" MC Ren – The disrespected member of NWA" Sat Mar-11-17 11:58 PM by Tony Hanes
MC Ren – The disrespected member of NWA
Musical Groups generally have one front man and the other members are in the background. In the case of NWA, history has failed to respect MC Ren appropriately. Yes, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and of course Eazy-E were in the public eye after NWA disbanded. MC Ren continued to make solo music like the rest of the group but his contribution to NWA was monumental. NWA was formed 30 years ago and 30 years later the movie Straight Outta Compton was released. This would have been the perfect opportunity to show how important MC Ren was to The NWA Legacy but of course that information doesn’t make for cinematic action.
I feel that young hip hop enthusiast need a full lesson on MC Ren. Not only was he one of the main writers in the group, he was possibly their best MC early on. Yes, maybe even better than Ice Cube at writing and rhyming. On NWA’s debut Album Straight Outta Compton, MC Ren wrote on 8 of the 12 songs, had 2 solo songs on the album and was a heavy influence on the direction of the songs. Did you know this? NWA dropped an EP called 100 Miles and Runnin’ before their second and final album Niggaz4Life. Just like on Straight Outta Compton, MC Ren was featured writing on EVERY song on the EP. When Niggaz4Life was released, the album credits show MC Ren as a writer on EVERY song except two tracks and he performed on every song except for those two tracks.
MC Ren had an amazing impact on NWA and West Coast Hip Hop. Our focus here is to educate fans who might not be aware of this West Coast legend. Countless MC’s from the West Coast have cited MC Ren as their favorite MC or a person of great inspiration. Outside NWA, MC Ren released 4 albums and an EP to critical acclaim. I challenge readers to research the career of MC Ren as this is only an overview to get the conversation started. At the end of the day, it’s the job of websites like Da Dome to report on artist in our culture who some would consider UNSUNG. Oh yeah, peace to DJ Yella who always played the background role. As for MC Ren, we appreciate you!
3. "Ren is criminally underrated for sure." In response to Reply # 0 Sun Mar-12-17 02:00 PM by Brew
I don't know that I'd agree that Ren was a BETTER MC or writer than Cube in NWA's early days, but I wouldn't argue that they were closer to even talent-wise than most folks give Ren credit for.
I think what put Cube over the top in the public eye was just his charisma. That's not to say Ren lacked charisma, he didn't. He was menacing, engaging, and had great flow. But Cube had some "it" factor that's hard to describe in words, that just made him more endearing I think. His voice was a big part of it. He was instantly recognizable as soon as he jumped on a track. Not sure Ren had that same kind of power in the beginning.
But I want to stress that I'm mostly in agreement with what you're saying here. Ren could write rhymes just as dope as Cube's, and all his post-NWA solo work is dope and underappreciated. Just want to point out *why* I think Cube historically has been more respected than Ren.
15. "1st two paragraphs of his post feel like revisionist history" In response to Reply # 10
Title too. I'm old enough to remember these albums when they came out, so I'm wondering what his angle is. Then I saw the link.
I think NWA's content went to shit when Cube left, and I'm not the only one. I think if we took a poll Ren would be the 3rd best writer involved in the first NWA album.
5. "his solo career pretty" In response to Reply # 0
much killed his hype. the other major players in NWA (dre, cube, eazy) went on to huge successes while Ren wasn't able to ride that train. it made him so easily forgettable in terms of NWA and his contributions.
13. "not saying he was garbage in terms" In response to Reply # 11
of sales. as you pointed out, he did relatively well. but not like eazy, cube, or dre.
I think he just didn't have that strong enough it factor considering the other members of NWA. the least talented guy in the group, Eazy, sometimes shined the brightest.
as I got older I have a harder time listening to his stuff, NWA 2nd album, etc. Just harder to laugh at the misogynistic lyrics nowadays, Behind the Scenes yeesh.. The beats tho on KMBA are dope.
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