@artemusgordon gives us a interesting visual to the missing pieces of the N.W.A movie.
Just finished watching the interview the the @breakfastclubam conducted with one of the producers and the director of the movie, “Straight Outta Compton”. The reviews so far through word of mouth have been very positive but as I detailed when production started about 2 or 3 years ago, I take issue with the fact that this is akin to “the inmates running the asylum”. That is, your principal players in this saga aren’t going to go the length of truly breaking everything down correctly in order to give a full understanding of it means they lessen their “legend”. I get it, I truly do but this is also the reason Dre is doing no press so you CANNOT ask him any difficult questions. This is also why Cube shot down some of the questions posed by @cthagod with his trademark scowl and humor. From the looks of it, they’re STILL gonna go with that BS about Jerry Heller breaking up the group which is INCORRECT!!!!! The person or persons that did it are STILL eating off the group, it’s legacy and both Cube and Dre to an extent. So today or even leading up to August 14th I, AG your humble Shoe Cobbler, will be conducting so history lessons based of questions posed by Charlemagne that I either felt went unanswered or glossed over.
The very first question @cthagod asked of the producer of the film was “You wasn’t under contract with N.W.A the whole time???” To which Brother Cube essentially answered “Yes”. The REAL reason for that was he was ALWAYS seen as “Dre’s little man”. You see as I have readily explained, Eazy was and was only supposed to be seen as THE star period. The N.W.A project was a vehicle to get more money and set up future project for the rest including 6th member ARABIAN PRINCE {Something To Dance To}(have you not wondered why he NEVER gets mentioned).
Arabian Prince
Also Known As: Mik Lezan, Professor X.
Before the Photo: Arabian Prince was a producer who worked with L.A. acts like Bobby Jimmy & the Critters, which featured Russ Parr, who is now a nationally syndicated morning show host. He was one of Ruthless Records house producers, also working on JJ Fad’s hit single “Supersonic.” (You’ve probably heard part of “Supersonic:” Fergie’s “Fergalicious” samples the hook).
In the Photo: Arabian Prince is in the middle row, second from the right. He’s making no pretense to wear “gangsta” clothing, instead favoring an unbuttoned shirt, tight jeans, and lots of jewelry. He’s also got a Jerhi Curl and mustache, a look that always fit his style better than baggy jeans and a Raiders hat.
“I’ve always been a club cat,” Prince tells me. “I want to make people hype, I want to make people party. And when we did the N.W.A thing, I was cool with it because I grew up in the hood as well, but I’ve never been gangsta. My uncles was gangsta, my cousins was gangsta, and I’m like, ‘I’m not really gangsta.'”
After the Photo: Arabian was an actual member of N.W.A. He’s pictured on the back of the record with Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy E, the core of the group at the time. (Top of page) He left the group while Straight Outta Compton was being recorded, releasing a solo record called Brother Arab in 1989.
Like the others who later left the group — including Cube and Dre — Arabian cites financial improprieties as the main motivator behind his departure.
“I’m a businessman first and foremost, and I was a solo artist before, so I knew how much money we were making,” he says. “And I’m like, ‘Well, we just sold a million records,’ I knew we were supposed to get X amount of money we weren’t getting. And you know what, we’ve gotta split the money anyway, and we’re still not getting paid what we’re supposed to get paid. I’m going to go back and do my own thing, and I’ll make more money than all ya’ll, myself.”
Arabian Prince also disliked having to deal with cops after the group drew fire with songs like “Fuck Tha Police.”
People Don’t Know: “Panic Zone” was N.W.A’s first single only because the group was scared to go gangsta right off the bat.
“‘Panic Zone’ was the first single because me and Dre came from the electro background and we knew that there was no way in hell that we were going to get any of that gangsta stuff played on the radio, and we wanted to make sure we got it to the DJs and got some radio play just so people would know we were there. And so, we were like, ‘Hey, let’s do some dance records’ because we knew we could get this played because that’s what people knew us from before,” he says. “So we did ‘Panic Zone’ and that’s what got us on KDAY [AM 1580, Los Angeles]. And, after that, once the gangsta stuff blew up, KDAY was like, ‘Eh, well I guess we gotta play it if you’ve got the clean versions.’ So we had to go back and do clean versions, and that’s how it got on the radio.”
Krazy D
Also Known As: Damon Trujillo, Culo Popper, Crazy D, Krazy Dee.
sir jinx, baby d (jjfad), dj train )back) , krazy d
Before the Photo: Krazy D is from Huntington Park, a heavily Hispanic and very poor suburb southeast of LA. He was a friend of Eric “Eazy E” Wright.
Krazy D has a writing credit on N.W.A’s “Panic Zone,” as you can see on the vinyl.
Krazy D and Ice Cube
People Don’t Know:N.W.A. and the Posse was pretty much a scam by the group’s first record company, Macola.
“The first record we ever did was called N.W.A. — it wasn’t called N.W.A and the Posse, it was just called N.W.A. — and it was an EP with four or five songs on it. Then we left Macola Records to go to Priority Records. Macola, they were thieves at the time; they ripped everybody off. So when we left, they went back and took our EP and put a bunch of other crap on there — that wasn’t even us — and called it N.W.A. and the Posse and turned it into an album.”
People Don’t Know: N.W.A.’s Straight Outta Compton lineup didn’t have much street cred.
“Eazy was the only one in the hood who was really a real gangsta — doing the drug thing, doing everything else. All the rest of us were just DJs. We were producers, we had done a lot of records, and that’s how the whole thing came together. Cube wasn’t actually doing anything. He was in school [in Phoenix] until we brought him back. Ren was just Eazy’s boy; he lived down the street from him. And, I mean, Ren wasn’t really banging, but he was probably the next closest thing to Eric (Eazy). If you had to go in order it would be Eric, Ren, then probably me and Dre because he grew up in Compton. So did I. It wasn’t like we were pushovers, but we weren’t no gangstas. Then I would go probably Ice Cube, then Yella. Yella was about as far from gangsta as you could possibly get. He was more close to freakin’ Morris Day and the Time.”
Ok back to the story..
You see Eazy then worked (NOT ON PURPOSE) on a “homeboy honor” system. Meaning, “Let’s deal with contracts later so we can get buzzed and mix these breezies now”. He didn’t have anyone sign contracts till the big money started rolling in but he fronted EVERYTHING so of course he deserves the lion’s share. You see one thing Cube conveniently leaves out is, HE ALWAYS GOT HIS PUBLISHING. Which is KEY to any artist’s survival. What he wasn’t getting that he wanted more than anything else was “shine”. Dre and Yella didn’t want it while Ren was happy to be there. So when the part of the movie where Jerry Heller tells Eazy that Cube wants to be him that Charlemenge alluded to gets LEFT IN and NOT ON THE CUTTING ROOM floor and the people are telling us that everything in the movie is THE TRUTH then well…
Say what you will about who and what Dr. Dre is today but during these early formative years, he was very much a Ladies Man. Dudes hung around Dre because he had all the “mixes”(literally and figuratively) on deck. When @cthagod asked Cube about Dre’s first group, World Class Wrecking Cru, ” wearing lipstick” and the producer of the film denied it but Charlemenge was not entirely wrong. You see the group was supposed to be the Hip Hop version of Prince. They were purposely dressed this way.
If you’re familiar with Snoop’s song and video, “Sexual Eruption”, then you know what they were trying to achieve. During those times in the 80’s, the clothes they wore were very much acceptable as a result of the huge Gang culture problem Los Angeles had at the time. One had to dress like that to get in the club. To perform at these clubs and get that dough you had to be dressed up. Most guys couldn’t afford to wear their “church” clothes to the club so they had to wear these club clothes plus, the ladies sometimes liked that look. Now as for the shiny lips the group sometimes had, well that’s on them.
When @cthagod asked was there any backlash from leaving the group, the producer of the film while clearly uncomfortable mentioned with a chuckle that there were some fists thrown. Well sorta. You see he and his crew called Da Lenchmob were being beaten up by the legendary west coast Rap group and members of Ruthless Records, Above The Law (@officialabvdlaw). With Above The Law being REAL dudes from the streets, it wasn’t nothing for them to beat crews up that only had one or two official street guys. So when Charlemenge asked the producer of the film did he feel more safe on the East Coast he wasn’t too far off. Hence at least part of the motivation for the producer of the film to then seek out The Nation of Islam for protection(post maybe later) and would eventually influence CLASSIC music material to come.
(Pac and Eazy E picture above was photoshopped)
(Prodigy in the background)
The last thing I will address again is 2Pac being in the film. Although PAC was mortal enemies with Dre & Cube (& vise versa because they knew his INFLUENCE at the time was just as much or probably more than theirs which could render them obsolete), I still think he would have supports the film’s message regarding Eazy and his battle with AIDS.
Shorter version..
I do believe that AIDS awareness would have been cause that PAC championed and been an advocate for. I will keep stressing how likable Eazy was and that he was hard NOT to get along with. Their friendship would have led them to work together more beyond the songs he had with Above The Law and Bone Thugs for sure.
{Blastmaster KRS One voice}”Let us begin, what, where, why or when. Will all be explained like instructions to a game…” This all matters for you to understand the full spectrum. The group C.I.A.(Cru’ In Action) consisted of three members: best friends O’shea Jackson, originally known as Purple Ice later changed to Ice Cube(Both names derive in homage from who was then the best rapper is Los Angeles, Ice T {one of the only FOUR rappers that could then and still can go into any neighborhood in LA WITHOUT SECURITY}).
Along with, Darrell Johnson, originally known as Kid Disaster and later as K-Dee (had a hit album himself independently in ’95). Also add to the mix is Sir Jinx, Dr. Dre’s cousin and the reason for Cube meeting Dre at all(post maybe). Jinx is forever memorialized as the dancer in the Pittsburgh Penguins jersey in N.W.A.’s “Express Yourself” video. Jinx and Cube are the same person in real life that’s why they don’t hang because they remind themselves of themselves. Hahahahahaha!!! Cube and Jinx are Dre’s “sons” and always will be. The three in C.I.A. started out trying to emulate the hottest group of the time, RUN D.M.C, featuring the rapper Cube got his style from Run. Knowing Cube could really create and DELIVER on the spot, Dre brought him in to start writing rhymes for a group from NYC called “H.B.O.”. And then…
As you all should know by now, “Straight Outta Compton”, while on a $29 million dollar budget has grossed $56.1 million since Thursday and the Sunday totals aren’t even in!!! Congrats!!Now there is a part of N.W.A. lore that was not in the movie that I shall try to frame for you here so it is NOT a spoiler. This night I remember vividly… The discord between N.W.A./Ruthless Records and Ice Cube and his Lenchmob had reached an all time high. Partly because N.W.A. had felt betrayed by Cube for “putting him on” especially because he was Dre’s “creation”(listen to the last verse of “Dre Day” ‘…spot em got Em as I steps in the temple…YOU DISS DRE YOU DISS YOURSELF, HELL YEAH!!!’).
Cube preceded to go on a video show called “Pump It Up” hosted by “Body & Soul” rapper D Zire aka Dee Barnes. When Dee asked Cube about his former cohorts, he said basically “I will have dem suckas 100 Miles and Runnin'”. Dre felt his son showed the ultimate disrespect and saw BLOOD. Cube is probably the best rapper ever in “eluding the wolves” so Dre knew it would be a minute before he caught up to him. So the guys were in the studio getting super buzzed and talking about the incident that they felt was disrespectful when they got an invite to an industry party. Dre was steadily making himself more and more angry to where Eazy got concerned like “Ren, this N**** trippin’!” They get to the party and see the video host Dee Barnes. Dre tells the guys, “Ima F*** this B**** Up!” Eazy tells Ren and Yella, “WATCH THIS N**** MAN!!” Dre, 200+ lbs., breaks away from them a goes right to Barnes who is all of 110 lbs.. He beats her mercilessly and throws her down the stairs of the event. Unrepentant and Defiant, he takes out his frustrations with his “son” on someone that only asked a question. The fellas get Dre off of her and push him into a car…
I was asked by the Homie @darnellblue do a character by character synopsis of the REAL version of each member and role they played in the group and in the movie. I guess I will have to do each in parts because there is waaaaay too much info. So @dgsigma said start with this brother right here… If you talk about him, you have to admit that he is BRILLIANT. There is a VERY, VERY short list of Rappers that can claim relevance after 5 years and this dude is going on 30!!!!!!!!!!! You do know this movie was written from he and his “Dad’s” perspective right? You do know that? Well don’t you? Where do I start…hmmmm…
Let’s start with the INFAMOUS “contract”. The “contract” that was portrayed in the movie that he “never” got. The “contract” that Jerry just wanted him to sign sight unseen. Welp folks I hate to burst your bubble but you know the reason Cube did not get a contract off the bat was because…HE LEFT THE GROUP FOR 2 YEARS!!!!! HE LEFT THE GROUP FOR 2 YEARS!!! His Father, Hosea, said he had to leave Rap alone and go to college. So right when the group began to take off in ’87 with “N.W.A. and the Posse”, he was gone!!!!! “Boyz-N-The-Hood” began to blow up while Cube was in Arizona attending school. The group toured and was getting money and telling him all the fun(girls) they were having so he begged his father to let him leave and his dad obliged. That same “contract” he said he “never got to look at”, he sure did bring to William Howard Taft High School to show everyone he was indeed a part of N.W.A.(refer your questions on this #FACT to @darnellblue). Again I stress the part in the film where Jerry says to Eazy that Cube “wants to be him”, if that was fake then why leave it in the movie? You have to understand, Cube was the youngest and had no money and no girls…correct that he had one but I will post later so you will truly understand the spark that lit the flame… ANYTHING Cube ever wrote for the group Dre told him what to write, how to say it, and when to say it. He deserves equal writing credit. Hahahahaha PART TWO SOON….
“I was dreaming when I wrote this Forgive Me if this goes astray Could’ve sworn it was judgement day… Note when this was posted that I was just trying to lend some understanding to you in regards to “The World’s Most Dangerous Group”. For however twisted the logic was Eazy had good hearted intentions, he just didn’t know any better. So when or if you watched the film, during the tour scenes when they were partying remember THIS is what was happening. Eazy was a F’n ROCKSTAR. He was the Rockstar. They were his band. Get it? If have readily for years explained to you the group dynamic to you get a picture of how the hierarchy was. “Man E, this b**** says she’s pregnant!” “Tell her call Ruthless and ask for Jerry so he can cut her a check!” Sometimes keeping it real does go wrong…
I understand the frustration when it comes to historical accuracy as that is what I attempt to do here. In the case of Eazy’s daughter, E.B., I can definitely relate to her displeasure but I think she has to take a step back a look at the entire picture. Her father’s wife, Tomica Woods-Wright, was one of the producers of the film and THE MOST IMPORTANT person in getting it made as she OWNS THE RIGHTS TO RUTHLESS RECORDS. Just like when Mick Jagger was brought in to secure the music rights for the horrible film, “Get On Up”, so was Tomica in the same capacity for “Straight Outta Compton”.
Now E.B. has to think that the reason things were not discussed in regards to Eazy’s latter years would be because Tomica’s relationship with her father would have to be discussed and dissected for good or bad and some folks don’t want to be under that type of scrutiny. Also when you have these kind of stories, people that worked for or with the deceased tend to start believing their owed monies that they’ve already been paid. Hahahaha! Eazy’s legacy is forever GOLDEN. The folks who know KNOW. I keep telling you how good a dude he was and how REAL. He didn’t get bodyguards until AFTER his run in with Suge to sign the paperwork freeing Dre, D.O.C., and Michel’le from Ruthless. He also could go ANYWHERE & EVERYWHERE in LA and that “VIP wristband” has been reserved for only three other Rappers. E.B. says here she working in a documentary about her father but I say again if you are not cool with the person who OWNS the legacy(Tomica) then what can you really bring to the table?
In the annals of history one cannot begin to unravel the stories of men building and destroying empires without breaking down the trials and tribulations of the women standing right next to or behind them. This holds true especially in the history of popular American Black Music. Men often seek to leave these things out as a way to bolster their image of supreme masculinity. A sort of, “I conquer it all! I am man hear My roar!” But in all actuality it should be, “Hear My Cry?”. The two subjects in the top photos were INTEGRAL in shaping the minds, hearts, and attitudes of the bottom photos. One for the better(right) and one for the worse(left).
For Me this adds more credence to My assertion that Marvin Gaye is the G.O.A.T. because he wasn’t afraid to say, “Man this situation with HER has Me ALL THE WAY F’d Up!!!” It also adds to the desire for more female voices in Hip Hop that truly KNOW THEMSELVES and won’t be afraid to express heartache and despair. I say all that because right now we’re being presented tales but the key chapters are missing. But hey what do I know…
I don’t care how you feel about this guy but he deserves NOT to get lied on. “F You AG!!! He is an “Evil Genius” that orchestrated everything from Kennedy’s assassination, Global Warming, Marshawn Lynch not getting the ball on the goal line, UFOs, and he also supplied Bill Cosby with those pills back in the 1960s!!!! I am unfollowing you now if you defend him!!!” See, doesn’t that feel better because I said it for you? Yes, Suge has done a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, wrong. I can give you personal instances from friends and family alike. Suge just saw an angle and ran with it. The guys were being paid not of the stature they should have been but that’s because EAZY PAID ALL THEIR BILLS!!!! With that being said, legal cases, bad habits, extra mixes, and baby mamas ALL ADD UP TO MUCHO DINERO. So it was even. I already told you Eazy was working on the “Homeboy Honor System”. But what Suge “preyed” upon were FRAGILE EGOS. He knew he could appeal to the desires to be “The Man” and it worked. Suge took Dre to an even HIGHER level than before as he was not a Rapper per say. He only started on the mic because Cube left. The same person that got in Cube’s ear about the “contract” is the same person that hired Suge in the first place(just wait on the post eventually)! Go figure. That stuff they portrayed in the movie to make him this “crazed monster clad in red” is just the reason he will go down in the history books without his full due. He has been made an example of so you will NOT have anymore Deathrow’s or Ruthless situation to where you control your own destiny. Suge didn’t touch Eazy. No one did. Dre left because there were too many new Negroes and the control was out of his grasp plus Suge had “sonned” him in other ways and PAC was pressing. All Ego. Which leads Me to the next and tied as arguably the most important person in blowing up the dynasty…. Leave Suge alone. He has enough going on for this revisionist history to make his situation worse.
I’ve been waiting to debunk the myths surrounding this gentleman for years. Now that a good number of you have seen the movie I think it is ok to do so. If you have not seen it:****SPOILER ALERT****!!!! Here comes the truth. JERRY HELLER: Ask yourself this, if an old decrepit white man was beating some young Street self professed N***** out of their money, why was he never touched, whupped on or sued?? HMMMMM… That because he wasn’t!! He was “robbing Peter to pay Paul”. To keep the business of Ruthless Records afloat, Jerry had to make some questionable moves without Eazy’s knowledge because of EAZY’S SPENDING!!!! The same happened with Motown, STAX, Philadelphia International etc. etc. I told y’all Eazy was generous to a FAULT. The rest of the guys didn’t like the way Eazy took Jerry’s word as the gospel and the fact that Eazy would ok something and Jerry would tell him NO. EAZY WAS JERRY’S CLIENT. EAZY WAS JERRY’S CLIENT. Not beholden to anyone else except for the guy that signed HIS CHECK: EAZY MUTHAF***** E!!!! So of course he was going to be “EAZY-CENTRIC”! He was a convenient scapegoat because he was then and still is OLD!!! THERE IS NO N.W.A WITHOUT JERRY HELLER. THERE IS NO N.W.A WITHOUT JERRY HELLER!!!! Ruthless would not have been a $100 Million Dollar company without Jerry’s vision! Jerry got fired because it was time. EAZY knew the business and Jerry was unnecessary. Ice Cube put all these ideas in your head because the REAL culprit, who was in the movie as well if you were paying attention and could read between the lines an his name does NOT rhyme with Suge Knight, started a divide and conquer because Eazy with Jerry’s help was MAKING TOO MUCH MONEY!! Jerry had Eazy sign deals that let Ruthless distribute with OTHER LABELS. $$$$$$$$$ That is too dangerous and revolutionary! You see no other label has had that deal since! Plus Eazy also had COMPTOWN RECORDS. Mo’ Money, Mo’ Money, Mo’ Money! As for Suge…
