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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZN.W.A.Rap group, aka 'Niggas With Attitude', godfathers of the genre's West Coast brutalism. Officially formed '87 for 'Dopeman' single though an earlier incarnation released 'Boyz-N-The-Hood' '86 (inspired the later John Singleton film of the same title). Debut album Straight Outta Compton '88 on their own Ruthless label had a seismic impact with lurid violence and disdain for the rule of law, track 'Fuck Tha Police' eliciting outraged reaction from the FBI public affairs department; the album went gold. The lineup was Eric 'Eazy-E' Wright (b 7 September 1963, d 26 March 1995 of AIDS, having fathered seven children by six women), Andre 'Dr Dre' Young (b 18 February 1965, Compton) and O'Shea 'Ice Cube' Jackson (b 15 June 1969, L.A.) Lorenzo 'MC Ren' Patterson, Antoine 'DJ Yella' Carraby. Dr Dre and DJ Yella were also members of World Class Wreckin Cru and produced others; all except Yella went on to successful solo careers. Mini-album 100 Miles And Runnin' '90 was followed by EFIL4ZAGGIN '91 (the title appeared on the album as an inverse image of NIGGAZ4LIFE), a no. 1 album USA though Ice Cube had already left after arguments about money with manager Jerry Heller. The UK edition (on Priority/Island) was seized by the obscene publications squad. Ice Cube seemed to have been the brains of the outfit; he made solo albums AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted '90 with DJ Sir Jinx and the East Coast Bomb Squad production team (see Public Enemy), mini-album Kill At Will and Death Certificate (no. 2 USA) '91, The Predator '92 (no. 1), Lethal Injection '94 (no. 5), walking a line between sharp documentary and nihilistic exploitation; he was also a charismatic actor in films Boyz N The Hood, Trespass, Higher Learning and Friday. Dr Dre (with a grasp of what sounded good on car stereos) formed Death Row Records and went multi-platinum with his own The Chronic '92, and Doggy Style '93 (no. 1) by featured vocalist and murder trial defendant Snoop Doggy Dogg (see Rap); Dre's Concrete Roots '94 on Hitman and First Round Knock Out '96 on Triple X anthologized his writing, and he produced for various groups. MC Ren had three chart albums and Eazy-E had five, all on Ruthless. Some of Dre's and Easy-E's records dealt with their mutual loathing. |