Author Topic: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*  (Read 29892 times)

D-Stress

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #195 on: September 11, 2008, 01:25:57 PM »
chad, do you know what´s up with krazy d?he was about to release a dvd exposing that whole NWA-hype shit.
did he record any songs?
 

Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #196 on: September 11, 2008, 01:32:10 PM »
^^I got that sample from their site, looks like they were heavily basing the interview around on Cube's 'Dead Cert' classic.


 OK,I tought it was you that was so kind to transcript it.  :P
Anyway,can you jack the Big Rocc interview and post it in this thread;
The Official RBX thread (Concrete Criminals) *Audio,interviews,reviews and news*
and the Ren interview (when it drops) in this thread?  ;)



This is the best topic on this board so far!

Thanks for posting all that stuff, so interesting and amazing, I'm gonna spend a lot of time of reading and watching this and that. Thanks.


Feel free to pick up on the info and what not said in the interview,reviews and articles.... and discuss them.
that's what they're here for for so you all can "learn" a little history,get shit right.. not by some hersay, ;) and for you all to get inspired to discuss.  ;)



chad, do you know what's up with krazy d?
he was about to release a dvd exposing that whole NWA-hype shit.
did he record any songs?


Didn't Styles post some info about him? and didn't he do a couple of tracks with Eazy? (I could be wrong though,that shit is like over 20 years ago....  :P :laugh:)
« Last Edit: September 23, 2008, 03:07:22 PM by Chad Vader »
 

Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #197 on: September 23, 2008, 02:41:53 PM »
Quote
Time Bomb Interview!
Read the full interview here:
and
Discuss here;

-Q: How did you end up getting on the  “Chronic 2001” album? Was it Knoc-turn’al that introduced you to Dre?
Nah, it was over there that I met Knoc-turn’al.

-Q: Oh, OK.
I was fucking with a cat by the name of Mark Gordon. I did a three song demo. This was when I first got in the game. I was just fucking around in the studio and did a three song demo and that three song demo went all the way to New York to Puffy (Diddy) and shit. Puffy sent for me and shit and I went out there to New York fucking with them. I then flew to Atlanta and I was fucking with every body in the game. This was around 1999. I was still bad as fuck, going to jail every other day.

 I end up meeting (Dr.) Dre in a studio and he bought a song off me from my three song demo. He paid me $4500 for it to go on the Chronic 2001; it didn’t make the cut, but he paid me for it. I was just freestyling in my head and shit. Dre was like “ey, what’s that shit you got going on there?” Dre put on the beat to “Some L.A. Niggaz” and I put my freestyle over it when I walked in. That’s where that pause came in every time the beat stop; every body followed me with that shit and made the hook. The one song I did for the Chronic 2001 made the album. Dre had like eighty tracks to pick from. I am very grateful it made the album.

-Q: Was it that freestyle that made him want you on the album?
Nah, he already wanted me on the album. Dre tried to sign me but I was already signed to Puff’s road manager with Finish Line. I was already signed there so I couldn’t sign to Dre; he still wanted me to do some shit with him.

-Q: Take us back to those recording sessions for “Chronic 2001.” Do you have any particular memories that stand out in your mind?
We were all meeting for the first time; me, Xzibit, King Tee, Hittman and so on. It was basically competition. Everybody was just sitting around waiting for their turn to rap over one of Dre’s hot beats. Any time he put any beat on; we put the pens to the pad. He’d put on a beat for five minutes, we all had a song written for it; he’d take that beat off and put on another, we’d do the same thing for that next beat. We hung around and wasn’t really tripping. We all ended up hopping on some hot shit. We were battling each other at first on “L.A. Niggaz” and then decided to make a song for it.

-Q: A lot of people describe those recording sessions as one big family.
Dre never made us feel like our shit wasn’t hot. He always complimented your shit. Even if something was wrong, he never made you nervous in the studio, every thing was always perfectly comfortable; I’m saying us as MC’s would battle each other when we first met, but we was giving each other love over the battle. We all knew we were hot MC’s. It was the best time I ever had recording; it was the most comfortable I’ve ever felt.

-Q: Have you had any recent contact with Dr. Dre or Knoc-turn’al?
Not since I’ve been out of jail. I’ve been hearing that some cats are looking for me. I’m not doing all that extra shit like going out of town;
I have to spend time with my kids. If I do see them though, it’s all love, no love lost; they the homies right there.
« Last Edit: September 23, 2008, 03:04:28 PM by Chad Vader »
 

Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #198 on: September 25, 2008, 02:46:16 AM »
Quote
You can listen a Recent MC REN Interview by Real Richard Radio Click on that link to listen @ his myspace.
http://ruthlessfamily.wordpress.com/2008/09/21/mcrens-new-singlethe-return-of-the-villain/
 

Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #199 on: September 30, 2008, 03:18:32 PM »
Hip Hop Connection August 2008





« Last Edit: September 30, 2008, 03:20:52 PM by Chad Vader »
 

The Predator

Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #200 on: October 01, 2008, 01:18:51 AM »
The worlds most dangerous thread.
 

dexter

 

Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #202 on: October 03, 2008, 01:36:59 AM »
The worlds most dangerous thread.
:-X

?

anyway;
Quote
VH1 Premieres the Rock Doc ‘NWA: The World’s Most Dangerous Group’ October 3 at 11pm
http://ruthlessfamily.wordpress.com/2008/09/26/vh1-premieres-the-rock-doc-nwa-the-worlds-most-dangerous-group-october-3-at-11pm/


NEW YORK, Sept 23, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The 90-Minute Rock Doc Includes New Interviews With Original NWA Members - Ice Cube and DJ Yella
N.W.A’s Influence Explored on New Capitol/Priority Release, ‘N.W.A And Their Family Tree,’ to be Released September 30
The Year was 1988, the album was “Straight Outta Compton,” the group was NWA and the outcome was history making. VH1’s Emmy Award-winning franchise takes a look back at the album and the group that changed the face of hip hop 20 years after its release in the new VH1 Rock Doc, NWA: The World’s Most Dangerous Group.” The doc will premiere on VH1, October 3 at 11pm*.
When NWA released their “Straight Outta Compton” album in late 1988 it changed the face of hip hop forever by ushering in a new genre of music called “gangsta rap.” Television and radio were afraid to touch it because the lyrics were so perverse and forbidden, the politicians were quick to attack and condemn it and the FBI wanted it banned - it made history even before it became a multi-platinum selling album.
VH1’s Rock Doc “NWA: The World’s Most Dangerous Group” tells the story of a group of childhood friends from Compton who channeled the rage of the streets through the prism of rap music and pop culture. Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella gave a powerful voice to the late-80’s Compton ghetto that was on the verge of exploding, and in the process scared much of White America. Often misunderstood, NWA’s raging raps about police violence, gang-land terror and drug-fueled shooting sprees gave the ultimate voice to the voiceless.
The doc features new interviews with Ice Cube, DJ Yella, Eazy-E’s widow Tomica Woods-Wright, former manager Jerry Heller, Ice-T, journalist Cheo Coker, and director John Singleton. Supplemented by rarely-seen footage and interviews from the group’s early days, photos, and music, the documentary will show how gangsta rap was born in late 80s Los Angeles, a city torn by drugs and violence…and how a nation grew to fear the music that emerged.
“NWA: The World’s Most Dangerous Group” was written and directed by Mark Ford. Executive produced by Mark Ford and Kevin Lopez and produced by Wesley Jones for Creature Films. Brad Abramson, Shelly Tatro and Jeff Olde are executive producers for VH1. Mark Anstendig is supervising producer for VH1.
To commemorate the historic and ongoing musical and cultural influence of N.W.A, Capitol/Priority will release N.W.A And Their Family Tree on September 30. The new CD and digital collection features a cross-section of 18 genre-defining tracks by the pioneering gangsta rap group and its founders, plus Mack 10, Westside Connection, Snoop Dogg, and other N.W.A-inspired artists.
“NWA: The World’s Most Dangerous Group” is the newest film in the Emmy Award winning VH1 Rock Doc franchise. VH1 Rock Docs are television’s premier collection of music documentaries. Each high-end feature-length documentary reveals an untold story in the history of rock and hip-hop music, combining never-before-seen footage with a unique and unconventional narrative approach. The documentaries tell some of the most unique stories of artists and music from a wide range of genres, styles, and musical perspectives.
VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists and pop culture that matter to them most with TV series, specials, live events, exclusive online content and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 95 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital channels and services including VH1Classic, VH1 Soul, VH1 Mobile, VH1Games and extensive broadband video on VH1.com. Connect with VH1 at VH1.com.
*All Times ET/PT
 

Dre-Day

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #203 on: October 03, 2008, 02:52:04 AM »
thanks for the reminder, i almost forgot lol

Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #204 on: October 03, 2008, 10:12:29 AM »
NEW Naughty By Nature interview (50 cent,Suge,Eazy and other things..)

DX: I’m glad you mentioned that. You guys did one of my favorite Eazy-E records in “Only If You Want It.”
Besides Ice Cube working with The Bomb Squad, bi-coastal collaborations were rare in those days. How did that happen?

Vin Rock: Right! We hooked up with Eazy
I guess “O.P.P.” had come out, and Eazy was just goin’ through that stuff with [Dr.] Dre and them, so he kinda reached out to us to work with him.
We got the tail-end of what was going on.
We knew there was a transition. Eazy told us about Suge [Knight] and the Death Row situation.
He was like, “They came and kinda tried to strong-arm me, but I know the core and the basis of where this guy is comin’ from, and in the end, it won’t pan out.”
I remember Eazy to this day, ‘cause he came to my house. We were both into properties.
He showed me his properties in L.A.; we showed him our properties out here in Jersey.
Even, right now, I still live in the same house that Eazy came to visit. When I think back about Eazy,
I’m like, “God, this guy was right here in this house!”
He definitely was a marketing genius. Even I picked his brain about merchandising.
At N.W.A. they had all that merchandising and the pull-out sleeves.
Eazy, how are you doing that?” Basically, he was using a licensing company. I took it a step further.
Shit, we were already printing stuff and we’re selling it off the block.
We have the inventory and don’t need those guys, we just got Tommy Boy [Records] to let us put the inserts in the album cover.
Eazy definitely put us up on game.


For rest of the interview;
http://www.dubcnn.com/connect/index.php?topic=196241.msg1995922#msg1995922
 

es-jay

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #205 on: October 03, 2008, 11:05:30 AM »
i gotta do a lil bit of scanning later...
 

es-jay

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #206 on: October 04, 2008, 05:33:52 AM »
just a few covers scanned from "The Book of Hip Hop Cover Art"


Surgery
The World Class Wreckin' Cru
Kru-cut Records   1985


Juice
The World Class Wreckin' Cru
Kru-cut Records   1985


Slice
Yella
Kru-cut Records   1985


NWA EP
NWA
Ruthless Records   1987

Cover Detail:
N.W.A. ROLL CALL ● EASY E from THE BOYZ 'N' THE HOOD ● DR. DRE from THE WORLD CLASS WRECKIN' CRU ● ARABIAN PRINCE from BOBBY JIMMY AND THE CRITTERS ● ICE CUBE from C.I.A.


Quote
Arabian Prince: The actual, first ever N.W.A. album was just called N.W.A. There was no posse. There were just four or five songs, so you’d probably consider it an EP as opposed to an album. It had the same cover, with everybody in an alley. On the back, it was just two pictures of the four of us – me, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy-E.



Radio
Eazy-E
Priority   1988


Gangsta Gangsta (12" Maxi-Single)
NWA
Priority   1988

Cover Detail:
Gangsta Gangsta  ●  Quiet On The Set  ●  Something 2 Dance 2  ●  Something Like That


« Last Edit: October 04, 2008, 05:38:50 AM by es-jay »
 

dexter

Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #207 on: October 05, 2008, 11:06:16 AM »
Dr. Dre & Eazy-E's Pool Party taken from the Niggaz4Life Home video. Censored Version
<a href="http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/e/16711680/wshhf1r3BRQ3N6Xnrb0k" target="_blank" class="new_win">http://www.worldstarhiphop.com/videos/e/16711680/wshhf1r3BRQ3N6Xnrb0k</a>

If video loads slow, press the pause button and wait 1 -2 minutes for it to fully load and press the play button again




Niggaz4Life Home video
Quote
http://www.answers.com/topic/n-w-a-efil4zaggin-the-only-home-video

Genre: Nature
Movie Type: Biography, Vocal Music
Themes: Musician's Life
Director: Mark Gerard
Release Year: 1992
Country: US
Run Time: 60 minutes

Plot
One would be hard pressed to name a rap group who courted controversy more openly (and with greater success) than N.W.A.
From the open challenge of their name to their confrontational lyrics and the incendiary impact of their best-known song,
"F--- the Police," N.W.A. pulled no punches and made no apologies.
N.W.A.: The Only Home Video is an hour-long look at life with N.W.A.,
originally released right after their final album, Efil4zaggin, which features uncensored versions of three of the group's music videos,
"Appetite for Destruction," "Alwayz Into Somethin'," and "Approach to Danger." In addition,
this video features exclusive interviews with the members of the group,
footage of N.W.A. performing live on-stage, and an uncensored look at the
definitive gangsta rappers enjoying themselves at uninhibited pajama parties and pool parties. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Cast
N.W.A
Credit
Mark Gerard - Director; Eric "Easy-E" Wright - Executive Producer
great
 

Chad Vader

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Chad Vader

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Re: The ultimate N.W.A family interview thread *magazine scans,reviews etc.*
« Reply #209 on: October 27, 2008, 02:58:47 PM »
Here is another new MC Ren interview for y'all to check out!
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/features/id.1253

Quote
MC Ren: RenIncarnated October 26th, 2008 | Author: Omar Burgess
http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/features/id.1253

As much as they are deservedly praised for their roles in creating a completely different genre of Hip Hop, the members of N.W.A. have by and large stayed in the spotlight by reinventing themselves. After his death in 1995, Eazy-E posthumously looms larger than he ever did while alive. Ice Cube [click to read] can still spit classic verses, but he’s also remade himself as an A-list actor, producer and director. After releasing two classic albums, Dr. Dre sits atop the Aftermath Empire with Eminem and 50 Cent [click to read] as his multi-platinum pupils. Hell, even DJ Yella pads his bank account by directing and producing porn. So what ever happened to MC Ren? Aside from a few stellar but sporadic guest appearances, “The Villain in Black” has maintained a relatively low profile over the last decade.

A conversation with Ren yields talk of picking his kids up from school, visiting the pyramids at Giza and fond memories of his N.W.A. days. Is this the end? Hardly. Before “The Doctor” and the “Don Mega” left N.W.A. to pursue solo success, it was Ren who cornered the market on reinvention. He received his own platinum plaques for Kizz My Black Azz and Shock of the Hour. The latter saw him trade his N.W.A. persona for an equally fiery and introspective one after converting to Islam.

Now, removed from the spotlight, Ren is up to his old tricks. He’s got his own movie plans, and he continues to embrace the contemporary artists who catch his ear. Furthermore, Ren now operates on both sides of the mic as an emcee and a producer. Not that any of this should come as a surprise. After all, Ren already did the reinvention thing back in the '90s. This is RenIncarnation.

HipHopDX: Everyone’s got their own N.W.A. stories. When I was in elementary school, my mom busted in on me listening to “Dopeman” and gave me the worst beatdown ever. Do you get a lot of those stories?
MC Ren: Yeah, man. I get a lot of the same type of shit. It’s just like how when I was little, we used to sneak and go listen to Richard Pryor. We used to get in some serious trouble for that shit [laughs].

DX: Good to know we were carrying on the tradition.
MC Ren: Yeah, man. Those tapes kept us coming back.

DX: You weren’t too far removed from those times when you started rhyming, and there were a lot of other groups from Compton putting out music when N.W.A. formed. Did you ever do anything with Mixmaster Spade, Toddy Tee, or Rodney O and Joe Cooley?
MC Ren: Nah, it was N.W.A. from the start. Before everything tripped off, [Eazy]-E signed me as a solo artist. This was around the time he first put out “Boyz N the Hood” [click to read] independently. From that point on, he just snatched me up and put me in the group. Every since the beginning, it was N.W.A.—not knowing that shit was going to get as big as it did. Like you said, there were a lot of people out. So the chances of us just blowing up the way we did…that shit was unbelievable, even to this day.

DX: Given that, how far did you think it would go when you guys were signed to Macola and selling tapes out of the trunk?
MC Ren: When E put out “Boyz N the Hood,” Macola was who we took it to first. Even though we ended up dealing with bigger companies later on down the line, that shit was big to me. It was like walking into Def Jam or any other major label. We used to go up there every damn day. So I’m seeing these people in the music business that I think are really big. I was pumped up, and I really thought we were on our way. But looking back at it, it wasn’t until we got with Priority Records that things really got big. That’s where I was like, “Okay, this is it right here.”

DX: I read an old interview, where DJ Yella said Eazy-E was notorious for forgetting the lyrics to some of his songs. As the author of “Eazy Duz It,” [click to read] “Radio” [click to read] and “Ruthless Villain” [click to read], is that true?
MC Ren: Nah. Most of the time he had the words right in front of him, so he’d never go in the booth and try to do the songs from memory. He’d just go in there with his paper and bust the lyrics. If somebody wrote him a rhyme, we’d just give him the paper. He’d go in there, and we’d coach him on how to say that shit.

DX: After N.W.A. became a household name, the FBI stepped to you guys with a letter regarding “Fuck the Police.” You guys got them back on “100 Miles and Runnin’,” [click to read] but what was your initial response to seeing the letter?
MC Ren: Shit, we was happy! It was free publicity for us, and we weren’t even trippin’ off that letter. It was the record company and the [executives] who were scared. A letter? That was nothing.

I was watching [N.W.A.: The World’s Most Dangerous Group], and Cube was talking about that letter. He was like, “Man, we’ve dealt with all kinds of shit, and y’all tripping off a letter? It’s not like the letter has a mouth. The letter can’t jump up and just shoot up everybody in the room.” He said it just right, because that’s exactly how we all felt.

DX: True. Since we’re talking “100 Miles and Runnin’,”what made you sample The Warriors. You know the breakdown where the chick starts talking, and then she goes into Martha & The Vandellas just like in the movie?
MC Ren: Yeah, Dre put that in there. He used to do all the fill-ins. Actually they had somebody come in there and say that part. It sounds like the clip from the movie, but they had somebody come in.

DX: So, just out of curiosity, are you a fan of the movie?
MC Ren: Hell yeah, I love The Warriors. I remember being little and watching it back in the day when that shit first came out. That shit is hard. I’ve got the DVD somewhere around here. Everybody likes that movie. It’s classic, and that shit is comedy.

DX: Niggaz4Life would be the last N.W.A. album, and afterward we heard a lot from Dre and Ice Cube about Jerry Heller skimming money off the top. As someone who stayed with Ruthless, did you experience that too?
MC Ren: Everybody there had experiences with that shit. A lot of people had problems with it, and a lot of people had problems with Jerry. When it was just us from the group together out on the road or something, we’d voice our opinion. We’d ask, “Why is he getting paid this amount and we’re not?” That’s where a lot of that tension and all that other shit came in. It all started over that.

We felt he didn’t deserve what he was getting. We deserved that shit. We were the ones making the records, traveling in vans and driving all around the place. You do all those fucking shows trying to get known, and then you come home to a fucking apartment. Then you go to his house, and this motherfucker lives in a mansion. There’s gold leaf trimmings all in the bathroom and all kinds of other shit. You’re thinking, “Man, fuck that.”

Everybody knows what happened. A lot of times you see Jerry talking about that shit, and he’s acting like George Bush or [John] McCain—like nothing wrong happened. He’ll say some shit like, “Everything was alright. They got what they deserved.” And I’m like, “Man, c’mon.” We were supposed to get super paid off of the first album, as big as it was and as many copies as it sold. But we didn’t really know the ins and outs of the business side, and certain people did. Those were the ones who took advantage of everybody.

DX: Cube and Dre were both on bad terms with Eazy before he was diagnosed with AIDS. Did you and he get to talk before he passed?
MC Ren: Yeah, we did. It was a time when we weren’t even talking. Everybody was doing their own thing. I remember he called me, and he was telling me about this and that. Then he started talking about getting N.W.A. back together. I was like, “Yeah.” Then he asked me to get on his album, and that was the last one he did, Str8 Off the Streets of Muthaphuckin’ Compton. I agreed, and we hooked up at his house. Me, him and Yella did [“Tha Muthafuckin Real”] [click to read]. We were all talking, and he was talking about everybody hooking up to do the N.W.A. thing. Right after we did that song, that was the last time I saw him. I heard he was in the hospital about a week or two later, and then that was it.

DX: Considering all the drama that went down, why stay with Ruthless after that?
MC Ren: It was a lot of shit going on, but after he passed, I had a lot of meetings with everyone who was about to take over. At the time, that’s where I wanted to stay. I had been there so long, and I didn’t want to go somewhere else and have the label put me in the mix with their other artists. They told me I could still do whatever I wanted to do. At that time, a lot of labels weren’t doing that. They’d bring people in to try to change your image and all that. Ruthless was like, “Shit, just do you.” So I just kept putting my shit out.

DX: There was a lot of young talent on the label then. You had Bone Thugs-N-Harmony [click to read], Black Eyed Peas, Kokane and Baby S. Were they all looking up to you as the OG?
MC Ren: When Bone was recording, I wasn’t really around for a lot of the studio sessions. I would be off doing some other shit. A little after that, I was on tour with Bone. We kicked it, and I got a chance to meet a lot of them dudes. It was cool, and it’s nothing but love to this day.

DX: Did you ever see the potential in any of those acts to become as big as they eventually did?
MC Ren: I really saw it in Bone. When Eric was still alive, he had other artists. But he was putting his everything into Bone, and they were really tight. He was so pumped up over Bone. They did exactly what he thought they were gonna do, but he didn’t get to see it. They really blew up, man. So, yeah, back then I definitely saw the potential in Bone.

DX: I want to get into your solo work for a minute. Around 1993, you dropped Shock of the Hour, which was different from anything you had done as a soloist or a member of NWA. What was your frame of mind going into that album?
MC Ren: Man, Shock of the Hour was just me coming into Islam. I had a lot of new ideas, and I had a big perspective on life. I looked at everything different. When you listen to that album, I recorded the first half right when I was thinking about falling into the Nation of Islam. Then the whole second half is songs I made after I fell in. I was like, “Okay, let me go.”

But I didn’t want to make the whole album like that, so I said, “Shit, I’m keeping everything I did.” I let everybody hear what I did on the first part, and then the second part allows you vibe to what I was doing at the time.

DX: Yeah, you definitely get the sense of growth and the impact of your conversion as the album progresses. A few years later, you converted to Orthodox Islam right?
MC Ren: Right.

DX: This is a little off topic, but a few weeks ago, we asked a few emcees to speak on the passing of Imam W.D. Muhammad. What was your initial reaction?
MC Ren: Man, I was shocked. I didn’t even know, but my wife saw it on the Internet. I was just like, “Damn. I ain’t seen nothing on the news or anywhere else.”

DX: Exactly.
MC Ren: They didn’t show him one time. You feel what I’m saying? Nobody talked about it, and it didn’t even make the news. They show so much bullshit on the news, and you’d think his passing would’ve at least been on there. We’re talking about Elijah Muhammad’s son Wallace. Come on, this is Warith Deen. But that’s how the media is. Everyone acts like they’re scared.

DX: I just had to sneak that in there. We couldn’t get anybody to weigh in on it that week.
MC Ren: Well you’ve got me.

DX: No doubt. Getting back to the music, the next album, Ruthless for Life, featured 8Ball & MJG [click to read] on “Who in the Fuck." How did you guys make that happen?
MC Ren: They had this song I heard back in the day called “Space Age Pimpin’” [click to read]. I was out of town when I heard it, and I remember thinking, “Damn, this shit is hard. These niggas is tight.” I listened to that song all day over and over and over. I remember seeing their video when they first came out, but I can’t remember the name of the song. After I heard that “Space Age Pimpin,’” I was like, “Man, I gotta work with these fools.”

So I got on the phone, and I told Ruthless to get in contact with Suave House [Records] so I could fuck with ‘Ball & G. They hooked it up, and I went down to Houston, ‘cause that’s where Suave House was at the time. We hooked up with the homie T-Mixx, who did the track for “Space Age Pimpin’.” We all just got together and knocked that shit out, and it came out cool as fuck.

DX: It’s interesting that you guys got together, because a lot of artists in your position think they’re too big to do those types of records.
MC Ren: Yeah, some people trip like that, but I don’t. If like you, I’m gonna try to work together. I don’t usually work with a lot of motherfuckers. But if I like you, I’m gonna work with you.

DX: After almost disappearing for a while, you resurfaced in 2001 with “Hello,” “Chin Check” and cameos on both Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre’s albums. During that time did you entertain thoughts of a major come back.
MC Ren: Yeah, I did. At that time I got a few offers for an album. Motherfuckers were coming out getting all this money. People were coming out with a little buzz, but they’d still walk into the label and get a million bucks for their advance. I was like, “I was signed to motherfuckers for so long. And if I’m gonna fuck with your label, you’re gonna have to break me off, cuzz.”

Back in the day, it was kind of cool. You could get the lower advance and end up keeping more money on the back end. But if you take less and they don’t push your album correctly, you just walk away from that motherfucker with less. And you end up in the red on top of that. Next thing you know they’re telling you, “Oh we had to buy this, this and that. Your album flopped.”

So around 2000, maybe 2001, I decided a motherfucker would have to break me off at least a million up front. That way, just in case they fucked my shit up, I still would get $1 million out of it. The game has changed to the point where if a major label isn’t willing to break me off, then I can just do the shit myself.

DX: These days, Dre is promoting a line of headphones and different types of liquor, and we all know Ice Cube is doing films on the side. Yella is directing pornos. What is MC Ren up to outside the realm of Hip Hop?
MC Ren: Outside of music, I have a radio show that’s starting on the 29th of this month. It’ll be on 92.5 KYHY, and people can catch that at www.925burbank.com. I’m doing radio, and I’ve got some other shit in the works. The company I’m working with told me don’t speak on it right now, so I gotta keep my mouth shut. As soon as it happens though, I’ll let you know, dog. It’s gonna be big.

DX: I also read somewhere that you were into Ancient Egypt and Kimetic culture.
MC Ren: Yeah, man. I went out there in 1995 on a study group with Ashwa Kwesi. That shit just blew my mind, so I’m all into that. They were making shit perfectly thousands of years ago, and they can’t even recreate some of it today. That is straight up mind-boggling.

DX: Absolutely. You guys were doing something very similar in terms of Hip Hop and you ended up being associated with the terms “gangster” and “gangster rap.” Since the definition has gotten twisted over the years, what do you define as gangster?
MC Ren: Well, we never called it gangster rap. They just threw that shit on us. We used to just say our shit was hardcore or underground. Today, it’s so garbage. Gangster rap—that shit don’t even sound right. It sounds like some made up, garbage shit. And you’ve got a lot of niggas running around talking about they’re gangster rappers. It just sounds crazy to me, because I’m not a gangster rapper. Motherfuckers might label me that, but if they ask me, I tell them, “Man, I ain’t no gangster rapper.”

DX: Correct me if I’m wrong, but “Gangsta Gangsta” was about the only time you guys actually used the word in reference to yourselves. How did that label get associated with N.W.A.?
MC Ren: Man, it was this interview we did with this motherfucker. I think he was from the Los Angeles Times. This white dude comes to Eric’s house, and he was scared. Actually we were in Compton at Eric’s mom’s house. So he did a little interview and took some pictures of us and shit. He was so scared, man. He had nothing to be afraid of, but you could physically see him shaking. After we saw how nervous he was, Eric went in the house and got a gang of guns. Dude backed up and then tried to sit back down. But he was shaking so hard that he must’ve moved, because this fool missed the chair and fell on the grass.

When he left we were laughing like a motherfucker. Everybody was just going, “What the fuck is he scared of?” You could just see the expression on his face like, “Oh damn, I’m about to die.” I guess he got back to his office like, “These are some gangster rappers!” So he put that shit in the article, and ever since then that’s what it was.

DX: Compton has a ridiculous history, in terms of Hip Hop. After your generation there was Quik, MC Eiht, The Game [click to read] and others. What is it about Compton that produces all this good music?
MC Ren: Back then, I just believe the west was rising at that time. New York was dominating everything, and everybody I knew in Compton was just grinding. It was just great competition. Everybody out here wanted to be the best and compete with New York. I think that had a lot to do with the music. We used to be in the studio saying we wanted to outdo this person or that person. That motivated us to a point where we said, “We gotta make our shit the hardest out.” Then you’ve got them saying, “Man, we gotta outdo N.W.A.” We were getting a lot of the shine on the west coast, so they were thinking, “Man, we gotta outdo them niggas.” But, you know, it is what it is.