Looking Back On The N.W.A. Reunion That Never Happened [UPROXX]

[donfathaimmortal]

Looking Back On The N.W.A. Reunion That Never Happened - by Erich Donaldson

A question can live on forever if properly asked and depending on the answer an artist is prepared to give. For Dr. Dre, something simple as being asked if he kept in touch with former N.W.A. members turned into years of anticipation. “It’s funny you bring that up because I just talked to Cube and Ren, and we’re gonna start on a new N.W.A. project next year,” he told Street Funk TV in 1999. “We gon’ try to release Christmas 2000.” He went on to say Snoop Dogg would fill in for Eazy-E, being that the latter passed in ‘95. “We gonna call the album Not These Niggaz Again. That’s going to be something to look forward to.”

Dr. Dre told Rolling Stone in the summer of 2000 that they had a studio bus for the legendary 2000 Up in Smoke tour and planned to “start trying to create some things.” He said if what they worked on came out hot, they’d finish it. Despite plans to work on it, a tentative release would be more than a year later in the fall of 2001.

Who knows what went on during those studio bus sessions. Buried under years and years of records we’ll never hear might exist some songs, if they got around to it. Touring is tedious, and not everybody is in the mindstate to record while traveling. Still, the fact remains that, like Dre’s once collaborative album with Ice Cube, Heltah Skeltah; like Rakim’s Dre-produced album; like Chairmen of the Boards (with Timbaland); like Detox; like the many other ideas that never went public, this N.W.A. idea didn’t materialize into much. We got a Next Friday soundtrack cut titled “Chin Check,” which is the only song with the new line-up, and War & Peace Vol. 2’s “Hello.”

Dr. Dre ruined Christmas later in 2000. Forty-four shows in the summer didn’t yield any results that could push forward an N.W.A. reunion album. As he told MTV, they created some records on the studio bus. However, being the perfectionist we’ve grown to accept, Dre wasn’t happy with anything. N.W.A.’s album would go back into limbo status.

It’s also worth noting that each group member had solo careers. Dre was less than a month removed from Chronic 2001; Ice Cube ventured more into films. Snoop Dogg stood less than a week away from Tha Last Meal. MC Ren seemed to be the only one not working on a project.

Timing is a huge factor, because these four couldn’t afford to spend time together to attempt to create an album. Everybody would’ve wasted his time if it didn’t work out.(...)

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[M Dogg™]

It always comes down to Dre. But if he ain't feeling it, then it's not going to happen. Too bad, I think it would have been huge for MC Ren having a career rebirth.

[Game-Won]

Chin Check was a dope song, glad it happend. - The intro was anoying.

Snoop could never had taken Easy spot, not cause he cant rap - but he woulndt be the leader like Easy was.

Would had been a fail, No Easy, No NWA. - had to change group name for it to work.

[Tha Crip]

Crazy how they never included Quik in this reunion...dudes a legend and was from Compton too

[Sccit]

Chin Check was a dope song, glad it happend. - The intro was anoying.

Snoop could never had taken Easy spot, not cause he cant rap - but he woulndt be the leader like Easy was.

Would had been a fail, No Easy, No NWA. - had to change group name for it to work.

I duno bout fail, based on the three songs that dropped, shit woulda been classic

[Sccit]

Crazy how they never included Quik in this reunion...dudes a legend and was from Compton too

Cube was never from Compton either .. Quiks style wouldn't really fit NWA. Not that snoop is the ideal fit, but at least he was involved wit dre and them when he was just breakin away from the group.

[donfathaimmortal]

What's N.W.A. Without Eazy-E? That's Easy: N.W. E.
Los Angeles Times | May 09, 1993

It looks like N.W.A. is going to re-form after all--sort of.

Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and M.C. Ren--three of the four key members of the rap group whose 1989 "Straight Outta Compton" album popularized the gangsta rap movement--have reportedly agreed to work together on a new album.

What about Eazy-E, the original leader of the group?

Don't look for him to be invited to join, which is why there's speculation about a slight vowel change in the name. Some some sources say the "reunion" album will be titled N.W.E.--Niggaz Without Eazy--instead of the original N.W.A., for Niggaz With Attitude.

The new name reflects what is reportedly continuing animosity between Eazy-E and the other three rappers, a conflict fueled by various contract and financial squabbles. Ice Cube left the group in 1990 and the situation within the rest of N.W.A. has apparently been volatile for some time.


Lillian Matulic, head of publicity for Priority Records, which distributes N.W.A. albums and the solo albums by all four principals, has heard the N.W.E. talk, but said there's nothing definite. "I've learned that if something is speculation, it's not a story."

Unless, of course, the speculation is true.

"N.W.E. is definitely on," says one source close to the project. "Everybody had their problems with Eazy, but they really united after he supported Ted Briseno (the Los Angeles policeman who was acquitted in the recent federal civil rights trial growing out of the beating of Rodney G. King). What was (N.W.A.'s song) 'F--- tha Police' supposed to be all about?"

Although N.W.A.'s "Compton" album was a massive hit, both Ice Cube and Dr. Dre subsequently attacked Eazy-E and his manager, Jerry Heller, after leaving the group. Eazy-E declined to comment, but has said repeatedly in recent weeks that things are fine between the old N.W.A. gang and that there'll be a reunion album soon.

But things don't seem so smooth if you watch "Dre Day," Dr. Dre's latest video, in which he and cohort Snoop Dog ridicule Eazy-E and Heller.

Snoop Dog and Kam, who's an Ice Cube rap ally, are reportedly expected to also be part of the N.W.E. project. The album could be a commercial blockbuster because solo albums by both Dre--an acclaimed producer--and Ice Cube--who is an equally heralded rapper--are huge rap and pop hits.

"As far as N.W.E. is concerned, I think someone came up with a cover name," says one industry executive who is involved in the L.A. rap scene. "Whether or not they'll use it, I don't know. But the real news is that Dr. Dre and Ice Cube will be working together. That's an album that everyone will run out and buy."

[donfathaimmortal]

MC Ren interview
The Source | May 1996

You say that you and Eazy didn't speak for two years. What caused the rift ?

Iy happened right after Dre left. When he left the group, Eric wanted to do an N.W.A album. Every year when an N.W.A album would die out, he would want to get started on the next one. When it got time to do the next one, he was like "we finna do this album". But I was like, dogg, how we gonna do an N.W.A album without Dre doin the beats ? He wanted to bring in somebody else to back the shit.

Now that Eazy's gone, do you think ther's ever going to be an N.W.A reunion album ?

Yeah. As a matter of fact, I was at Dre's house six or seven months ago, and he was talking about it. Dre was telling me how he was writting an N.W.A movie and how he was gonna do this album. When he was gonna do all of that, he was working on "California Love". Pac wasn't even on it, it was just Dre rappin'. When Pac got out of jail, Dre was like busy with all that and I haven't got back at hom on that.