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.
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".
The Native Tongues were a collective of late 1980s and early 1990s hip-hop artists known for their positive-minded, good-natured Afrocentric lyrics, and for pioneering the use of eclectic sampling and jazz-influenced beats. Its principal members were the Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Monie Love, and Queen Latifah. The collective was also closely tied to the Universal Zulu Nation. Rolling Stone cites the track "Doin' Our Own Dang" as "the definitive Native Tongues posse cut".
Robin Yvette Allen, known professionally as the Lady of Rage, is an American rapper, singer and actress best known for her collaborations with several other Death Row Records artists, including Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on the seminal albums, The Chronic and Doggystyle. The Lady of Rage has been described as "one of the most skillful female MCs" with a "mastery of flow" and "hard-core lyrics".
Compton's Most Wanted (C.M.W.) is an American gangsta rap group and part of the early West Coast hip hop scene. The leaders of the group are MC Eiht and Tha Chill.
Zhané was an American R&B duo, best known for their 1993 hit "Hey Mr. D.J.", which reached No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Other popular hits include "Groove Thang" and minor hit "Sending My Love", both released in 1994. The group was part of Queen Latifah's Flavor Unit collective.
Timbo King is a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate MC, leader and founding member of Royal Fam and member of Black Market Militia and Maccabeez.
"Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')", or as a single titled "Dre Day", is a song by American rapper and record producer Dr. Dre featuring fellow American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg and uncredited vocals from Jewell released in May 1993 as the second single from Dre's debut solo album, The Chronic (1992). "Dre Day" was a diss track targeting mainly Dre's former groupmate Eazy-E, who led their onetime rap group N.W.A and who, along with N.W.A's manager Jerry Heller, owned N.W.A's record label, Ruthless Records. In "Dre Day" and in its music video, which accuse Eazy of cheating N.W.A's artists, Dre and Snoop degrade and menace him. Also included are disses retorting earlier disses on songs by Miami rapper Luke Campbell, by New York rapper Tim Dog, and by onetime N.W.A. member Ice Cube, although Dre, while still an N.W.A member, had helped diss Cube first. After "Dre Day," a number of further diss records were exchanged.
It's On 187um Killa is the second EP released by American rapper Eazy-E and the last project to be released during his lifetime. It was released on October 19, 1993 via Relativity Records and Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, as a response to Dr. Dre's debut solo album The Chronic, which repeatedly attacks Eazy.
Showbiz and A.G. is an American hip hop duo from The Bronx borough of New York City, composed of record producer Rodney "Showbiz" Lemay and rapper Andre "A.G." Barnes. The duo formed soon after their debut on the song "Back to Back Rhyming" from Lord Finesse's Funky Technician album and joined the hip hop collective D.I.T.C. along with Lord Finesse, Diamond D, Fat Joe, O.C., Buckwild and Big L.
Ricardo Emmanuel Brown, better known by his stage name Kurupt, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, he formed Tha Dogg Pound in 1992 along with Daz Dillinger; the rap duo has released eight albums. He also formed the hip hop group The Hrsmn in 1996, with whom he has released two albums. His debut solo album, Kuruption! (1998) was released by A&M Records and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200.
Dominick J. Lamb, better known by his stage name Nottz, is an American hip hop producer and rapper from Norfolk, Virginia. Nottz has produced for some of the biggest names in hip hop, including Busta Rhymes, G Unit, Kanye West, Swizz Beatz, Rah Digga, Scarface, Snoop Dogg, Diamond D, Cassidy, Ghostface Killah, M.O.P., Kardinal Offishall, Xzibit, 50 Cent, Royce da 5'9", Little Brother, The Game, T.I., Dwele, Termanology, Bilal, Phife Dawg, Rakim, AZ, The Lox, Fat Joe, Black Moon, Asher Roth, Slaughterhouse, Method Man, Pusha T, J Dilla, DJ Funk Master Flex, Torae, Dj Drama, Rapsody, Canibus, BJ The Chicago Kid, Murs, Wale, Mac Miller, Shateish, Talib Kweli among many others.
Bruce Turgon is an American bass guitarist, guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and producer. Bruce has played in several bands throughout his career including: Foreigner, The Lou Gramm Band, Shadow King, Steve Stevens, Warrior, Black Sheep and Showcase.
Rene Francisco Sotomayor, better known by the stage name T-Bone, is a Christian rapper. His father was Nicaraguan and his mother is Salvadoran. His name came from being called 'Bones' as a youngster because he was very skinny. The 'T' was "added to give the name a little slang edge."
Dominick Antron Wickliffe, better known by his stage name Kxng Crooked, is an American rapper from Long Beach, California. He is best known as a former member of the hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse with other members Joe Budden, Joell Ortiz and Royce da 5'9". He is CEO of his own record labels, Dynasty Entertainment and C.O.B. Digital as well as Senior Vice President of Treacherous Records. Before starting his own label, he was also signed to Virgin Records and Death Row Records. He is currently one half of the rap duo Crook and Joell with his former Slaughterhouse bandmate, Joell Ortiz. Together, they released three studio albums.
Brothers Uv Da Blakmarket is an American hip hop group that at the time of its formation in 1991 consisted of Cool Money Cee, and the DJ Menal. The group formed in Paterson, New Jersey. Discovered by Pookie Gist, older brother of Kay Gee from the group Naughty By Nature. Signed to Select Records, group first appeared on the music scene in 1992 releasing a single called Livin In Da Bottle B/W Ruff Neck Style. Soon after the album Ruff Life was released. The Group performed as an opening act in the Flavor Unit Tour which featured House of Pain, Cypress Hill, Das EFX, Apache, Black Sheep, Queen Latifah, and Naughty by Nature. The Group was also a member of the original Source Magazine mobile van tour along with EPMD, Black Sheep, Raheem, K-Solo, Red Hot Lover Tone and the Brand New Heavies. After releasing their second single, Not U Again B/W I Mean It the group felt the Select Records did not do a good job promoting them or their music so they parted ways with the label. DJ Menal Produced three songs for LeShaun's scheduled for release album Ready or Not. He produced the lead Single Ready or Not and remixed the classic Wild Thang which was on the B-Side of the single. Cool Money Cee appeared on Apache's album. He performed on the song Woodchuck which also featured Treach, Vin Rock, Latee, and Double J. Blakmarket also appeared on the Flavor Unit's Roll Wit Da Flava compilation with LeShaun.
The Fabulous Chi-Ali is the only studio album by American rapper and the Native Tongues member Chi-Ali. It was released on March 24, 1992, via Relativity Records. The recording sessions took place at Calliope Studios, in New York City. The album was produced by the Beatnuts, except for one song produced by Black Sheep's Mista Lawnge. It features guest appearances from Trugoy the Dove of De La Soul, Dres of Black Sheep, Fashion of the Beatnuts, and Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest.
Slaughterhouse is the only extended play by hip hop supergroup Slaughterhouse. It was released on February 8, 2011 through E1 Music. The album debuted at #132 on the Billboard charts, after having sold 5,100 copies.
Black Sheep is an American hip hop duo from Queens, New York, United States, composed of Andres "Dres" Vargas Titus and William "Mista Lawnge" McLean. The duo was from New York but met as teenagers in Sanford, North Carolina, where both of their families relocated. The group was part of the Native Tongues collective, which included the Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, and De La Soul. After getting together in 1989, Black Sheep debuted in 1991 with the hit song "Flavor of the Month" and later released its first album, A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, which gained them praise and recognition in the hip-hop community for the album's unique rhythms and intelligent, often humorous lyrics. After six years together, Black Sheep disbanded in 1995, citing creative differences.
