The Story behind Niggaz4Life

WITH SUCCESS COMES THE BULLSHYT

WITH THE SUCCESS COMES THE BULLSHYT

When N.W.A. stormed into the scene in the late 80s and changed the trajectory of the music industry, It was a storm that nobody really expected. The Group’s debut album “Straight Outta Compton” and Eazy E’s solo debut “Eazy Duz it” made the Group superstars. Business was booming. Money was being made, Ruthless Records were signing acts left and right going gold and platinum. The success of those albums opened up a new world for those kids from South Central and Compton. But like many, The ugliness of the business were gonna tear them apart.

FROM COMPTON TO NYC

Ice Cube shockingly left the group in 1989 due to a financial split with both Jerry Heller and Eazy E. Ice Cube felt that despite the groups success that his contributions to the group were under appreciated. Ice Cube explained on Camron’s and Mase’s podcast “It Is What it Is” Podcast on what led to the fallout between himself and Ruthless:

“I Left the Group because Heller lied, You know, I caught him in a lie ” Cube Said. “I was a young dude, a young emcee. “The whole business part I was kind of naïve to it. I started hanging with the publicists we had for NWA She ended up being my manager, “Pat Charbonnet… She was like “Make sure you look at your paper work. I got a lawyer if you want to talk to him named Michael Ashburn. Make sure everything is straight” I didn’t sign that contract because I didn’t know what was in it.

Cube’s departure was a huge blow to Ruthless but nevertheless Ruthless kept on rolling in the dough. Successful projects from Michel’e, D.O.C., Above The Law, and JJ Fad were putting plaques on the wall which lead to Ruthless making much more money than before. But what they didn’t expect was that Ice Cube himself exceeding beyond expectations without Dr Dre, Eazy E and the NWA banner with his groundbreaking debut “Amerikkkaz Most Wanted”:.

PRESSURE MOUNTS ON THE GROUP

Despite rumored friction between NWA and Ice Cube, Cube never addressed any type of friction or said anything about Jerry Heller, Eazy E, Dr Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella or anybody associated with Ruthless Records on Amerikkkas Most Wanted. It wasn’t until “100 Miles and Runnin” where Dre threw a subtle shot at Cube for leaving the group which sparked the feud.

Also similar to Ice Cube, NWA faced a enormous amount of pressure in putting together Niggaz4Life. The questions were becoming a more focus point “Can they do it with out Ice Cube?” “Is this album gonna be better or harder than Amerikkas Most wanted?” Ice Cube played a very vocal role in the group as in balancing the street commentary mixing with activism. With him gone.. That left a huge void so they wanted to really moreso go a different route. This route was over the top shock value and instead of having the community behind them, Many were offended. You can tell by songs on their EP 100 Miles and Runnin that they were going a different route sonically and lyrically… Niggaz4Life was gonna be the real test.

DR DRE HITS CREATIVE APEX/MC REN STEPS UP AS LEAD MAN

Despite the very graphic and harsh content, Niggaz4Life would probably remain as possibly Dr Dre’s best produced album. The sounds ranging from sinister dark(Approach the Danger, Appetite for Destruction, Real Niggaz Don’t Die) to sonically advanced(Alwayz Into Something, Niggaz4 Life, ) showed Dr Dre’s true range as a producer along with Yella, Cold 187 giving him a assist on direction. MC Ren also steps up in Cube’s role and delivers possibly one of the best performances of his career. The Intro “Prelude”(Which is ironically our Off The Cuff Radio Intro) has Ren on show and prove mode.. He proved that he was ready to step to the plate. Eazy E provided the direction with the controversial sick satire and graphic direction which showed that he wasn’t afraid of crossing certain boundaries and pressing buttons.

THE CONTROVERSAL CONTENT LEAVING A MIXED FEELING

Niggaz4Life while it showcased MC Ren’s best lyrical performance and Dr Dre’s production at another top notch level will always be overshadowed by the outlandish disturbing content. The first half of the album had them not only dissing Ice Cube but also throwing the N word around like it was apart of regular conversation. Songs such as “Kill a Hooker Interlude” Findem F*ck em and Flee, “One Less Bitch”, and “She Swallowed It” would be considered probably disturbing as it seemed to glorify abuse to women.

Even if it was protected in forms of free speech and backhand satire storytelling, The 2nd half of this album The content while frightening you couldn’t help but to be also sonically addictive. I personally thought the 2nd half of the album was a bit too excessive in terms of women bashing and it seemed as if they took on the tounge and cheek disturbing comedic direction(As you can tell with the skits). The album ended up being a success and became one of the first albums to chart heavy during the soundscan era. But unfortunately egos and issues with finances plagued the rollout and Dr Dre ended up leaving later that year. Thus leading to a ugly feud between him and Eazy. But nevertheless this remains possibly as one of Dre’s best work sonically the date and showed the group could have done another without Cube.