Credit: Alamy

Before the creation of NWA and the creation of what we know today as gangsta rap, another hip-hop craze was sweeping America and Dr Dre was most definitely a part of it. As part of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru, Dr Dre became somewhat of a local superstar, and although his time as a member of the World Class Wreckin’ Crew was short, it was the catalyst for something even Dr Dre couldn’t have foreseen. 

Although the LA collective had a revolving door of members when it was formed in the early-1980s, it’s key members, including Dre, Michel’le, Alonzo Williams, and DJ Yella, would reach lofty heights in Los Angeles’ thriving electro scene.

The 1980s saw the beginning of a new and exciting age as rap finally started to generate its own sub-genres after a decade of existence. With an abundance of experimentation, before long, the New York ‘tri-state’ area was beginning to break away from funk and embrace a newer sound called electro.

A self-explanatory term, electro saw hip-hop become more electronic, with producers relying less on old funk records and instead turning to electronic drum machines such as the Roland TR-808 to create brash, industrial-sounding records and it spread like wildfire, quickly hitting the West Coast and beginning a craze.

With Dr Dre’s childhood friend, DJ Yella, already attempting to get a feel for the decks, it wasn’t long before he was convinced to give it a go. However, it wasn’t his schoolmate who inspired him; it was an electro anthem he heard.

In 1981, Grandmaster Flash dropped ‘The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels of Steel’, and in 2023, Dre spoke about how it inspired him to become a DJ for the World Class Wreckin’ crew, recalling, “I heard mixing and scratching and couldn’t get enough of that sound. Once I got my hands on the turntables, I knew I had found my wings, and I was determined to learn how to fly.”

He continued, “It didn’t stop for me with scratching and mixing. I fell in love with the idea of manipulating sound, taking those different sounds and putting them together like a puzzle to make a song.”

As he and his friends collectively honed their sound as the World Class Wreckin’ Cru, Dre knew it was time for them to perform live and where else than Eve After Dark, the first hip-hop club on the West Coast.

Founded by Alonzo Williams, Eve After Dark changed the lives of many teenagers in the 1980s while creating the foundation for West Coast hip-hop. Furthermore, it was a creative, safe space for Compton’s youth.

During a set at the iconic venue Dr Dre decided to incorporate the electro craze into their hip-hop-infused tracklist and it was a huge success. Dre and his crew became local superstars and performed around around LA at venues like Skateland and others they toured extensively, and even signed to Epic for their 1986 album Rapped in Romance.

Suited and booted, the World Class WReckin’ crew rocked glitzy outfits and their hair in Jheri curls and were a big hit with the ladies performing songs from their albums Gold, World Class and Rapped In Romance. However, his style as part of the crew would return to haunt him later in his career.

In the 2017 book, Parental Discretion Is Advised: The Rise of N.W.A and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap, the author, Gerrick D. Kennedy, explained how the aesthetic got weaponised, detailing, “It became a homophobic punchline because they wore mascara and those sorts of things. I think there was a lot of shame attached to him because the genre was so based on street credibility.”

Although New York’s ‘80s metrosexual disco attire didn’t land well in Compton, it didn’t prevent Dre from prospering. After meeting Ice Cube through his friend Sir Jinx, The Chronic icon, alongside DJ Yella, became part of N.W.A, which would shift hip-hop culture in a way the West Coast hadn’t been able to since the genre’s birth.

Dr Dre’s brief membership of World Class Wreckin’ Crew as a turntablist, producer, and performer made him a recognisable face in LA hip-hop and an asset to any collective attempting to crack the mainstream. As such, it really was the thing that spawned the pioneer that’s loved and revered today.