member DJ Yella, the cause was simple: too much success and money, too fast. For a while, that vision was achieved, along with an environment that allowed Black artists to make some groundbreaking music, but it collapsed with Ice Cube's departure from N.W.A.Īccording to Heller and former N.W.A. According to Heller, Eazy was a visionary who wanted to capture the gangster life on record as a way to make it out of the hood. Jerry Heller, Eazy's Ruthless co-founder, is the only person who has openly talked about Eric Wright, the real man behind Eazy-E.
Eazy proved he still had it as a talent scout, having discovered the supersonic speed rappers Bone Thugs-N-Harmony while on a trip to Cleveland.Īnd while it seemed like Eazy was on the verge of bringing Ruthless Records back to its former glory, that chance abruptly ended when Eazy died of AIDS in 1995. The end of his career saw the consequences of Eazy's success: Dre and Ice Cube, the two musical anchors Eazy brought into N.W.A., were enjoying wildly successful careers, but their relationship with Eazy was one of animosity. As a music artist, he was less a rapper than a stand-up comedian and provocateur. As the founder of Ruthless Records, he was a former street hustler turned record executive. It's hard to narrow down Eazy's calling card to just one thing. It's completely devoid of seriousness, and while the group is certainly doing a bit of bragging, it's also just having fun.Īs such, the song is a fitting foundation for "Boyz-n-the-Hood." The irony and absurdity of the lyrical content is never lost on Eazy, and Dre ensures that the musical tone stays consistent. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the music is the contrast of the lyrics with the keyboard melody, a sample from Whodini's "I'm a Ho." The original song is about a musician who takes advantage of the perks of having female fans.
Big Stuff," Original Concept's "Pump That Bass" and "Knowledge Me," LL Cool J's "El Shabazz," and a dialogue clip from an Eddie Murphy concert film.įrom the mixing, scratching, and musical transitions present on "Boyz-n-the-Hood," it's clear that Dre's vision of the song came together in a musical collage through a vast knowledge of music history and the music that his peers were producing. Just as modern artists use multimedia and objects that someone else created in their art (think Andy Warhol), Dre uses Whodini's "I'm a Ho," the Beastie Boys' "Hold It Now, Hit It," Jean Knight's "Mr. Dre shows his production skills by mixing a hard thumping bass beat with a number of samples.
BOYZ N THE HOOD LYRICS NWA FREE
Just thought that i had to be in Compton soon,i gotta get drunk before the day begins,before my mother starts bitchin about my friends,about to go and damn near went blind,young niggas at the pad throwin up gang signs,ran in the house and grabbed my clip,with the mac-10 on the side of my hip,bailed outside and pointed my weapon,just i thought the fools kept steppin,jumped in the 4,hit the juice on my ride,i got front n back,and side to side,then i let the alpine play(play),bumpin new shit by N.W.A.,it was ''Gangsta,Gangsta'' at the top of the list,then i play my own shit,it went somethin like this: cruisin down the street in my 64,jockin the bitches,slappin the hoes,went to the park to get th scoop,knuckle heads out there cold shootin some hoop,a car pulls up,who can it be,a fresh El Camillo rollin Kilo G,he rolled down his window n' started to say,its all about makin that GTAĬuz the boys in the hood are always hard,come talkin that rash we'll pull ya card,knowin nothin in life but to be legit,dont quote me boy,cuz i aint said shitĭolla B's in the place, to give me the base,he said my man JB is on free bass,the boy JB was a friend of mine,til' i caught in my car tryin' to steal an alpine,chased up the street to call a truece,the silly mutherfucka pulls out a deuce,deuce,little did he know i had a loaded 12 gage,1 sucka dead L.A.The cacophony of sounds and samples in "Boyz-n-the-Hood" is really the essence of the West Coast gangster rap sound.ĭr.