THE N.W.A
Introduction:
Being a person of color in a country where a white man was favored more than a person of color you experience some things. Things that no human being should which involves racism, discrimination, hate crimes sometimes even by the authorities. To grow up in an environment where you aren’t nothing but a minority, Having a group like The N.W.A gave me a voice and most importantly they gave me courage to stand up for myself and my people. Growing up listening to them, They were like superheroes to me, Fighting against the wrong. It all started when Dr.Dre asked Eazy-E to lay down the vocals for their very first single as they had lost the rappers they hired for the job. Eazy-E went in that booth, put his black signature shades on and made history with Boyz-N-The hood written by ICE CUBE and produced by Dr.DRE and it was the Number 1 requested song for 6 weeks straight and that was only the first single. Reality rap had finally hit the market and with the success of boy-n-the hood N.W.A got offered a contract by Priority Records which was run by Bryan Turner at the time.
ICE CUBE:
Oshea Jackson aka ICE CUBE. Born 15 june 1969, Crenshaw, CA. Is an African American rapper, Actor, Producer, Director and writer. He was the main lyricist of The N.W.A. CUBE wrote a lot of the songs on N.W.A’s first record but before that ICE was in a group called C.I.A(Cru in action) . ICE CUBE released a single with C.I.A called ‘My posse’ which was written by ICE and produced by DR.Dre. When “Straight outta compton”, The N.W.A’s first record got released, Surprisingly ICE didn’t have a contract and was not getting paid. Jerry Heller, N.W.A’s manager at the time, was not being fair to ICE and the other members. Taking advantage of them he asked all the members to sign a contract without any legal representation to which CUBE said no to and walked away From The N.W.A leaving $75,000 on the table and got offered a new deal with Priority records. ICE CUBE promised priority records an album which if it did well priority records will give ICE an advance for the next record and obviously his earnings from this one. ICE CUBE came out with Amerikkkas Most Wanted in NEW YORK CITY, In 1990. ICE CUBE’s first record was an instant hit and probably one of the most controversial records after Fcuk The Police. I will talk more about this subject in my 6th paragraph. After Amerikkkas Most Wanted ICE released his first EP which went on to be the first ever HipHop EP to go platinum. Seeing ICE do so well The N.W.A got jealous and decided to diss ICE CUBE in one of their songs. Boy was that a big mistake. ICE CUBE replied to that with the most ruthless diss track ever made till today “No Vaseline” it ended the feud because quite frankly everyone knew, including N.W.A, that ICE won with that.
Andre Romelle Young (Dr. DRE):
Andre Romelle Young aka Dr. DRE. Born 18th february 1965, Compton, CA. An African American rapper, songwriter, record producer and an entreprenuer. His vision for reality rap took him from living on a friends couch to being the first ever HipHop artist to be a billionare and all that got him there was his love for making music. What makes Dr. Dre the greatest ever was his creativity which was inspired by classic jazz and funk music. It was his ability to create something so new that made him the greatest producer of all time. He was also the founder of gangsta rap alongside ICE CUBE. After N.W.A broke up Dr. Dre signed with a label called Deathrow which was run by SugeKnight. Dre also found the most incredible artists of our time such as Snoop DOGG and eminem. Dr. Dre left Deathrow and left with it all the money he had made to start his own label called “Aftermath” and the rest was history.
Eric Lynn Wright (Eazy-E):
Eric Lynn Wright aka Eazy-E. Born 7 September 1964, Compton, CA. Died 26 March 1995, was an African American rapper and rap mogul who also played a massive role in taking gangsta rap to another level. Eazy-E was also the founder of “Ruthless” records and of course The N.W.A.Eazy made his debut in 1987 when he rapped the legendary song Boyz-n-da hood and went on to make some remarkable records. After The N.W.A broke up Eazy kept making his music with Ruthless records and made a his first solo record called “Eazy-Duz-it”. While The N.W.A lasted Eazy was warned several times by ICE and Dre to watch his back from Jerry heller but Eazy trusted jerry too much for which he had to pay at the end when he found out that Jerry wasn’t doing his job and hogging most of Eazy’s earnings. By the time Eazy found that out it was too late for him as he was tested positive for HIV which resulted in his death.
Lorenzo Jerald Patterson (MC REN):
Lorenzo J Patterson aka MC Ren. Born 16 June 1969, Compton,CA. Is an African American rapper and record producer and Eazy-E’s childhood friend. Ren was also a member of The N.W.A. He was also known as the “Hype man” of The N.W.A because of his ways with the audience. Ren was undoubtedly an amazing rapper and after N.W.A broke up Ren signed with Ruthless records and continued making his music alongside his childhood friend Eazy-E. It was no surprise when Ren wrote a song called “Real N***Z Brothaz” along side D.O.C in which he dissed ICE questioning his autheticity and creativity and portraying him as a coward by comparing him to Benedict Arnold. After all that drama and death of Eazy-E, Ren went on to start his solo career and made a 6 track EP called “Kizz My Black Azz” which went platinum in 2 months. In 1992 Ren joined the nation of Islam and released his 2nd record called “Life sentence”
The N.W.A’s Influence on target audience:
Being a young colored male The N.W.A’s influence on me was quite crucial. While others thought they promote violence, The N.W.A was only trying to teach us how to fight the violence that we faced although they didn’t choose the best of words but those words were something way more than just curse words, To me they had a deeper meaning. They were telling me to stand up for myself and fight back, Which in my opinion was only fair. The N.W.A was known for promoting “the gangsta” life style but to them and me being “gangsta” wasn’t a lifestyle. It wasn’t about dealing drugs, gang banging or abusing women. “Gangsta” was a feeling. A feeling of strength and courage. The feeling of saying ‘Enough’.ICE CUBE once said in a press conference “freedom of speech includes rap music and as far as I’m concerned we are exercising our first amendment”
The N.W.A’s influence on the rest of the world:
“Fuck tha police” one of the most controversial song ever made. This song was inspired by true events, just like any other N.W.A song, It was written by ICE while he was recording ‘Straight Outta Compton’ with The N.W.A. In the song ICE CUBE talks about what he goes through everyday being a colored person in America. It was said on a T.V program that “The N.W.A selling lyrics about violence to a young mainstream audience that wouldn’t go anyway near a ghetto”. To me it’s obvious they didn’t care about the youth growing up in the ghetto. ICE CUBE said in a press conference “Our art is a reflection of our reality”. At that time a white man decided where and what you work as. They would never give a person of color a job that paid well enough for him and his family to get by respectfully. The white man pushed a brother to such extents, They chose his reality and it wasn’t glamorous and the kids who grew up in that reality embraced it and got on with their lives as they had seen for themselves. “Fuck tha police” was an expression of freedom to me. Even standing in my living room rapping along when my mom wasn’t around was the best feeling ever. I felt liberated, I felt like I was a part of something. As the song was released the FBI got involved and warned N.W.A about performing “Fuck tha police” as others saw it as a threat Eazy saw an opportunity for free national publicity. Before a show in Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, The N.W.A was told that if they perform “fuck the police” it would result in an immediate arrest. The fact that they were told and still went on stage and performed the song was remarkable. They made a statement.
Conclusion:
In conclusion The N.W.A’s biggest crime was showing the reality exactly how it was and my god was it ugly. Standing up for themselves and their people showed a lot of courage and on top of that they were also an example to the young kids that even in unfortunate times like this they could make it out of the hood and have a better life if they worked hard enough. “Music is like a weapon” ICE said in an interview and boy did he wield that weapon right.
“Speak a little truth and people lose their minds”
Oshea Jackson