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. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre,the group is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential acts in 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 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 by the stage name 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 the only 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.
Tracy Lynn Curry,better known by his stage name the D.O.C.,is an American rapper,songwriter,and record producer from Dallas,Texas. Along with his solo career,he was a member of the Southern hip hop group Fila Fresh Crew,and later co-wrote for and collaborated with the gangsta rap group N.W.A and Eazy-E. He has also worked with record producer Dr. Dre,co-writing his solo debut album,while Dre produced Curry's debut studio album,No One Can Do It Better (1989),which was released by Eazy-E's Ruthless Records in a joint venture with Atlantic Records. With Dr. Dre and record executives Suge Knight and Dick Griffey,Curry co-founded Death Row Records in 1991,which has signed artists including Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.
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.'"
"Fuck wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')",or censored 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.
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.
Political hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that emerged in the 1980s as a form of political expression and activism. It typically addresses sociopolitical issues through lyrics,aiming to inspire action,promote social change,or convey specific political viewpoints. The genre draws inspiration from earlier politically conscious artists,such as The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron,as well as movements like the Black Power movement and the Black Panther Party from the 1960s and 1970s.
"Express Yourself" is a song recorded by American hip hop group N.W.A,performed solo by Dr. Dre. The song,off their 1988 album Straight Outta Compton,samples Charles Wright &the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band's song of the same name. Unlike most songs on the album and by N.W.A,the song is devoid of profanity and violence. "Express Yourself" was released in 1989 as the album's last single,the album version of the track features rap vocals from Dr. Dre only whereas the extended single version features small verses from MC Ren and Ice Cube,the writer of the song. The song reached number 50 in the UK in September 1989,before reaching number 26 on reissue in June 1990.
"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" censored as "Forget Compton" or "F**k 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.
Tiki Taane is a New Zealand musician,experimentalist,musical activist,producer,and live engineer. He was a member of leading New Zealand band Salmonella Dub but left after eleven years on 1 January 2007 to pursue a solo career. His debut album,Past,Present,Future,was released on 22 October 2007 in New Zealand and has since gone two times platinum,achieving a number one single,"Always on My Mind",which became the first digital single to reach platinum sales and also held the record by staying in the NZ Top 40 Charts for 55 weeks. Taane is also the exclusive live sound engineer for New Zealand drum and bass act Shapeshifter since their first gig in 1999. Taane has also produced multi platinum albums for bands such as Six60,Shapeshifter,Salmonella Dub and Tiki Taane.
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 written by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff based on a story written by Berloff and executive producers S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus. Co-produced by Gray,former members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre,Eazy-E's widow Tomica Woods-Wright,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.
