Dee Barnes | |
---|---|
Birth name | Dee Barnes |
Also known as |
|
Genres | Hip hop, Reggae, Ska, R&B, Soul. |
Occupation(s) | Rapper, TV host |
Years active | 1988–present |
Labels | Delicious Vinyl |
Denise "Dee" Barnes (stage names Sista D and D Zire) is an American rapper and former Fox television personality who performed in the West Coast hip hop female duo Body & Soul and hosted a radio show on KDAY, prior to gaining wider fame as the host of Fox's hip hop show Pump It Up!, a weekly FOX TV rap music series on air from 1989-1992, according to IMDb. [1] [2]
On January 27, 1991, she was physically assaulted by Dr. Dre at a rap industry party. Barnes pressed criminal charges and filed a lawsuit; Dre pled no contest to the charges and settled the suit out of court. He issued a public apology years later, but did not specifically direct it to the targets of his abuse, including artist Michel'le: "I apologize to the women I've hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives." Barnes plans on writing a biography of her life, according to a 2019 VIBE Magazine article. [1] [2]
Barnes grew up in New York City and became interested in hip-hop after hearing older children practicing in the park and attending concerts at the local roller rink, including a performance by Davy D. [3] She began working in radio as an intern for The DJ Red Alert show on 98.7 Kiss FM; after graduating from high school, Barnes moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s and joined Greg Mack on 1580 KDAY. [4]
She formed the duo Body & Soul with her friend Rose Hutchinson (aka Rose Almight-T) in Los Angeles; [3] the group's 1989 debut single "Dance to the Drummer's Beat", released on Los Angeles-based record label Delicious Vinyl, [4] heavily sampled the Herman Kelly and Life song of the same name. Its b-side, "Hi-Powered", was produced by Def Jef. [5] The same year, Body & Soul released "We Can Do This", also produced by Def Jef, on the label showcase This Is Delicious – Eat to the Beat. [6] The duo also appear on the 1990 soundtrack of Marked for Death with "Ya Get's None". [7] Body & Soul's greatest recording would apparently be their last; they recorded the 1990 posse cut "We're All in the Same Gang" as part of the Dr. Dre-produced West Coast Rap All-Stars, [8] which earned that group a Grammy Award nomination. [9] Barnes recalled that Body & Soul struggled with the record label for image and creative control, as the label "wanted us to be more body than soul" while they felt "sex, relationships and maybe heartbreak [are] not [exclusively] what women are about"; [3] they had an unreleased album which was being produced by the Jungle Brothers. [10]
Also in 1989, at the age of 19, she was hired to host Pump It Up! for the new Fox television network, [3] a show where she interviewed artists which she described as having a guerilla style. At the time she was seeking a record deal, she also was attending journalism school. [11] Barnes later said she felt a responsibility to document the developing history of rap and hip-hop. [3] After an episode aired in November 1990 which featured interviews with both N.W.A and Ice Cube, Dr. Dre physically beat Barnes at a party in January 1991 in front of hundreds; the show ended later in 1991. [11]
This is bigger than me, and bigger than hip-hop. This is about respect and awareness. As a result of speaking on my personal experience with violence, I have been vilified. Women survivors of violence are expected neither to be seen nor heard, and the pressure increases when it involves celebrities. No one wants to see their heroes criticized. And if they are African American, the community at large becomes suspicious of an underlying motive to tear down a successful black man. Excusing pop culture icons from scrutiny over their history of violence against women because they are elevated to "hero" status is wrong on so many levels. Creating notable, brilliant art does not absolve you of your faults. In the past, great art was enough to exalt men of their bad behavior, but in 2015 it's no longer the case. Survivors have a right and an obligation to speak up (#NoSilenceOnDomesticViolence). We are too loud, too correct, too numerous to be ignored.
— Dee Barnes,Gawker (August 24, 2015) [12]
On February 14, 1991, Barnes co-hosted The Motherlode with Fab 5 Freddy; it was a concert at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, the first to feature an all-woman rap revue. [13] That fall, Barnes hosted the hip-hop special Sisters in the Name of Rap, a revue of live performances taped at The Ritz in New York on October 8, 1991, [14] which aired on pay-per-view, then was released as a 75-minute VHS tape by PolyGram in 1992. The show also featured an all-female line up including the artists Queen Latifah and MC Lyte. [15] [16]
Dr. Dre pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery charges in August 1991; [17] Pump It Up! was cancelled shortly after that. Unsubstantiated allegations were made that Barnes had filed the civil lawsuit because Dre refused to promote Body & Soul, [18] and she had difficulty resuming both her music and journalism careers. [3] In 2017, she recounted "I called the police on Mr. Fuck the Police. But little by little the work started drying up. It was as if I had ruined his career by being that disturbing footnote in his legacy." [19]
In 2017, she appeared in the second episode of the television miniseries The Defiant Ones , which documented the lives and producing careers of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. [20]
In March 2019, it was reported that Barnes was facing financial difficulties and was "officially homeless". She stated on the Wendy Williams show on April 18, 2019, that she had raised $25,000 from a GoFundMe account. [21]
After the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, in which Dr. Dre won the Global Impact Award and named it for him, [22] she called him an abuser: "... to name an award after someone with that type of history in the music industry, you might as well call it the 'Ike Turner Award'. [... Dre] said it himself in the documentary The Defiant Ones: I'm a 'blemish' on who he is as a man. Well, what do you do with a blemish? There's a whole industry created—skincare lines and vitamins and rituals—to get rid of blemishes. And, in a sense, there's a whole network to keep me hidden." [23]
According to Barnes, a producer for Pump It Up! combined interviews with N.W.A and Ice Cube in the same episode that first aired in November 1990; at the time, N.W.A and Cube were feuding over his 1989 departure from the group. Barnes had conducted an interview with N.W.A that October, and was interviewing Yo-Yo on the set of Boyz N the Hood a week later when Ice Cube interrupted the interview with some comments about N.W.A, and afterward, Barnes quipped on camera "Sister Dee, always in the middle of controversy right here on Pump It Up!". [24] [25] The cameraman for that interview was F. Gary Gray, who went on to direct the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton. [26] This was shortly after N.W.A had dissed Ice Cube with their 100 Miles and Runnin' album. Portions of the clips from that episode of Pump It Up! are shown in the second episode of The Defiant Ones. Dee Barnes said in the episode that there was a bad energy in the interview with N.W.A and every answer seemed to involve a diss to Ice Cube. In production, this was then combined with Barnes's subsequent interview with Ice Cube in which he dissed N.W.A and also cruelly mimicked The DOC's voice, shortly after a near-fatal accident. This caused great offense to Dr. Dre, who was a close friend of The DOC.
On January 27, 1991, just before she turned 23, [11] Dr. Dre encountered Barnes at a record release party for Bytches With Problems at the Po Na Na Souk club in Hollywood. [24] According to Barnes, he picked her up by her hair, unprovoked, and "began slamming her head and the right side of her body repeatedly against a brick wall near the stairway" as his bodyguard held off the crowd with a gun. After Dr. Dre tried to throw her down the stairs and failed, he began kicking her in the ribs and hands. She escaped and ran into the women's restroom. Dr. Dre followed her and "grabbed her from behind by the hair again and proceeded to punch her in the back of the head". [27] Finally, Dre and his bodyguard ran from the building. [28]
N.W.A. promoter Doug Young claims that he attempted to intervene to restrain Dr. Dre, but that he was punched in the mouth by Dr. Dre's bodyguard. [29]
In February 1991, Barnes pressed criminal charges against Dr. Dre, who pleaded no contest to misdemeanor battery in August 1991; he was fined US$2,513(equivalent to $5,620 in 2023) and sentenced to 240 hours of community service by Judge Frederick Wapner, with two years probation. [17] [30] In addition, he was ordered to produce an anti-violence public service announcement. [31]
That June, Barnes filed a $22.75 million lawsuit [32] : 336 [33] against Dr. Dre and several members of N.W.A., as reported by the Los Angeles Times , accusing Dr. Dre of assault and battery and emotional distress; the others were accused of libel, slander, and emotional distress. [34] She provided a deposition of that night's events that July. [27] The lawsuit was settled out of court in 1993, [19] [35] reportedly for "six figures". [36]
The other members of N.W.A. defended Dr. Dre. In September 1991, Eazy-E made light of the incident during an interview with SPIN. [37] N.W.A.'s MC Ren later said "bitch deserved it" and Eazy-E echoed with "yeah, bitch had it coming". [28] [38] As Dr. Dre explained the incident: "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." [28] [39] Barnes sued in February 1991, telling reporter Alan Light: "They've grown up with the mentality that it's okay to hit women, especially black women. Now there's a lot of kids listening and thinking it's okay to hit women who get out of line." [28]
Some others condemned the incident. Jerry Heller, then manager of N.W.A, called the incident "disgraceful" in his book and said that he was "left to clean up the mess" afterward. [32] : 336 He claimed that Dr. Dre was generally non-violent and that the attack was a result of excess drinking. [32] : 336 The New York rapper Tim Dog threatened Dr. Dre on the song Fuck Compton with the lyrics Dre, beating on Dee from Pump It Up / Step to the Dog and get fucked up. [40] : 264 [41] [42] Chuck D called the assault "foul" in an interview with Greg Tate, published by The Village Voice in October 1991. [43]
Dr. Dre produced and is featured in rapper Eminem's 1999 song "Guilty Conscience", in which Eminem references the incident as a humorous put-down. Dre reportedly fell out of his chair laughing at it. [44]
Twenty-four years later, Dr. Dre made apologies in 2015 "to the women I've hurt", just before the release of the film Straight Outta Compton. Rolling Stone published a cover article in which he said "I made some fucking horrible mistakes in my life. I was young, fucking stupid. I would say all the allegations aren't true—some of them are. Those are some of the things that I would like to take back. It was really fucked up. But I paid for those mistakes, and there's no way in hell that I will ever make another mistake like that again." [45] [46] In The New York Times , he added "Twenty-five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life. However, none of this is an excuse for what I did. I've been married for 19 years and every day I'm working to be a better man for my family, seeking guidance along the way. I'm doing everything I can so I never resemble that man again. [...] I apologize to the women I've hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives." [47]
However, neither apology mentions Barnes or his ex-girlfriend, musician Michel'le, directly. [48] The incident was not included in the film; the draft screenplay did include a fictionalized version of it, [49] wherein a visibly drunk Dr. Dre argues with and beats Barnes after she throws a drink in his face. [50] When asked about the "glaring omission" of the assault on Barnes, director Gray said "We had to focus on the story that was pertinent to our main characters." [51] Barnes criticized the film for depicting N.W.A and its members as "trying to stay hard, and look like good guys", [26] noting in a separate essay that "It's only after the drink is thrown that the Dre character retaliates with physical violence. That is a fabrication intended to excuse his actions." However, she added that "Dre stepped up and performed his social responsibility by finally taking accountability for his actions. Who cares why he apologized? The point is that he did." [12]
In The Defiant Ones (2017), Dre elaborated on the incident, admitting to excessive drinking at the time: [19] [52]
This was a very low point in my life. I've done a lot of stupid shit in my life. A lot of things I wish I could go and take back. I've experienced abuse. I've watched my mother get abused. So there's absolutely no excuse for it. No woman should ever be treated that way.
Any man that puts his hands on a female is a fucking idiot. He is out of his fucking mind and I was out of my fucking mind at the time. I fucked up. I paid for it. I'm sorry for it and I apologized for it. I have this dark cloud that follows me and it's gonna be attached to me forever. It's a major blemish on who I am as a man.
And every time it comes up, it just makes me feel fucked up. So it's just like, what do I do? What do I do to get rid of this dark cloud? I don't know what else to do. I'm learning. I'm trying to become a better person, become a better man. In the end, I've hurt people that I care about. And for that, I'm really sorry.
Andre Romell Young, known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of Death Row Records. Dre began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru in 1984, and later found fame with the gangsta rap group N.W.A. The group popularized explicit lyrics in hip hop to detail the violence of street life. During the early 1990s, Dre was credited as a key figure in the crafting and popularization of West Coast G-funk, a subgenre of hip hop characterized by a synthesizer foundation and slow, heavy production.
N.W.A was an American hip hop group formed in Compton, California. They were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential groups in the history of hip hop music.
Lorenzo Jerald Patterson, known professionally as MC Ren, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Compton, California. He is the founder and owner of the independent record label Villain Entertainment.
O'Shea Jackson Sr., known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1988 album Straight Outta Compton contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popularity, and his political rap solo albums AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990), Death Certificate (1991), and The Predator (1992) were all critically and commercially successful. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of N.W.A in 2016.
Eric Lynn Wright, known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of Gangsta Rap".
Straight Outta Compton is the debut studio album by American gangsta rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, with lyrics written by N.W.A members Ice Cube and MC Ren along with Ruthless rapper and unofficial member The D.O.C. Not merely depicting Compton's street violence, the lyrics repeatedly threaten to lead it by attacking peers and even police. The track "Fuck tha Police" drew an FBI agent's warning letter, which aided N.W.A's notoriety, with N.W.A calling itself "the world's most dangerous group."
Antoine Carraby, known professionally as DJ Yella, is an American DJ, record producer, and film director from Compton, California.
100 Miles and Runnin' is an EP from the American gangsta rap group N.W.A. Released on August 14, 1990, this EP of five tracks reflects an evolution of N.W.A's sound and centers on the single "100 Miles and Runnin'." Two tracks, "100 Miles" and "Real Niggaz," incidentally incited N.W.A's feud with Ice Cube, who had left to start a solo rap career. The porno rap track "Just Don't Bite It," also drew notice. Pushing lyrical boundaries in its day, the EP went gold in November 1990 and platinum in September 1992.
N.W.A. and the Posse is a compilation album, re-releasing N.W.A and associated groups' underground rap songs from the Los Angeles area's rap scene on November 6, 1987. It is regarded as American rap group N.W.A's first but neglected album; N.W.A's authorized debut studio album, rather, is Straight Outta Compton, released in August 1988. Whereas the Straight album was certified platinum, one million copies sold in July 1989, the Posse album was certified gold, half as many copies sold, in April 1994.
Tracy Lynn Curry, better known as The D.O.C., is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. In addition to a solo career, he was a member of the Southern hip hop group Fila Fresh Crew and later collaborated with gangsta rap group N.W.A–where he co-wrote many of their releases–as well as Eazy-E's solo debut album Eazy-Duz-It. He has also worked with Dr. Dre, co-writing his solo debut album, while Dre produced Curry's solo debut album, released by Ruthless Records. He was one of the founders of Death Row Records along with Dr. Dre and Suge Knight.
Eazy-Duz-It is the debut studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released on November 22, 1988, by Ruthless Records and Priority Records. The album charted on two different charts and went 2× Platinum in the United States despite very little promotion by radio and television. Three singles were released from the album, each charting in the US. The remastered version contains tracks from the extended play (EP), 5150: Home 4 tha Sick (1992). The 25th anniversary (2013) contains two bonus tracks which are 12" remixes of "We Want Eazy" and "Still Talkin.'"
"Real Muthaphuckkin G's," or "Real Compton City G's" in its radio edit, is a diss track released as a single in August 1993 by American rapper Eazy-E with guest rappers Gangsta Dresta and B.G. Knocc Out. Peaking at #42 on Billboard's Hot 100, and the most successful of Eazy's singles as a solo artist, it led an EP, also his most successful, It's On 187um Killa. This diss track answers Eazy's former N.W.A bandmate Dr. Dre and his debuting, guest rapper Snoop Dogg, who had dissed Eazy on Dre's first solo album, The Chronic.
Gerald Elliot Heller was an American music manager and businessman. He was best known for his management of West Coast rap and gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A and Eazy-E. He rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s representing Journey, Marvin Gaye, Van Morrison, War, Eric Burdon, Crosby Stills & Nash, Ike & Tina Turner, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Otis Redding, the Who, REO Speedwagon, Black Sabbath, Humble Pie, Styx, the Grass Roots, and the Standells, among many others.
Ruthless Records was an American Independent record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California in 1987. All of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1987. Several artists and groups on the label such as N.W.A, Eazy-E, MC Ren, The D.O.C., Michel'le, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony have released RIAA certified albums.
"Boyz-n-the-Hood" is the debut single by Eazy-E, then leader of a new rap group, N.W.A. Released in March 1987, the single was a local hit, reissued, by year's end on the unauthorized compilation album N.W.A. and the Posse.
"Straight Outta Compton" is a song by American hip hop group N.W.A. It was released on July 10, 1988 as the lead single from their debut album of the same name. It also appears on N.W.A's Greatest Hits with an extended mix and The Best of N.W.A: The Strength of Street Knowledge. The song samples "You'll Like It Too" by Funkadelic, "West Coast Poplock" by Ronnie Hudson and the Street People, "Get Me Back on Time, Engine No. 9" by Wilson Pickett, and most famously, "Amen, Brother" by The Winstons. It was voted number 19 on About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs, and is ranked number 6 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.
"Fuck Compton" is a diss track written and performed by the American rapper Tim Dog, released in 1991 through Ruffhouse Records as the lead single from the rapper's debut studio album Penicillin on Wax. It is a diss track criticizing the West Coast hip hop scene, including the Compton-based group N.W.A and its members Eazy-E and Dr. Dre as well as the latter's then-girlfriend Michel'le. The song is often credited for igniting the East Coast–West Coast rivalry of the 1990s. Production was handled by Ultramagnetic MCs' member Ced-Gee and Tim Dog himself. The song peaked atop of the US Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart. Later in 2018 it was place at #19 on Complex's "The 50 Best Hip-Hop Diss Songs" list.
Straight Outta Compton is a 2015 American epic biographical drama film that depicts the rise and fall of the hip hop group N.W.A under the management of Jerry Heller. It was directed by F. Gary Gray, from a screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff and story written by executive producers S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus. Co-produced by former members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, Eazy-E's widow Tomica Woods-Wright, Gray, Matt Alvarez and Scott Bernstein, with MC Ren and DJ Yella serving as creative consultants. The film stars O'Shea Jackson Jr. as his father Ice Cube, alongside Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr. and Aldis Hodge as Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren and DJ Yella, respectively, and Paul Giamatti as Heller. Rounding out the rest of the ensemble cast include Marlon Yates Jr, R. Marcos Taylor, LaKeith Stanfield, Alexandra Shipp and Keith Powers.
Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel'le is a 2016 American biographical television drama film directed by Jackie Cooke, starring Rhyon Nicole Brown as Michel'le, Curtis Hamilton as Dr. Dre and Jamie Kennedy as N.W.A's manager Jerry Heller. The film is based on the true story of R&B singer Michel'le. The omission of Michel'le's involvement in the lives of Dre in N.W.A's 2015 biopic, Straight Outta Compton, gave her an opportunity to tell her story as a former artist on Eazy-E's Ruthless Records.
The Miracle Mile Shot is an experimental short subject, non-dialogue documentary film based entirely on a single photograph of the influential Gangsta rap group N.W.A. created on November 11, 1988, in the Miracle Mile area of Los Angeles, California, by photographer/artist Ithaka Darin Pappas. The photograph itself, also entitled The Miracle Mile Shot, was captured during a photo session that took place at the photographer's home studio apartment at 6516 1/2 Orange Street, Los Angeles. The short film, screened for the first time at the LAGFF on June 19, 2019, visually tells the story of the most important uses of the photograph in chronological order.
Today is a double hitter — Body and Soul, Delicious Vinyl's answer to Salt-N-Pepa, & Def Jef, an old school veteran on the conscious tip.
These two girls, Dzire & Almight T accompany Nettles & I for some Mexican food. Their style is uptown/old school, the kind you play for a fee. Dzire is from NY originally & Almight T is from Chicago and the two acts are working with the JBs (Jungle Brothers) on the production of Body and Soul's upcoming album. Not just a pretty face.
Dre: Don't fuck his shit up!
Eazy: Wait! here go a perfect example. Homegirl from Pump It Up? She pissed Dre off ...
Dre: Nah, man, check it out ...
SPIN: Dee Barnes? She's suing you now, right?
Dre: Nah, man.
Eazy: If the bitch can sue, he should just kill her. It's cheaper. [Laughter.]
SPIN: What did you do?
Dre: Nuttin', man.
Eazy: You lying! You beat the shit out of her!
Dre: I was drunk.
Eazy: I seen everything. He grabbed the bitch by the little hair that she had. Threw the bitch to the bathroom door. Pow!! She hit her head. He just start stompin' on the bitch. I was like, "Stop, man! Stop!" [In high female voice] "No, don't! No, don't!" He wouldn't stop! [Laughter.] Threw the bitch down a flight of stairs! [Makes falling-downstairs noise.] Bitch didn't even know her name! She was fucked up worse than Rodney King! [Laughter.]
TATE: Speaking of your responsibility, what about the Dee Barnes situation?
CHUCK D: That shit was foul. So I went out there not too long after that and I know Dre's crew and all, 'cause they worked with us on tour, and I was like, How the fuck can y'all let this happen? They was like, Yo, Chuck, you know, he was drunk. I said, y'all fucking dumb. That shit was foul, man. But my whole thing is like, I won't get another brother in print, I won't attack black people in print — unless they come out in the media, or in the same print, and attack me.