelings to their old friend on 1999's "What's The Difference", 2000's "Hello" and 2006's "Growin' Up" respectively.
Reunions and Legacy
Having both found themselves exploited by Ruthless Records, tensions eased between Ice Cube and Dr. Dre. The two recorded the hit song "Natural Born Killaz" for Snoop Doggy Dogg's 1994 short film and soundtrack
Murder Was the Case. MC Ren appeared on Dre's 1999 album
2001, and the three remaining N.W.A emcees would reunite for "Hello", from Ice Cube's 2000 album
War & Peace Vol. 2 , featuring the hook "I started this gangsta shit/And this is the motherfuckin' thanks I get?". The West Coast and Gangsta music scene had however fallen out of the spotlight since the death of Tupac Shakur in 1996, and it was only after Dr. Dre's successful patronage of Eminem and his ensuing comeback album
2001 (on which MC Ren made a cameo appearance) would the genre and its artists regain the national spotlight. 2000's all-star Up In Smoke Tour would reunite much of the N.W.A. and Death Row families, and during time spent on the road Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and honorary member Snoop Dogg began recording in a mobile studio. A comeback album entitled Not These Niggaz Again was planned[O'Connor, Christopher. 1999 Reunited N.W.A Get Serious About Recording Album, VH1.com, December 7, 1999.] (and would include DJ Yella, who had not been present on the tour). But due to busy and conflicting schedules, and the obstacles of coordinating three different record labels (Priority, No Limit and Interscope), obtaining the rights to the name "N.W.A.", and endorsing the whole project to gain exclusive rights, the album never materialized[Moss, Corey. N.W.A. May Still Have AIDs, But They Don't Have An Album, MTV.com, April 25, 2002.]. Only two tracks from these sessions would be released - "Chin Check" (with Snoop Dogg as a member of N.W.A.) from 1999's Next Friday soundtrack) and "Hello" from Ice Cube's 2000 album War & Peace Vol. 2 - both songs would appear on N.W.A.'s remastered and re-released Greatest Hits. There would also be partial reunions on "Set It Off", from Snoop Dogg's Tha Last Meal (2000), which featured MC Ren and Ice Cube as well as former Death Row "Inmates", and The D.O.C.'s "The Shit", from his 2003 album Deuce, which featured MC Ren, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and Six-Two. Dr. Dre and DJ Yella have nothing to do with either song, however they were present in the studio for the latter. In addition to the Greatest Hits originally released by Priority in 1996, Capitol and Ruthless Records released 1988-1998 in 1998, an album that contained only three songs from the actual group but various solo tracks from thefive members. The success of the album prompted a second volume, The N.W.A. Legacy, Vol. 2, two years later. It followed thesame format of the first album, containing only three "N.W.A." tracks and many songs from them as solo artists. In 2007, a new greatest hits package was released, The Best of N.W.A. - The Strength of Street Knowledge.
Main Artists
Eazy-E
Eric Wright was a Compton drug dealer when he founded both Ruthless Records with Jerry Heller, and the two would oversee numerous platinum-selling releases, most notably those of N.W.A.
After the group's break-up - while Death Row Records remade hip hop in its image - Eazy-E's solo career was largely dominated by his Hip hop rivalry Ruthless vs. Death Row feud with Dr. Dre, evidenced by records such as the EP
It's On 187um Killa. Nonetheless, he continued to run Ruthless Records, releasing albums by MC Ren, Above the Law, and in 1994, the four-times platinum debut of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
Eazy was working on a come-back album,
Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton, when he checked into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on March 16 1995, believing he had strep throat. In a publicized statement on March 20, Eazy-E announced he had contracted HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Six days later, Eric Wright succumbed to the disease. He was 31. On his deathbed days before, Eazy married long-term girlfriend and mother of his child Tomica Woods, and she inherited his share of Ruthless Records. She and her daughter are HIV-negative.
Dr. Dre
South Central's Andre Young began his career as a DJ for electro-hop group the World Class Wreckin' Cru, and was featured on their 1984 debut 12-inch single, "Surgery". The fashions of this period would come later back to haunt Dre. After two albums and allegations of mispayment, Dr. Dre fellow Wreckin' Cru DJ Yella left Alonzo William's Kru-Cut Records for Eazy-E and Jerry Heller's Ruthless Records in 1986, where they would move into production.
After producing several platinum-selling albums for Ruthless, Dre found himself regarded as one of the top producers in hip hop but once again undercompensated for his work. Together with the and The D.O.C., he would leave to form Death Row Records, and embark on a solo career unmatched by any of his N.W.A. alumni. Dr. Dre's 1992 solo
The Chronic would introduce the world to the sounds of G-Funk and rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, whose five-times platinum debut would be the last album entirely produced by Dre. While Death Row began its near-domination of hip hop, this marked the end of Dr. Dre's prolific era.
Dr. Dre left Death Row before its eventual self-destruction, and would form his own label, Aftermath Entertainment. After years of fruitless and failed projects, most notably that of the 1997 supergroup The Firm, Dr. Dre's reputation would be vindicated with the phenomenal success of Eminem in 1999, leading to the West Coast comeback album,
2001. Dre's success continued with that of Eminem, and in a joint-venture, the two signed 50 Cent in 2002, who would go on to sell over 20 million records. Dr. Dre meanwhile has developed into a master of the recording process, and maintains his status as hip hop's premier producer.
Ice Cube
Ice Cube left N.W.A. at the peak of their popularity in late-1989 but would become a highly successful rapper in his own right. By 2006 he had released six solo albums. Whereas N.W.A. rapped about gang life on the street, Ice Cube continued to include social commentary on his records on subjects such as gun control in the ghetto and the 1992 Los Angeles riots. His political albums are most remembered for referring to America as
AmeriKKKa, as well as addressing hypocrisy and issues such as gang life and racism. All of his solo albums, except his first, debuted in the top five. His first three albums (
AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted,
Death Certificate, and
The Predator) were big hits; they all achieved platinum status, and were greeted with rave reviews by critics. His fourth solo effort,
Lethal Injection, was recorded on the back of projects with his crew, Da Lench Mob, and starring in
Boyz-N-The Hood. Ice Cube has experienced success as a film actor and director, starring in films such as
Friday, Next Friday, Friday After Next,
Three Kings,
State of the Union,
Barbershop, and
Are We There Yet?. He has also released a reality TV series in March 2006, named
Black. White.. He released his new album,
Laugh Now, Cry Later, in 2006 on his own record company, Da Lench Mob Records.
MC Ren
MC Ren began a solo career under Eazy-E's Ruthless Records and after the death of his friend and producer, DJ Train, he departed from Eazy-E's side. He remained on the record label, releasing four albums, including his first gold release and his critically acclaimed platinum LP
Shock of the Hour which made him more an underground act than his former colleagues. In 2004, MC Ren announced plans for a project with West Coast political rapper Paris. This turned out to be the Public Enemy album
Rebirth of a Nation (2005). MC Ren is featured most prominently on two tracks, "Raw Shit" and "Hard Truth Soldiers".
DJ Yella
Being a DJ, there was not much of a commercial solo career for DJ Yella to pursue, thus he was the lone member to remain loyal to Eazy-E after the breakup. He continued producing Eazy-E's records, including a couple of tracks for Eazy-E's protégés Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's debut EP
Creepin on ah Come Up. He also claimed he was the lone member of N.W.A. to be at Eazy-E's deathbed when he died. After the death of his friend, DJ Yella released a solo album as a tribute to his former band-mate, but as with N.W.A., DJ Yella did not touch the mic; instead, he hired guest rappers such as Dirty Red, Dresta, Traci Nelson, Leicy Loc, B.G. Knocc Out, and
Efil4zaggin lyricist Kokane to perform. DJ Yella has since retired from the music business and is now directing pornographic films.
The D.O.C.
The D.O.C. joined N.W.A. in 1986 as a rapper. After the group's first album,
N.W.A. and the Posse, he left the group. However, after Ice Cube briefly left the group in 1991, The D.O.C. joined the group as a writer. He impressed them so much that he was kept in the group as a writer even after Ice Cube returned. The D.O.C. wrote lyrics on all of N.W.A.'s albums, particularly on the album
Efil4zaggin. In 1990, The D.O.C. released his Dr. Dre-produced debut album,
No One Can Do It Better. Dr. Dre's production was similar to his production work for N.W.A. at the time, but he also included one rap/rock song and a reggae-influenced track. At a time when virtually every well known California rapper was releasing gangsta rap albums, The D.O.C. released an LP with lyrics that more closely resembled the styling of East Coast lyricists. Shortly after the album's release, The D.O.C. was involved in a car accident which severed his larynx, reducing his voice to a raspy wheeze. He went on to introduce Dr. Dre to Suge Knight and help mold the career of Snoop Dogg. The D.O.C. split with Death Row after a dispute over money, and recorded an ill-advised comeback album,
Helter Skelter in 1995. With his voice reduced to an ineffective rasp it didn't create the buzz his debut did. He returned to his hometown, Dallas, to form his record label and released his third album,
Deuce. In 2007, he announced he may release another solo album after he and Dre put out Detox.
Arabian Prince
Arabian Prince found the going tough when he departed the group for a solo career in 1988. His debut
Brother Arab barely scraped the bottom of the R&B and Pop Charts in 1989. His album credits include
Where's My Bytches as well as work on N.W.A.'s
Straight Outta Compton and production for various other West Coast hip-hop artists.
Krazy Dee
Krazy Dee joined N.W.A. in 1986 as a rapper with the stage name "Krazy D" later changed it to "Culo Popper". After the group's first album,
N.W.A. and the Posse, he left Ruthless Records in 1988 to start his own career. It is unknown why he left N.W.A., but this will be revealed in his upcoming documentary,
Ghetto Godz.
Discography
Main article: N.W.A. discography
Studio Albums
- N.W.A. and the Posse (1987) Gold
- Straight Outta Compton (1988) 4x Platinum
- 100 Miles and Runnin' (1990) Platinum
- Niggaz4Life (1991) 2x Platinum
Compilations
- Greatest Hits (1996) Gold
- N.W.A. 10th Anniversary Tribute (1998) Gold
- 1988-1998 (1999) Platinum
- The N.W.A. Legacy, Vol. 2 (2002)
- The Classic Collection (2006)
- The Best of N.W.A. - The Strength of Street Knowledge (2007)
Notes
External links
Ruthless Records artistsWest Coast hip hop groupsLos Angeles musical groups1980s music groupsMusical groups established in 1986Musical groups disestablished in 1991Dr. DreIce Cube
N.W.AN.W.AN.W.A.N.W.A.N.W.A.Niggaz With AIDsN.W.A.N.W.A.N.W.AN.W.AN.W.A.N.W.A.N.W.A.N.W.AN.W.A.N.W.A.
