N.W.A. really need no introduction. The legendary collective comprised of Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Dr Dre, MC Ren and DJ Yella are widely considered the founders of gangsta rap. Although Ice-T had laid some groundwork with his ‘6 ‘n the Mornin’, N.W.A. was the group that brought it to a broader audience and crossed it into the mainstream.
Prior to N.W.A., California had little to no respect in hip-hop culture, and nobody cared about the music emerging from the West Coast city. Afterwards, the foundations were laid for a brand new style of rap.
The first N.W.A track to hit the airwaves was the iconic ‘Boyz-N-The-Hood’. Vocalled by Eazy-E, the rapper (real name Eric Wright) became one of the collective’s most, if not the most, integral members. Before joining N.W.A., super-producer Dr Dre (real name Andre Young) was a World Class Wreckin’ Cru member. As part of the aforementioned group, Young was an electro-hip-hop turntablist and producer. Wright was friends with beatmaker, and in 1987 the two formed the gangsta rap outfit.
As the individual that birthed the four-piece band in 1987, the rapper co-founded Ruthless Records alongside record executive Jerry Heller. For several years, Ruthless Records was home to N.W.A and was responsible for producing and recording their material. However, Heller was not popular with many group members. As Wright stubbornly stayed by his side, it caused the collective to grow frustrated and eventually dissipate.
As the discord grew more toxic, Ice Cube separated from the collective. Following this, the crew began sending disrespectful shots at the rapper (real name O’Shea Jackson). When Jackson went solo, Eazy-E and Dre didn’t appreciate his pursuit and bashed Cube on several of their tracks. On ‘Real N*ggaz,’ Dre raps, “We started out with too much cargo/ So I’m glad we got rid of Benedict Arnold.” However, the camaraderie between Wright and Young didn’t last long.
When Dr Dre broke away to form Death Row with Suge Knight in 1991, Eazy-E turned hostile and began goading Young. During an appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show in 1993, Wright threw an indirect jab at Dr Dre by letting the crowd know about what he called “studio gangsters”, defining them as people who are “not real, they go into the studio, and all of a sudden become hard when they used to make dance music.” Following this he made a diss track aimed at Dre called ‘Real Muthaphuckkin G’s’.
More commonly called ‘Compton City G’s’, the diss record speaks on a variety of things, such as how Wright made money from The Chronic. In the first verse, he raps, “That your fans understand when you talk about sprayin’ me/ The same records that you makin’ is payin’ me/ Motherf*ck Dre, motherf*ck Snoop, motherf*ck Death Row.” As well as, taunting Death Row Wright made fun of Dre’s looks, rapping, “All of a sudden Dr Dre is the G Thang/ But on his old album cover he was a she-thang” You can listen to ‘Compton City G’s’ in the video below.
