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Biography

This posse permanently changed the face of West Coast rap and that of the hip-hop nation itself. Completely ignoring the poppier aspects of West Coast, N.W.A.'s musical style was slower, heavier and more spare than even East Coast counterpart Public Enemy, and lyrically their hardcore, no-punches-pulled street dramas left nothing to the imagination. Their world of dope deals, 'ho's, 8-balls and violence was tagged "reality rap" by primary lyricist Ice Cube Niggaz With Attitude's nucleus was Dr. Dre (Andre Young) and Yella (Antoine Carraby)--two DJ/producers who'd had success with World Class Wreckin' Cru--joined by rappers MC Ren (Lorenzo Patterson) and Cube. Dre and Cube began writing for Eazy-E (Eric Wright), a former dealer who founded Ruthless Records with drug money. Their initial effort was the anthem "Boyz-N-The Hood," written for a Ruthless artist who rejected it. Eazy decided to rap it himself, and N.W.A. was born. Initially a loose crew of friends (N.W.A. And The Posse), half fell away by the second disc, the landmark Straight Outta Compton. Even the F.B.I. got bent over "Fuck Tha Police;" a track which secured N.W.A.'s black answer to the defiance and obnoxiousness of punk rock everlasting infamy. Before the next LP, Cube quit, accusing manager Jerry Heller of ripping off his royalties. N.W.A. fell from critical grace, but followed with a hit EP and a #1 platinum album before the group finally splintered. Besides being gutsy enough to make records so bold, N.W.A was the flagship that launched the substantial solo careers of Dre, Cube and Eazy. Eazy died from AIDS in '95, Dre has become the genre's most significant producer, and Cube continues to be most distinctive and consistent voice in '90s rap.