N.W.A.

Freddie Gibbs Wants 'Your Mom To Be Scared' Of Him

09 Sep 2011 15:57:38 EDT

'I want your parents to not want my music in your iPod,' Gangsta Gibbs says on 'RapFix Live.'
By Rob Markman, with reporting Sway Calloway

Freddie Gibbs
Photo: MTV News

If you ask Freddie Gibbs, rap just isn't what it used to be. With a style influenced by acts like the Geto Boys, N.W.A. and 50 Cent, Gangsta Gibbs paints vivid street tales, but these days, that brand of rap seems to have taken a back seat to a softer, less menacing sound.

"Rap lost its edge man. I don't wanna be a part of what's been goin' on in the past five years," Gibbs told Sway when he appeared as a guest on this week's "RapFix Live." "I wanna be taboo. I want your parents to not want my music in your iPod. I want your mom to be scared of what I'm talking about because it's so real," he said. Originally signed by Interscope in 2005, Gibbs struggled to get the label to see his vision and was eventually released from his deal in October 2007. But in '09, Freddie proved that there was room for his brand of music. With the release of his The Miseducation of Freddie Gibbs and midwestgangstaboxframecadillacmuzik mixtapes, Gibbs made fans take notice. His grind paid off. By 2010, Freddie had earned himself a spot on XXL magazine's Freshmen cover. He went on to drop the independent release, Str8 Killa No Filla on Decon Records. In April, the Midwest MC made his biggest move yet when he inked with Young Jeezy's CTE (Corporate Thugz Entertainment). Since the signing, Jeezy and Gibbs have released quite a few songs together, including their hustle ode "Run DMC," "Do It for You" and "Rough," a song off of the Snowman's latest mixtape, The Real Is Back 2. These days — maybe more than ever before — hip-hop is diverse with a broad pop appeal. But rough-around-the-edges Gibbs finds inspiration in groups like Houston's Geto Boys, who rapped unabashedly about street life in the '90s. "That's how it was when I was getting my first Geto Boys tape, my mom ain't want that in my tape deck. So I want your parents to be afraid of what I'm doing." Are you a Freddie Gibbs fan? Tell us why in the comments below!

Related Videos

'RapFix Live' With Freddie Gibbs, Kendrick Lamar And Jay Rock

Related Artists

Chris Brown Talks Snapbacks, N.W.A And The New West

15 Apr 2011 11:49:56 EDT

'I'm just a product of all that; all the hip-hop that I grew up seeing,' Breezy tells MTV News about the Cali rap scene.
By Rebecca Thomas

Chrid Brown
Photo: MTV News

Chris Brown may hail from a little town called Tappahannock in VA, but when it comes to his swag, these days it's L.A. every day for the F.A.M.E. star. Whether he's doing the "Cat Daddy" with Los Angeles trio the Rej3ctz in their colorful clip or teaming up with Compton-born Young Money MC Tyga for the wildly successful Fan of a Fan mixtape, C.Breezy reps for the region.

As we gear up for our New West Week on Monday — MTV News' must-follow series on the upstarts breathing new life into the Left Coast rap landscape, from Odd Future to Dom Kennedy — we spoke to Chris about why he lays his broad-brimmed snapback in La-La Land. "I been out in L.A. for a while but I think it's just, with me, my style is just me," he said when we asked how he'd been influenced by the City of Angels. With the exception of standard-bearer Snoop Dogg, energetic efforts from Game and the enduring influence of super-producer Dr. Dre, the West Coast took a backseat in the last decade after the Chronic-fueled dominance of gangsta rap subsided. But although that indelible sound gave way to a scene that's now varied enough to count groups like Black Hippy and Pac Div, as well as Nipsey Hussle and Tyga among its corps, Brown said he was nostalgic for the Chucks-and-Dickies look of Ruthless Records-era N.W.A. "I'm just a product of all that; all the hip-hop that I grew up seeing ... I'm inspired by everything," the "Look At Me Now" singer said. "And I think fashion kind of goes with me as a creative artist. "The L.A. scene now is kinda poppin'," he continued. "We brought the snapbacks back ... me and Tyga," he claimed about the trendsetting head gear. "Nobody was really wearing it, it was a handful of people: It was Omarion, it was Tyga, me and Big Sean wearing snapbacks. And we was just really wearing that as our own kind of swag 'cause we were looking at N.W.A and looking at how back in the day they used to have Kris Kross and the whole nine, and we wanted to bring that back for the kids." He quickly added with a laugh, "We ain't taking credit for it, but you know, everybody's wearing 'em now, so we did something good." Breezy did share the sartorial credit, citing fellow Virginia native Pharrell Williams as another major influence on his Angeleno-tinged style. The N.E.R.D. frontman put his stamp on the hip-hop-meets-skate-punk look early on, eventually launching the Billionaire Boys Club line (Chris was outfitted in the collection when he visited the MTV newsroom). "I kind of look at Pharrell as one of the advocates of that [look]. I think a lot of kids, whether it be L.A., whether it be New York, a lot of kids modeled after him when he cut that skater/preppy look, then it was Kanye after and [so on]. Pharell was that guy that really set the tone for us as the kids and the generation now." Starting Monday, stick with us as MTV News turns the spotlight on the New West, the next wave of hip-hop acts helping to restore faith in the L.A. rap scene. From groups like Odd Future to rising MCs like Dom Kennedy, we'll bring you up close and personal to these artists as they carve their own lanes in the post-gangsta rap era. Keep it locked here for the next week for more on the West Coast up-and-comers!-

Related Videos

The New West: An In-Depth Look At L.A. Hip-Hop

Related Artists

Ice Cube Is 'Sad' Eazy-E Won't Be Around For N.W.A Biopic

03 May 2010 18:55:00 EDT

He also talks about his Raiders documentary, 'Straight Outta L.A.,' and other upcoming projects.
By Shaheem Reid, with additional reporting by Rahman Dukes

N.W.A
Photo: Capitol

Ice Cube outdoes himself as the director, narrator and interview subject of the upcoming ESPN "30 for 30" documentary "Straight Outta L.A." The film examines the love affair that Cube and many people living in Los Angeles had with the Raiders before they moved back to Oakland in 1995.

"Straight Outta L.A." also documents the origins of gangsta rap, including Cube and N.W.A's rise and how the group played a part in popularizing the NFL franchise by wearing Raiders gear. Snoop Dogg, Ice-T, MC Ren, Chuck D and various former Raiders players were interviewed for the movie. "A song can take you back, but nothing takes you back to the time and place like footage," Cube said of the most interesting aspect of working on the film. "Footage of us in the studio, just being able to see Eazy. Seeing him with Lil Eazy, carrying him around. The footage got sad at times, knowing that he's not here to see any of this. We're trying to put together an N.W.A movie, and he won't be around to see that made. That's what makes it a little sad, going back to the past. But for the most part, we had a ball putting it together. I'm a big history buff and sports fan. Having access to [Raiders owner] Al Davis and having access to the Raiders facility, talking to people like Ren and Ice-T about the good old days — it was fun putting it together." There's isn't too much info about the possible N.W.A biopic, but Cube does have his hands full with plenty of other Hollywood projects. He plays a police officer investigating dirty cops on the force in the film "Rampart"; they start production on that movie later in the summer. Up first is the TV adaptation of his film "Are We There Yet?" "I'm not starring in it, I'm producing it," he said. "I got Terry Crews taking up [my character] Nick. It's a fun series. It goes right between Tyler Perry's shows. We got a nice slot. It's coming out June 2. I Am the West will be out July 13. I got a movie 'Lottery Ticket,' it'll be out in August, starring Bow Wow and Charlie Murphy. I'm hustling. Keeping it moving." For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Related Artists

N.W.A Biopic 'Straight Outta Compton' In The Works

03 May 2010 10:07:00 EDT

Film about legendary rap group will be penned by 'World Trade Center' screenwriter.
By Adam Rosenberg

Photo: Redferns/ Getty Images

"Don't be another sequel." The line comes from N.W.A's "Express Yourself," a track that deals with issues of censorship and a trend within the rap community of following rather than breaking new ground.

The group, whose members included Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren and DJ Yella, fought hard against those issues during their too-brief five years together, something that Andrea Berloff will presumably attempt to capture in the biopic she's scripting. The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Berloff, who wrote Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," is working now on "Straight Outta Compton," also the title of the 1988 double-platinum album that featured "Express Yourself." The film will follow N.W.A (short for N---az With Attitude) from their early days in the mid-'80s through the success of their initial albums and on to their eventual breakup, which was not a friendly parting. Straight Outta Compton is considered one of rap's most influential albums, even though it drew much criticism at the time of its release for the controversial Ice Cube-penned single "F--- tha Police." The film is set up at New Line, with Cube and business partner Matt Alvarez producing along with Tomika Woods, the widow of Eazy-E. The MC died in 1995 at the age of 31, just a couple of weeks after revealing that he had been diagnosed with AIDS. It is not known whether the biopic will cover this period, but E's condition did bring the troubled group to reconcile their differences. Plans for the N.W.A biopic were first revealed in March of last year, with only the producers named. The group's life together has never been featured in a film before, though they were memorably parodied in Rusty Cundieff's 1994 mockumentary "Fear of a Black Hat," which focused on the fictional rap group N.W.H (N---az With Hats). For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.

Related Videos

MTV News' Three To See

Related Artists

N.W.A.

Lil Eazy-E Remembers His Dad, 15 Years Later

26 Mar 2010 21:57:00 EDT

'He was a great daddy,' MC says of his rap-pioneer father. 'He had a lot of time for us.'
By Shaheem Reid, with reporting by Matt Elias

Lil Eazy-E
Photo: MTV News

Lil Eazy-E got up early on Friday morning (March 26). The day started with him comforting his grandmother, and all day, he talked about his namesake, his father his father Eric "Eazy-E" Wright, who died 15 years ago from AIDS complications. Lil Eazy knew Eazy-E just as Dad, but he shared his pops with the world. Eazy was a marketing and record-label genius. He pioneered gangsta rap, and his ear for talent spoke for itself. Besides founding N.W.A and discovering Bone Thugz-n-Harmony, Eazy Sr. put a lot of other viable acts and influenced countless others. "It was big," Lil Eazy said of his dad's influence. "A lot of producers he gave inspiration to. Dr Dre's a big thing. Eminem's a big thing. 50 Cent's a big thing. If you didn't have my father, you wouldn't have none of them. Other rappers, if my father didn't invent Ruthless Records and N.W.A, you wouldn't have that line. Ice Cube, MC Ren, Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre, therefore Death Row. Death Row was started before any breakup was going on. They'll get the truth one day on a nice big screen. He had a lot of artists outside the genre of rap. J.J. Fad, Michel'le, Will.I.Am, he was even working with my father. My father found him. A lot of big things. "His loyal fans give him that credit, but he's the godfather of gangsta rap. One thing he doesn't get a lot is the big respect for hip-hop. Eazy-E is a big, big part of hip-hop." Although Lil Eazy obviously still misses his dad, the anniversary of his death has become easier to cope with over the years. "As I got older, it was more of a celebration," he said about March 26. "I got a lot of strength through support of people. I'm the oldest son, so you gotta be there. Just like this morning, my grandmother had it kinda hard. I don't know if it's because it's 15. Today, I knew she had it hard. I can't let the morning hit me too hard. Usually, every year, I do a little radio tribute, me and Julio G. It gives a little inspiration. The fans give love and support. It lightens me up. But on my personal tip, it's not a good day. It's not." Lil Eazy said he'd love to have a biopic on his dad, as he still rides with many of his pop's CDs in his car. When asked about the fond memories, his smile shone bright. "People don't understand, he was a father," Lil Eazy said. "My grandmother, I was raised by her. Weekends, I got picked up by my father. He picked up all his kids. My father had a lot of kids. Everything was jokes. We'd be over at Grandma's. He took us on Disneyland trips. That's when you realize you're really somebody. All these [other fan] kids? We're supposed to be having time with daddy. All these kids and all these families wanna take pictures. He bought me anything I wanted. He was a great daddy. He had a lot of time for us."

Eazy said it was around 5 or 6 years old that he discovered his pops was unlike other dads. Around 8, he sat down with his dad for the first time and gave an opinion on music. Lil Eazy held back tears when talking about the last memories he has of his dad. "My last one was about when he first went into surgery for leakage in his lungs," Lil Eazy said. "He went to the hospital. We was chillin', talking, not understanding he was sick. He was like how he is every other day, eating a hamburger. You're not supposed to, but you're eating a hamburger. We was chillin' in Cedars Sinai. That was the last fondest, good memory. Then I was called in a couple of days before he passed away, and he couldn't talk. I just walked in, and they let me see him. He couldn't say nothing. I just cried. As a kid, I couldn't understand it, why he couldn't say nothing to me. He's squeezing my hand as I exited from the room." Eazy-E died on March 26, 1995, due to complication from the AIDS virus. Lil Eazy-E said he continues to promote awareness of the disease as well as to help find a cure. How has Eazy-E's music impacted your life? Share your memories in the comments section below.

Related Photos

N.W.A. Founder Eazy E Remembered

Related Artists

N.W.A.

Eazy-E 'Paved The Way,' MTV's Sway Calloway Says

26 Mar 2010 21:00:00 EDT

Fifteen years after Eazy's death, MTV correspondent gives us some insight into his friend's genius.
By

Eazy-E
Photo: Ruthless Records

The appearance was rebellious, the music was revolutionary, the history is legendary. Eazy-E changed not just what we say in music and how we listen to it, but also the business of hip-hop. Friday (March 26) is the 15-year anniversary of Eazy-E's death from AIDS complications. Eazy is still loved, and our very own Sway Calloway had the pleasure of calling E a friend. Here, Sway, in his own words, gives us insight into the genius of Eric "Eazy-E" Wright. Independent Thinker
Eric "Eazy-E" Wright was a friend of mine. It was a certain appeal about Eazy-E. Little girls liked him. The revolutionaries liked him, because he spoke his mind. He was easy to market, and he had a distinct voice. I met him through his music first, through N.W.A. If you were from the West Coast, it was kinda like you idolized them because they were capable. They did things that other West Coast acts couldn't do, and we didn't know why. What was the ideology behind it? But those guys were able to bust through regional boundaries. And a lot of it, I found out later, had to do with Eazy-E Wright's genius; the dude was a branding genius.

He wasn't necessarily a good rapper, admittedly so. He wasn't a great producer, admittedly so. He was somebody who knew how to market music, and he knew how to build brands. At the time N.W.A came out, the majority of the music biz was being spearheaded from New York. All the platforms — from media to television to radio — you had to break in New York in order to get national recognition. The only thing was, you couldn't really get record deals in New York if you weren't from New York, because you didn't have that New York swagger or New York accent, and the music business was basically being controlled from the East Coast. So Eazy-E created Ruthless Records, and through independent distribution, he was able to build an underground swell for his company and for N.W.A and create his own audience in a way no one had seen. Man, I remember that dude came to Oakland, California, and N.W.A was on this bill at the Oakland Coliseum that had Eric B. & Rakim, it had UTFO, it had Whodini on it and this group N.W.A, and they weren't the opening act. And we didn't understand: "How come they're not the opening act?" They were just coming out at that time, and we found out later that Eazy-E was actually the promoter of that concert. So what he did by promoting that concert, he brought the other groups that already had brand recognition and audiences and he put his group in front of the same audience. They ripped the stage up, so when people walked away, instantly they knew who N.W.A was. He did that up and down the West Coast, and then he went into regions of the country that the West Coast appealed to, that also had disadvantages in terms of excelling in the music business, like the Midwest, Kansas City, the South, Texas. Then you start seeing companies like Rap-a-Lot Records came out, and they had Geto Boys, MC Breed. All these other artists start coming out from different places other than the East Coast. And even in the Southeast, you saw Luke Skywalker Records, started by Uncle Luke with his group 2 Live Crew. A lot of that was made possible because of Eazy-E's influence. He kinda paved the way for independent-minded companies to come out and exist in this music business without having major distribution or major marketing budgets behind them. Since then, that's just been the way of the West Coast. People just came out independent; they didn't think major. Everlasting Influence
What N.W.A did was what hip-hop was always meant to do: It was, as Chuck D put it, the CNN of the streets. So when hip-hop started spreading on a national level, it didn't do it by mainstream means; it did it by word of mouth. And I think what Eazy-E was able to do was master that ideology in everything that he approached. Whether it was concerts, releasing music or merchandising, he became popular through word of mouth first. He didn't have P1 stations, which are like the big radio stations in the major market, spinning his records in rotation. But he had the word on the street. And he built an organic swell. That was the way you had the most credibility. That was the way to be heard if you were a rap group back then. It wasn't through the MTVs that you have now or BETs that you have now. It wasn't through the major radio stations that you have now, like the Power 106s in LA and KMEL in the Bay or Hot 97s here in New York. It was through the streets. And if you could capture the streets, then you already had a built-in fanbase and that word of mouth spread was the best way to actually get exposure. Because he has independent means of getting his music out through one-stop distribution channels and small distributors like California Record Distributors and City Hall Distribution and George Daniel's music room in Chicago, he was able to get into the mom-and-pop stores. He took care of the mom-and-pop stores before he took care of the big retail chains. Because of that, he was instantly in the 'hood. He didn't need the shine. Unfiltered Defiance
One big component to [N.W.A's] cause was their message. It was raw, gritty, truthful. People could identify with it. They represented a voice that came from the streets that wasn't otherwise being heard. The key was he learned how to market it. They were called "N---as With Attitudes." You got a group called N---as With Attitudes? Back then, it was unheard of. Even the name itself was shocking. That was bold, that was cocky, it was pompous. It was also empowering. They talked about police brutality, the government. They talked about things that went on that you wouldn't know about unless you lived in the 'hood. Some of it they glamorized, but we could all identify with it. There were girls who acted like "Strawberry, Strawberry." There were crack-heads. There were dope dealers. There were people killing folks on a day-to-day basis. You weren't hearing that in music. A combination of all those things is how he was able to sell all those records. It was unheard of. They did timeless things. Classic to me is when, whether it's persona, music or different forms of art, is when you're able to capture something in the moment that hadn't been done. But you do it in a way that transcends geographical boundaries, ethnic boundaries, religious boundaries, and it appeals to everybody across the board. Something in their message still appeals to what we complain about in 2010. How has Eazy-E's music impacted your life? Share your memories in the comments section below.

Related Photos

N.W.A. Founder Eazy E Remembered

Related Artists

N.W.A.

Bizzy Bone Robbed By Anti-Gang Worker, Los Angeles Police Say

13 Jan 2009 11:26:00 EST

The on-again/off-again Bone Thugs-N-Harmony member was allegedly beaten and robbed at an L.A. hotel last week.
By Gil Kaufman

Photo: Joe Corrigan/ Getty Image

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony member Bizzy Bone has been identified as the man who was beaten and robbed at a Los Angeles hotel last week, allegedly by an employee of an anti-gang organization. While returning to his room at the Universal Hilton on January 5, Bizzy (born Byron McCane) was confronted by several people who beat and choked him before stealing his jewelry, according to the Los Angeles Times. On Friday, Los Angeles police arrested Marlo "Bow Wow" Jones, 30, a contract worker for the anti-gang organization Unite One, which does work for L.A. Bridges II gang-intervention program. Law-enforcement officials told the paper they are still seeking other male and female suspects in the case. Jones is being held on $1.1 million bail. An official at Unity One told the paper that he was terminated from his contract but that he could possibly be rehired if cleared in connection with the case. The Unity One program was founded after the 1992 Los Angeles riots by former gang member-turned-peacekeeper Darren "Bo" Taylor, who died in August. Bizzy is an original member of the Cleveland rap crew best known for their intricate double-time flow and for being mentored by late N.W.A. member Eazy-E. Bizzy was kicked out of the group in 2003 for frequently missing shows and public appearances. He was not involved in sessions for their 2007 album, Strength and Loyalty, but he is rumored to be working on a reunion album with the rest of the group — including long-missing member Flesh-n-Bone, who finished an 11-year stint behind bars last year.

Related Artists

Ice Cube Welcomes MTV To His Home In South Central L.A. -- In 1989 -- In The Loder Files

01 Apr 2008 07:49:00 EDT

A vintage visit amid the firestorm of controversy that surrounded N.W.A's 'F--- Tha Police.'
By

Ice Cube
Photo: MTV News

When you've been interviewing people for, oh, a hundred years or so, you build up quite a backlog of banter and chat. A lot of this stuff is inevitably ephemeral — the day will surely never come when anyone cares what Vanilla Ice ever had to say about anything. On the other hand, it is kind of interesting to look back on the vintage natterings of people who are still on the scene and still entertaining us, either with their work or with their dotty behavior. We've been exhuming a ton of this stuff over the last several months — interviews from the vaults going back not only to the early '90s, but even beyond. Most of these ancient tapes are fun in one way or another; some are scary, which is even more fun. We're going to be posting these old interactions every Tuesday from now on, and if some of what you see seems a little silly at times, well, the past is filled with silly things. Much like the present. N.W.A may not have been the first gangsta-rap act (ask Schoolly D), but they were the most sensational at the time, and probably the most lastingly influential. Their classic 1989 album, Straight Outta Compton, with seminal beats by Dr. Dre and his partner, DJ Yella, and furious-young-man lyrics by Ice Cube, MC Ren and Eazy-E, was packed with brutal street-gang fantasies, a chillingly ambivalent portrait of a ghetto crack dealer, and bursts of unfortunately prophetic misogyny. The album also contained a broadside against the race-based harassment of black kids by the L.A. police force — a track called "F--- Tha Police" — that was so incendiary ("gonna be a bloodbath of cops dyin' in L.A.") that it drew an angry letter from the FBI, complaining that the lyrics encouraged "violence against and disrespect for the law enforcement officer," and warning N.W.A's record company to "be aware of the FBI's position relative to this song and its message." Naturally, the album got zero mainstream radio airplay. And the group's live appearances were targeted by a national police faxing campaign, which sometimes resulted in either a refusal by local departments to provide security for N.W.A concerts, or a determination to break the shows up. Despite all this, though, after Straight Outta Compton was released in 1989, it went on to sell a couple of million copies strictly on buzz.

MTV News set up an interview with Ice Cube in September of that year, at his parents' house in Compton, where the 20-year-old rapper was still living. By that time, this L.A. suburb was nationally perceived (thanks in part to N.W.A) as a pretty nasty place. (It's still rated as one of the most dangerous towns in America.) Ice Cube and his folks, however, lived on a deceptively sunny street of tidy houses and neatly mowed lawns. The gangs and guns, Cube said, came out at night. In fact, just recently there'd been a drive-by attack on this very house, which had sent even his father running to grab a weapon. Cube didn't seem particularly worried by this incident, but clearly the self-fueling proliferation of guns hereabouts made daily life a tense business. "I gotta ride around with my stuff now," he said, "just in case they pull up on the side of me." DJ Yella stopped by to sit in on the interview, and afterwards Cube took us out in his van for a tour of the 'hood. We only saw one gangbanger on the street — a guy perhaps unwisely wearing too much red. Apart from that, however, things seemed quiet. At least nobody pulled up alongside us with a Mack-10 blazing. We never saw the gangs that came out after dark. As veteran white guys, we were gone by then. Shortly after this interview, Ice Cube left N.W.A in a dispute over money. In 1990, he released the first of three powerful solo albums — records showered with both acclaim (for their music and for Cube's rhyming skills) and condemnation (for their racial and sexual hostility). He's still putting out albums, of course, and in 1991, he launched an acting career with a key role in John Singleton's classic drug-gang movie, "Boyz N the Hood." He's gone on to write, produce or act in a number of hit films, among them "Three Kings," "Barbershop," and a trio of pictures with "Friday" in the title (not to mention his recent turn toward family flicks with "Are We There Yet?" and "Are We Done Yet?"). DJ Yella moved on into movies, too, in a way. Over the years since N.W.A fell apart in 1991, he's been a very busy director of porn films. Enjoy digging through The Loder Files? You'll find more here, and there's much more to come from the vaults — check back every Tuesday!

Related Videos

The Loder Files: A Trip Inside The MTV News Vaults

Related Artists

Hip-Hop Under Fire: A Video Timeline Of Controversies Over Rappers And Their Rhymes

03 May 2007 17:37:00 EDT

Check out rare clips of N.W.A, Eminem, Jeezy and many more from the MTV News archives.
By Jayson Rodriguez

N.W.A's MC Ren and Ice Cube in 1990
Photo: MTV News

Stop us if you've heard this one before. A rapper releases an enormous hit record, fans go crazy, the song skyrockets into the greater pop stratosphere ... and then everyone the song wasn't intended for — from politicians to school principals to talk-show hosts to religious activists to social-rights organizations — decries hip-hop as a virus attacking civilization's immune system. And no, we're not just talking about the Don Imus incident (see "Hip-Hop On The Defensive After Imus Incident; Sharpton Calls For 'Dialogue' With MCs" and "Hip-Hop Hits Back At Imus, Critics: T.I., Snoop, Fat Joe, Common Weigh In"). Sure, the recently fired shock jock stirred up the latest controversy over hip-hop's lyrical content as he attempted to defend his insensitive remarks aimed at the mostly black Rutgers women's basketball team. Imus told his listeners that rappers routinely "defame and demean black women" and if his remarks had been in a song, it would more than likely have been a hit. Probably not, I-Man. Still, major dust-ups over hip-hop lyrics seem to occur every four years or so — whether it's the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Discrimination taking Eminem to task over what it believed were homophobic lyrics or Ice-T and his rock band, Body Count, tangling with Time Warner over perceived endorsements of violence against police. And through it all, MTV News has been there — when Luke Skyywalker exited a Florida courthouse after his First Amendment case, sitting down with Tupac to discuss Congress analyzing his songs, and getting the word from Young Jeezy about his banned Snowman T-shirts. Now, with Russell Simmons, Oprah Winfrey, the Reverend Al Sharpton and anyone with a blog weighing in on what rappers should and shouldn't say, we look back — in this exclusive MTV News video timeline — on the artists, the songs and the words that have stirred up such strong emotions. (For an even more in-depth examination, watch "Hip-Hop Lyrics Under Fire: A Look Back in Anger.") 1989: N.W.A vs. the FBI

» Offending line: "F--- tha police, coming straight from the underground/ A young n---a got it bad 'cause I'm brown," from N.W.A's "F--- Tha Police."
» History: These five Cali natives gave just about everyone the middle finger on their debut LP, Straight Outta Compton, but saved the biggest kiss-off for the Los Angeles Police Department. The FBI and Secret Service even sent a certified letter informing N.W.A's label of the authorities' displeasure with the song.
» Defense: Ice Cube and MC Ren claimed they were just writing about reality as they saw it in their neighborhood.
» Outcome: "F--- Tha Police" helped push their largely underground album — with little video or radio play — into a double-platinum success. However, the controversy led to many show cancellations and even greater scrutiny from legal authorities. 1990: 2 Live Crew vs. the American Family Association, the State of Florida and the Supreme Court

» Offending line: "I'm like a dog in heat, a freak without warning/ I have an appetite for sex, 'cause me so horny," from 2 Live Crew's "Me So Horny."
» History: 2 Live Crew hit it big with the massively raunchy track "Me So Horny" from their As Nasty as They Wanna Be LP. But a lawyer with ties to the AFA filed a motion with Florida's then-governor calling for the album to be deemed "obscene" and any sale of it a crime — which led to the arrest of a Florida record-store owner and, later, three members of 2 Live Crew.
» Defense: Luke invoked his First Amendment rights and even noted Harvard Professor Skip Gates testified the song had merits based on oral African traditions.
» Outcome: Luke took the case to the Supreme Court, where it was eventually dismissed. Luke went on to record his solo debut, Banned in the U.S.A., featuring the popular title track. 1992: Ice-T and Body Count vs. Time Warner

» Offending line: "I got my 12-gauge sawed off/ I got my headlights turned off/ I'm 'bout to bust some shots off / I'm 'bout to dust some cops off," from Body Count's "Cop Killer."
» History: Ice-T had a successful rap career but had garnered little attention for his hard-rock side project, Body Count, until they released the highly controversial "Cop Killer." Their label at the time, Warner Bros., and its parent company, Time Warner, denounced the track, threatening to drop the group from its recording contract. A group of police responded by recording "Role Model," a dis track (of sorts) aimed at Ice and his crew.
» Defense: Ice rallied against the corporation over what he claimed were censorship issues.
» Outcome: Ice-T eventually removed the track — by his own choice, he has said — and eventually parted ways with Time Warner. 1993: Tupac Shakur/ Snoop Dogg and Death Row/ Interscope vs. Congress

» Offending line: "Cops on my tail, so I bail till I dodge 'em/ They finally pull me over and I laugh, 'Remember Rodney King?' and I blast/ On his punk ass," from Tupac's "Souljah's Story."
» History: Born into the Black Panthers, 'Pac had a strong sense of anti-establishment long before Vice President Dan Quayle and activist C. DeLores Tucker targeted his and Snoop's work. Quayle, meanwhile, made ripples in the media while campaigning with President George H.W. Bush and said that Tupac's words have "no place in society."
» Defense: Tupac turned the tables on politicians by explaining they also played a role in creating the reality his lyrics depicted.
» Outcome: After protests and considerable public uproar, Time Warner eventually dropped both Interscope and Death Row Records. The two labels immediately entered into a partnership with Universal; Death Row fell apart in the wake of founder Suge Knight's legal problems, but Interscope's relationship with Universal thrives to this day. 1996: Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown vs. social activist groups
» Offending line: "I used to be scared of the d---/ Now I throw lips to the sh-- / Handle it like a real b---h," from Lil Kim's "Big Momma Thang."
» History: Sex sells, yes, but these two Brooklyn, New York, beauties upped the ante with their explicit expressions of sexuality (to put it mildly) and a get-it-by-however-means mentality. Decency groups heavily targeted Kim and Foxy over the messages they felt the rappers were sending to teen girls.
» Defense: Kim and Fox claimed they were empowering women with their message.
» Outcome: Both rappers weather that particular storm but have suffered significant legal setbacks over other incidents. 2000: Eminem vs. the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation and the National Organization for Women

» Offending line: "My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge/ That'll stab you in the head whether you're a f-- or les," from Eminem's "Criminal."
» History: Em burst on the scene in the late '90s, but when his sophomore project, The Marshall Mathers LP, was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2001 Grammy Awards, GLAAD and NOW protesters rallied outside the venue for days (see "Eminem Protesters Few But Passionate"). In a display of solidarity and support with the rapper, Elton John angered many in the gay community by performing Eminem's "Stan" with the mercurial MC during the awards show (see "Eminem: Performance With Elton Was Statement Enough").
» Defense: Em claimed his lyrics were m

Related Videos

Hip-Hop Lyrics Under Fire: A Look Back In Anger

Related Artists

Chris Rock Talks Top 10 Hip-Hop Groups, Eyes Hairdresser Documentary?

16 Mar 2007 06:01:00 EDT

Comedian/actor recalls Run-DMC, N.W.A concerts; says he might follow 'Wife' with hair-competition flick.
By Shaheem Reid, with reporting by Bridget Bland

Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures

It's been a couple of weeks, but everyone is still responding to MTV News' recent "Greatest Hip-Hop Groups of All-Time" piece. One of the funniest men in America, Chris Rock, says he's torn between #1 and #2. (Click here for our Greatest Hip-Hop Groups list, plus see photos and videos of the top 10 squads and more.) "The first concert I ever went to was Run-DMC," he said recently at a New York press event for his new film "I Think I Love My Wife." "My Run-DMC concert was probably my most 'Ooh, I'm gonna be in show business' moment of my life. Run-DMC at the Nassau Coliseum [in Uniondale, New York]. I was sitting over the crowd, I had kinda a bad seat, but it was a good seat because I didn't get robbed. Run and DMC were incredible. But when I saw N.W.A, probably my life was never the same. It made me realize I could say absolutely anything I wanted to say. N.W.A in San Diego. They were the opening act for LL Cool J and they absolutely blew him off the stage. I love rap music." Chris isn't so sure how much he loves his wife in "I Think I Love My Wife," which opens Friday (March 16). He plays a married man who may or may not be led astray by the very sexy Kerry Washington. "I think I'm funniest as a real guy," the 42-year-old said. "That's the discovery I made through this movie — I like playing a grown-up. I think most guys play guys who won't grow up. This is a grown-up movie. It's a movie about a guy who might f--- somebody else. Not roses and ... he's thinking about f---ing around. "It's like my standup," he added later. "Some jokes you love, some jokes you're like, 'F--- him.' I wanted that type of movie experience. I wanted people arguing. There's things in there that didn't test well that I kept in because I thought it was a better movie. It's jokes and departures from reality, but the movie is based in reality." Rock says he's thinking about going out and doing a stretch of standup concerts, but he's also interested in a project that nobody would associate him with. "I'm working out, so I may go on tour. I'm doing research. Here's what I'm probably gonna do if I can raise the money: I want to do a documentary on the Bronner Bros. Hair Show in Atlanta," he said of the long-running hair competition. "That's what I been thinking about. It's bigger than the Super Bowl and it's nothing but hairdressers. I'm not making fun of anybody. It's very entrepreneurial; there's something real interesting about these people. There'll be some humor in it, but I won't be making fun of anybody." The creator of "Everybody Hates Chris" is also linked to the upcoming animated films "Madagascar 2" and "Bee Movie" with Jerry Seinfeld. Meanwhile, there are also talks of Rock playing opposite Eddie Murphy in a yet-untitled heist film. Check out everything we've got on "I Think I Love My Wife." Visit Movies on MTV.com for more from Hollywood, including news, reviews, interviews and more. Want trailers? Visit the Trailer Park for the newest, scariest and funniest coming attractions anywhere.

Related Videos

Related Photos