2. Who is N.W.A.?
• Niggaz Wit’ Attitude (N.W.A.) is one of the
most influential rap groups of all time.
Strictly known for their gansta rap style,
they were given credit to ushering in the
gangsta rap style in the late 1980’s and
early 1990’s to the west coast.
• The group got its start when founding
members from gang-ridin south central Los
Angelas, Ice Cube and Dr Dre began writing
rap songs together for Eazy E. After the
song was rejected by record label HBO, Eazy
E recorded the song under his own record
label that he funded from drugs sales,
Ruthless Records.
• Once the three started collaborating and
working together, Niggaz Wit’ Attitude was
born.
3. The Downfall of N.W.A.
• After a few years of wild success, N.W.A. was
history. The first of the members to leave was Ice
Cube. Ice Cube claimed that Eazy E’s manager,
Jerry Heller, was stealing royalties and credit from
the himself and also Dr Dre, ultimately leaving to
start his own solo career that would be crazy
successful.
• With Ice Cube leaving the group, N.W.A. found
declining record sales. Through the turmoil, Dr Dre
was found in many out of court settlements and
even landed himself in House Arrest. To further
dampen the cooling embers of N.W.A.’s success,
Eazy E was looked down upon the rap community
for attending a fundraising dinner for George Bush.
• By 1992, the group was dead and record sales were
at an all time low as the original members left to
pursue solo careers, included Dr Dre. Dr Dre left
both N.W.A. and also Ruthless Records to start
collaborating with Suge Knight to cofound Death
Row Records.
4. The Enduring Fued
• Like all music groups that break up, there was bad blood
between the posses of Dre Dre and Eazy E.
• From 1992, when Dr Dre left N.W.A., up until 1995, Eazy E
and Dr Dre were found writing diss raps towardw one another
and their respected posses. Many of these disses were found
to be huge hits and often ameliorated the record sales of
each, respectively.
• In response to Dr Dre’s 1993 triple-platinum record The
Chronic, which was used to ridicule Eazy E, Eazy E dropped
chart topping hits such as “it’s on” and “187um Killa.”
• The enduring feud between both artists did nothing but drive
record sales and produce the gansta style rap that we all
know from early 1990’s.
5. The End of Eazy E
• In 1995, Eazy E finally split with his long time
manager, Jerry Heller. After the split, the
original members of N.W.A. began to speak
again and seemed to have squashed any bad
blood.
• Both Dr Dre and Ice Cube had even visited
Eazy E while he was hospitalized battling the
AIDS virus. Due to complications a few days
later, on March 25, 1995, Eazy E had passed
away.
6. The Impact of Dr Dre and
Eazy E
• Starting off as business partner, collaborating and creating the famous rap
group, Niggaz Wit’ Attitude, Dr Dre and Eazy E were among the first to
successfully use gangsta rap style and make it into what it is today.
• Unlike other rap groups that focused on afrocentric political messages, N.W.A.
focused on the thug, crime, and drug lifestyles of their neighborhoods in South
Central L.A.
• When the group fully broke up by 1992, the bad blood between producers,
record labels, and ex-friends in general, gave both Dr Dre and Eazy E all of the
fuel and firepower they needed to revolutionize gangsta rap. The popularity of
this style is evidenced by triple platinum albums, multiple Billboard Album
awards, multiple Billboard Single awards, and even Grammy Awards.
• Furthermore, think of the potential that Niggaz Wit’ Attitude had if they had
never broken up. Along those same lines, think of the nonexistence of gangsta
rap had they never broken up. The members of Niggaz Wit’ Attitude were never
successful before themselves. Once they united and changed the game, the
extra push fueled by their rivalry, influenced many of the rappers and different
styles of rap that we have today such as Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Tupac, The
Notorious B.I.G., and even Eminem.
