ThaFormula.com - Alright Ren, let's take it from the top. Did you go to the Roadium (a swapmeet in Gardena, California) a lot in the early days?

MC Ren - Yeah me and Eazy used to go up there. Steve Yano had his little booth up there and me and Eric used to go up to that muthafucka looking for some new shit, new records. 'Cause Dre he used to do the tapes for Steve and shit and every time Steve was sellin' the muthafuckas me and Eric would go up there every weekend, 'cause back then we was trying to be known anyway so we used to go up there just to get that little vibe. Back in the day I remember he had somebody up there airbrushing muthafuckin' T-Shirts, I remember I got me an airbrushed T-Shirt.

ThaFormula.com - What do you feel represents the L.A. Hip-Hop landmark?

MC Ren - For me the landmark of Hip-Hop L.A. was 1580 KDAY. They used to do all them shows. That's really where muthafuckas heard everything at first. KDAY was the link to all the shit. KDAY would bring all the Hip-Hop muthafuckas into town and do they little promo shows and shit with him. So it had to be KDAY 'cause you could get the East Coast shit. They played all the Uncle Jam's Army, had all the mixmasters on the weekends scratching like a muthafucka all night. Tony G, Julio G, remember that shit?

ThaFormula.com - Hell Yeah!

MC Ren - I remember they used to give shows at "The Casa" and all that shit way back in the day. I be askin' fools about "The Casa" and a lot of fools don't be remembering that shit. I saw Audio 2 at "The Casa" when they had "Top Billin'" out. Yeah, so it definitely had to be KDAY. I remember me and Eric had went up there for vinyl and shit like that, the Roadium was number one. That's where Dre used to get all his muthafuckin' records. 'Cause see when Dre used to do them tapes with Steve, what he would do was he would make Steve them tapes and Steve would pay Dre with records. That's where we got all the break records and all the break beats. When we did "Straight Outta Compton," all those records were from Steve. Dre do the tapes and he (Yano) would break Dre off with a gang of break beats.

ThaFormula.com - Do you consider yourself a lyricist or a MC?

MC Ren - Man I consider myself both really. I'm "MC" Ren and if you're a real MC you got lyrics. That's how you know niggaz been around a long time when they still got muthafuckin' "MC" on their shit. That shit is old you know what I'm saying. Niggaz today don't even be like that. How I was thinking back then coming up is different from a lot of these muthafuckas today. It's just how everybody was thinkin' back in them days is different from what muthafuckas is thinkin' today on what a MC is, what lyrics is and you could tell in how the music is. 'Cause back in the day muthafuckas had to be hard and you had to come with that mentality of "I'm an MC, I got lyrics." You can't just come in the game back in the day talkin' about anything. You had to come talkin' about some shit or muthafuckas would just call you what you are.

ThaFormula.com - Hip-Hop is very depressing right now man...

MC Ren - Man this shit is so wack right now man. It's like bitch shit now man and I hate when a muthafucka come out and it could be a wack ass muthafucka who comes out, sell some records, and then you got to hear all this niggaz wack homies! Back in the day it wasn't even like that.

ThaFormula.com - You know I'm really surprised that you're feelin' this way 'cause most artists are acting like nothing's wrong with Hip-Hop, talkin' about how dope some MC is cause they're gonna work with them now and make some dough, or just plain scared to speak on this shit...

MC Ren - I ain't scared of shit. I'll say anything. See muthafuckas be scared 'cause they be thinkin', "if I say something that might fuck me up being on T.V. or that might fuck me up being on the radio…," you know what I mean? All that bitch shit! Man you ain't on that muthafucka but so what. So what!! Fuck the Radio! 'Cause the radio, they are gonna give you some bubble gum shit anyway. Nigga if you are an artist speak your mind. That's like niggaz who be saying they are MC's but other muthafuckas write their rhymes. Nigga you ain't no MC if a muthafucka is writing your rhymes! Speak your mind and be a true MC. Back then muthafuckas didn't give a fuck. That's Hip-Hop! When you start listening to record company muthafuckas and them PR muthafuckas that just thinkin' about money saying don't say this don't do that, that's bitch shit! 'Cause I have had a gang of muthafuckas come at me with "don't say this," and "Ren we want you to do that." I'll be like "man I ain't fittin' to be doing that shit, I'm not fittin' to be puttin' my tail between my legs, scratchin' where I don't itch, doin' a little shuckin' and jivin'." Fuck all that! I'm just gonna say a lot of niggaz be scared in the game. They know niggaz be actin' like bitches, be scared to say shit about niggaz in the game cause they be like, "oh if I say this he ain't gonna do this for me or if I say this he ain't gonna rap on it." Fuck that! I remember back in the day niggaz didn't even give a fuck about having a gang of niggaz on they album. That's a MC. They would probably have about one or two muthafuckas if any on their shit, and they would just hold the whole muthafuckin' record down. Remember Run, LL, and Whodini where muthafuckas would put out a record once a year? When you had to wait a year or two just to get a new Run DMC or whatever? It's like muthafuckas today don't be thinkin' on that level.

ThaFormula.com - Hip-Hop was good when you could go to the Indoor Swap Meets and get the shit a couple of weeks before it dropped cause you knew it was gonna be dope and it was worth the extra money for the tape...

MC Ren - That was the Golden Era man. It's fucked up. I'ma tell you like this. The closest shit that muthafuckas was gonna get to that was Pac and Biggie. After they died it just went downhill really. Think about it man. Since them two niggaz died, this shit is like the wack era. There is nothin'!

ThaFormula.com - Also I notice a lot of these artists that come out after a while they got no soul left in them man. It's like they just lost it...

MC Ren - Niggaz be bitches now. They first come out, they be hard, mean muggin'. You can't squeeze a smile or nothin' out these niggaz. Now you see niggaz be on MTV smilin', being happier then a muthafucka. I'm like, what happened to this nigga? This nigga was just like this, now look at him. I hate when I see niggaz in TV like that. Nigga you was just hard as a muthafucka, now you just all happy. 'Cause muthafuckas get like that when them cameras get on them niggaz. Every time smilin' and doing stupid shit thinkin' they cute and shit. Man come on dog, that shit is ridiculous man.

ThaFormula.com - Now you were the one that never did many interviews back then. So I wanted to know from your mouth how you and Eazy got started in this?

MC Ren - That nigga Eric, he was like my brother's homeboy. He used to live right around the corner from a nigga. He used to be the little nigga in the neighborhood doin' his thang. He knew I could rhyme and shit so he was trying to leave that shit alone and get into music and Dre was down with the Wrecking Cru and Dre spit at him like, "yo you can start your own label, we can do this." So Cube came in and he was under Dre at the time 'cause he was in a group called C.I.A.

ThaFormula.com - Did you know Cube at that time?

MC Ren - Nah, I didn't meet Cube 'till I came in the group really. I used to do street tapes and he used to do street tapes and used to bump his street tapes before I met him. I was with that nigga one day and we was sittin' in the car waiting for Eric to come home on his mama's street and I was like "nigga check this tape out, this nigga is harder then a muthafucka." Him and Dre and them back in the day used to make tapes and they would take shit like "My Adidas" and make it "My Rubber" and make it funny. I remember I was in the car with that nigga in my bucket and I was like nigga listen to this shit. We were two little niggaz straight out of high school. I was like "nigga this muthafucka hard right here." He was like, "nigga that's me." I told him man I been listening to your shit for like a year. So me and that nigga clicked after that..

ThaFormula.com - So what were you doing at the time Ren?

MC Ren - I was doing my little hustle on the street and I was MC'ing at the time at little house parties battlin' niggaz and shit like that. I started MC'ing in '83 in the 9th grade. When I got to the 12th grade I was about to go to the Army cause I was like, "this shit ain't even gonna crack." Plus we was from the west coast and niggaz was like, "you all ain't doing nothin, all the rappers are from the east," and shit like that. So I was fittin' to go to the army with my homeboy. I had already went to take the written test, I just had to do the other shit. I remember Eric came by one day and that's when he had "Boyz-N-The Hood" but it was just local and shit at the time.

ThaFormula.com - So you weren't down with them yet when he first did "Boyz-N-The Hood?"

MC Ren - Nah, that's how old it was. He did that shit way before that but it was just local then in the streets. When he did that he knew I could rhyme so he would come around to my mommas house and would say "I wanna check you out." So we went around there, he used to have some turntables there and equipment and shit so I started freestylin' for that nigga. He put a record on and started scratchin' while I was rappin' to the muthafucka just freestylin' for like 10 minutes.

ThaFormula.com - Was your style the same even then or did it change by the time you got on?

MC Ren - Yeah I think I kinda changed a little bit. I was more about lyrics like Run DMC kind of, you know how niggaz used to rhyme used to rhyme back then? So that nigga Eric told me to come around there I went around there and I was rappin', freestylin' and shit. He was scratchin' and cuttin' the records and shit cause he knew how to DJ and shit 'cause him and Dre used to have this little crew. I was rappin' for like 10 minutes and shit and that nigga took the tape and he went and let Dre hear the tape and Dre loved his shit. Then Eric came to me like, "I wanna sign you to a solo thing." So I wasn't even gonna be in the group NWA. He wanted to do me as a solo thang cause at that time they had did "Dopeman" and "8 Ball" right after the "Boyz-N-The Hood" thing. So Cube had wrote "Dopeman" and "8 Ball" and he wrote "Boyz-N-The Hood." So I came in and I was just gonna be the nigga that come in and do something on the side, a little solo thang. But when Cube had left, he went to school cause I guess he was figuring this shit wasn't gonna work, so he went to Arizona for like a year. Some trade school or some shit. As soon as that nigga left Eric got a deal with Priority. We was working the other shit on the street level so hard that when cube left it got so big that he got a deal for that shit. So Cube was gone and there was nobody to write his shit. So they came to me like, "nigga we need you to do this and this." So I remember I did "Radio," Eazy-Duz-It" and "Ruthless Villain." They still wasn't gonna let me in. It was just like I did those songs for that nigga. But the song "Ruthless Villain" I wrote for Eric and it was just gonna be his shit, but he couldn't say the muthafucka and he had the studio timed and it took him too long to say the vocals how I would say the vocals so Dre was like "man, just let Ren say the rap!" (Laughs). You know how niggaz be frustrated like "man just let that nigga do it 'cause he's wasting time."

ThaFormula.com - Now I got to ask you man. Was Eazy that bad in the studio as far as trying to get on beat?

MC Ren - Man, that nigga used to be bad. I ain't even gonna lie, them niggaz know it. He sound good on records but that nigga used to be terrible.

ThaFormula.com - Was it that bad man?

MC Ren - Nigga it was terrible! That nigga would be in that muthafucka and Dre would literally nigga just get a piece of paper and start doing like marks. Every time he would fuck up Dre would put a mark. Nigga his shit used to be in the hundreds. When that nigga used to do his vocals muthafuckas used to be like, "let that nigga do his shit last." When that nigga do his vocals muthafuckas used to leave. If we didn't have to do shit, wed be like "alright nigga we gone." Dre would have to sit in that muthafucka with that nigga all day. But anyway nigga that's how I got on. When I did Ruthless Villain, Boom! They was like "damn!" I remember we was in Hollywood and Eric was getting a P.O. Box and shit. Me, Eric, Dre and I think Yella was in the car. Cube was still gone to school. Dre was like, "man since its gonna take along time for you to do your solo shit, you might as well get in NWA" and at that time Arabian Prince was still in the group and shit. It was all of us and then Cube came back and that's when we started working on the "Eazy-Duz-It" album and then we did the other shit.

ThaFormula.com - So now let's get into the "NWA and the Posse" record, what was the deal with that?

MC Ren - See this how that happened. Eric first had "Boyz-N-The Hood" on Macola Records. So one day before we got the deal with Priority, he was going through Macola. So all the muthafuckas on the NWA and the posse record, that was the first shit and remember I told you I wasn't there and they already had "Dopeman," "8 Ball" and all that. That's why if you look on the back, its just a picture of Eazy, Cube, Dre, and Arabian Prince and then on the front it's me, Train and everybody, 'cause Eric was like, we doing this record, everybody come on we gonna take this album picture. So at first that shit wasn't no NWA and the Posse. It was just NWA when it was on Macola right. But when that shit blew up and we got on Priority and that shit blew up, homie just re-released it like it's NWA and the Posse and he went and got everybody that was on that album cover that had records out and let them add to it and he put it out like shady muthafuckaz do. That shit was like some wack shit and that's why we never supported that record. Muthafuckas would come up to us like yeah that "NWA and the Posse" shit and we 'd be like "man that ain't our record." That's just like some Lonzo type shit like he put out some shit after Dre left Wreckin' Cru.

ThaFormula.com - So was D.O.C. down with you guys at that time?

MC Ren - When that record came out, he was down with us and that's why they put him on there and they went and dug up some old shit that Dre did with them niggaz.

ThaFormula.com - What was Arabian Princes' involvement in everything?

MC Ren - See when I came in the group he was already in the group and the reason that he was in the group was 'cause when Eric put the group together, he used to always say "man NWA is a all-star rap group," but it really wasn't no real all stars at the time, and he was just going around trying to get niggaz that he thought would do something in his group. Like Arabian was doing shit with Egyptian Lover and that type of shit Dre with the Wrecking Cru and Cube did with C.I.A. So that's how Arabian got in doing that fast Techno type music. 'Cause at first Eric wanted NWA to do that and have that involved in it. 'Cause that was that L.A. shit too, but as we started doing our shit and doing the record, that shit didn't fit in. It was like we in here making these songs and that shit don't fit in and its like the press we getting for the shit that we making and the kind of shit we doing that shit don't fit in. To us it was like that shit is old now and it don't fit in.

ThaFormula.com - Would you consider the "Eazy-Duz-It" LP a crew album, meaning did it take every member of the crew to make that album happen?

MC Ren - Yep. It took everybody. It was just like working on a NWA album but it's just like this is Eazy's album. Cause me D.O.C., Cube, and Dre did all the writing for that nigga. Back in them days he didn't ever do no writing. Eric didn't start writing on his shit till like he did the "5150" album and shit like that.

ThaFormula.com - Yeah that shit was terrible man...

MC Ren - Yeah, see when Dre was gone that's when he started writing his own shit.

ThaFormula.com - Now what about the production of "Eazy-Duz-It?" Was everyone involved in that album?

MC Ren - Nah, that was just straight Dre. Every album was just straight Dre. It had on there produced by Dre & Yella but Yella was just like his assistant and shit. Like, "do this for me, hand me that, push that." It was all Dre with the beats. Dre would just be in there like, "we 'gon rap to this one." He was controllin' all that and that's why it was so hard.

ThaFormula.com - So the "Eazy-Duz-It" album had just dropped and everything seemed good, how were you feelin'?

MC Ren - I was feelin good cause we was about to do our NWA album. I was just happy to be down. I was just happy to be able to write on that niggaz shit and to be on the cover and little shit like that.

ThaFormula.com - Even though I get depressed at times on how Hip-Hop has turned out, I still love the fact that at least I got to witness Hip-Hop at its prime which makes me also think about how you must feel to be considered part of that prime?

MC Ren - Yeah shit is crazy man, I was just thinkin' about that shit too. The shit is crazy 'cause back then when we was doing that shit, ain't no way niggaz would of knew how that shit was gonna be big like it was. Nigga, that's the crazy part about it, that's the crazy part about it.

ThaFormula.com - Another thing that I think about from back then is when you guys recorded this, you guys were still in the streets where nowadays muthafuckas are recording from Hollywood. I'm sure after Eazy's album and even "Straight Outta Compton" that it must have felt great to walk in the hood and see everybody giving you your props?

MC Ren - Hell yeah.

ThaFormula.com - Which just shows me how things have changed. So at that point in time were you thinking of a solo album yet or were you never really thinkin' about a solo album?

MC Ren - I didn't start thinking about no solo shit 'till I did it. When Dre left that's when I started thinking of solo shit. But the original plan was we all was gonna do solo shit originally. Everybody said yo Eazy is gonna do his first, and if Cube wouldn't have left, Cube was gonna do one, then I was gonna do one and then another NWA album. That's how the whole shit was gonna go, but then after Cube left and Dre left that's the only time I really was like "yo let me do my shit," because it was to much beef going on. It was like Eric was mad with Dre and Dre was mad and I was like, "you know I'm just gonna stay neutral and just do my own shit."

MC Ren - It was cool man. I remember everyday we was in the studio. Go at 12 o'clock and stay there all night.

ThaFormula.com - Did you guys know what your were about to do as far as the concepts for the album?

MC Ren - Yeah, if you listen to "Straight Out of Compton," and "Fuck tha Police," them probably the only two on there that's talkin' like serious shit, but as far as them two songs go, yeah. I remember we was at Dre's apartment and we was going over "Fuck tha Police." Me, Cube, Dre all of us was there. I remember us writing it on paper. "How we gonna do this, we gonna make Fuck tha Police, we gonna make a chorus and shit going on in the song." I remember writing all this shit down in the studio. Niggaz busting their lyrics and it was like friendly competition. Muthafuckas writing their shit and a nigga hear another niggaz shit and be like, "ah man I'll be back." I remember one time we did "Still Talkin' Shit" and Cube heard everybody's shit and he was like "damn!" Man that nigga went the next day, beat everybody to the studio early in the morning and changed the shit 'cause he was like "damn." That's how it was. Niggaz would go over there and change their shit. Ask "what you got?" "Ah fuck that I gotta go change my shit." But that made that shit hard cause it was like you was on there by yourself but your really on there with a group. So them days was off the hook man.

ThaFormula.com - It seems like you had a major influence from the East in your rhyme style, did you?

MC Ren - Yeah I did. RUN DMC. Muthafuckin' LL, Whodini, and just a lot of them. I used to just try to get my delivery like them. DMC was one of my favorites. That niggaz voice was just so muthafuckin' cold.

ThaFormula.com - Did everything that was recorded for the "Eazy-Duz-It" and "Niggaz4Life" albums make the albums?

MC Ren - Nah there was shit that didn't even make it. Tight shit too man. I remember I had some tight shit for the "Niggaz4Life" album. I remember we had a gang of shit for the "Niggaz4Life" album and most of that shit didn't make it. But basically the first shit like "Straight Outta Compton" it seems like everything we did made it on that muthafucka 'cause we just did what was gonna make it on there.

ThaFormula.com - So now when "Straight Outta Compton" came out that's when all the controversy began?

MC Ren - Yeah with the "Fuck tha Police" shit and we didn't even give a fuck. Our thing was like any publicity is good publicity. Muthafuckas would be like "that's bad publicity," but we didn't give a fuck and we would tell muthafuckas on the news we don't care if y'all are doing this shit, we like it.

ThaFormula.com - Were you guys prepared for this when you did the album?

MC Ren - Nah. Shit, we didn't know that we was gonna get a letter from the FBI and all that shit. Nah, I didn't know that. But we didn't give a fuck. You gotta think man, niggaz young and we didn't care. They helped our shit sell.

ThaFormula.com - Now how were those NWA tours man when you look back?

MC Ren - Man those muthafuckas was off the chain. They was big arenas. I remember every city we went to damn near, we had to go to press conferences and shit cause muthafuckas didn't want us there. Like the community leaders and muthafuckin' fake ass gherri curl wearin' preachers and shit. All them type of muthafuckas trying to get their little limelight and publicity when there was a gang of other shit they could have been talkin' about. But we still performed. But it used to be cool man, you know all of us rollin' on the bus and shit on tour having to share rooms and shit (Laughs). Stupid shit like that. We sold out every night. When we first went on the road nigga we used to drive in vans, we couldn't even fly cause we wasn't making all that money. So we used to have to drive in vans all around the muthafuckin' West Coast doing spot dates here and there like crazy. I remember our first tour we did was with UTFO, Salt-N-Pepa and Heavy D. We opened for them and they was looking at us like who the fuck is y'all. This was before "Straight Outta Compton." They would look and Cube and Eazy with they're gherri curls and be like "who the fuck is y'all niggaz?" (Laughs). I could feel that shit back then, like some of them New York niggaz was kind of arrogant. Like "y'all ain't no true Hip-Hop," or "y'all from the West." But then when "Straight Outta Compton" came out we had our own muthafuckin' tour and everything changed. Matter fact we played the Apollo before "Straight Outta Compton" came out when "Eazy-Duz-It" I think had just came out or something or probably right before we played the Apollo with all the New York niggaz. It was like some big ass Summer jam type shit, but it was at the Apollo. Nigga we got booed, they threw shit at us. We was the only ones man and then we had to walk back downstairs and all these New York niggaz looking at us cause they got they monitors down in them muthafuckas. They lookin' at us and I was like man, nigga you ever been somewhere where you just wanna disappear? (Laughs). Everybody lookin' at y'all like, "damn y'all got booed." But I remember after that when I had dropped "Kizz My Black Azz" and I went back to New York. I did like two shows at the Apollo and that shit was off the hook. And then I heard Cube went back when he did hid first album and muthafuckas went crazy. I remember somebody told me that that niggaz said when he was out there he was like, "yeah we came here and we booed the first time, but I'm about to rock this muthafcuka," and them muthafuckas went crazy. But it was a whole 180. Nigga I remember when we first went to New York which was when "Rebel without a Pause" came out when KDAY used to be bumpin' it. And when our shit, "Straight Outta Compton" came out, I remember we went to New York probably like a month later or some shit like that for some press shit. At that time the record was kind of getting big and shit nigga, and I remember Hank Shocklee of the Bomb Squad was up in the club and nigga knew all our names and shit. I was like "what the fuck?" and I was trippin' 'cause he was talkin' to Dre and shit 'cause you know how the two beat muthafuckas always find each other. I seen them two niggaz talkin' and Hank Shocklee was laughin' like "I can't believe y'all niggaz are here!" Dre was pointing at everybody I remember. He was like "this is so and so," and Hank was like "yeah I know, this is Ren, this is Eazy." Nigga he knew who I was and that tripped me out. I was like, "this nigga be fuckin' with PE and they got this hot ass shit, and this nigga know us?"

ThaFormula.com - Yeah and at that time the only producers who could fuck with Dre was the Bomb Squad…

MC Ren - Exactly and that's why Cube went to those muthafuckas.

ThaFormula.com - That's why I feel that was the only move Cube could have done and was the smartest…

MC Ren - Yeah. No other producer could have just came with no shit to just keep him like that. He went to the right muthafuckin' spot.

ThaFormula.com - So know at this point in time had you, Dre, Cube or Yella seen any money?

MC Ren - Nope. Hell Nah!!

ThaFormula.com - So you guys are having fun and all but when did the first problems start coming? 'Cause I know it's always about the money…

MC Ren - Yeah, I remember we was in muthafuckin' Arizona. Cube came to me and was says "Jerry Heller is coming up here and they want us to sign a new contract, you know he is taking advantage of muthafuckas cause we don't Know." How you just gonna pop up on a nigga with contracts and no lawyers or nothing? So that lets you know that that muthafucka was a snake. So anyway, Cube told me "I'm not signing that shit." He came to me and was like, "don't sign it." This the niggaz exact words. He said, "I could say I ain't gonna sign it and I'm just one person and the shit can still go down, but if you say it, me and you together then can't nothing happen if me and you both don't sign." I remember we were supposed to sign the shit and get 70 G'z. I ain't never seen 70 G'z know what I'm saying? So Cube was like, "I ain't signing it." So Cube didn't sign that shit and there was a little animosity. Everybody was like, "why didn't he sign it?" Nigga I had never seen no 70 G'z before in my life," and I was like, "Eric grew up right around the corner with me," I was like "this is my nigga, he brought me in and I'ma take this 70 G'z 'cause I ain't gonna get this shit nowhere else."

ThaFormula.com - So what was Dre thinking at this time?

MC Ren - Dre took it. He took the money. So Cube left. I signed, Dre signed, Yella signed.

ThaFormula.com - So did you tell Cube that you were gonna sign?

MC Ren - I think I told that nigga something like "man I ain't got no money, I ain't got no paper, I ain't got nothing." I was like "nigga I been rappin' for nothing this long and nigga fittin' to give me 70 G'z?" Shit and this was 1988, I was only 18.

ThaFormula.com - So that was basically the only reason Cube left right?

MC Ren - Yeah.

ThaFormula.com - 'Cause a lot of rumors got started about him leaving also because his solo album didn't come up next…

MC Ren - Nah, it wasn't no ego shit like that. It wasn't even like that. It was because he was like, "nigga we should get more money." He saw what I didn't see. I should have seen it. He was like, "nigga we need to get more money," because me and him used to always talk to Eric and say we wanted more money. 'Cause me and Cube used to get less 'cause we was the rappers and he would say, 'cause y'all not doing the beats." We would be like, "why they getting more then us?" "'Cause they doing the beats," he would say. Why Yella get more than us? 'Cause he doing this to help Dre. We was like, "but he ain't doing what we doing?"

ThaFormula.com - So you and Cube were making less then everybody else?

MC Ren - Everybody, and so that's the way it all happened. That nigga left.

ThaFormula.com - What were your thoughts when he left?

MC Ren - I was thinking young and stupid 'cause I was only like 18 or 19. I was Thinking that it's fucked up, that nigga shouldn't have left because we had a publicist at the time. She use to be like anytime interviews would pop up she would call Cube. She wouldn't call nobody else but Cube. So when he left the group she ended up being his manager so we felt that she had that shit planned all along. Cause Eric used to always complain to Priority like "why do she always call him for the interviews?" That bitch had probably another plan. Matter of fact, she started doing all his "Friday" movies with him and all of that. So there was animosity cause niggaz was thinkin' this shit was planned. So the beef just formed out of that shit. Matter of fact me and him never really had no beef. 'Cause even when he left the group, he went to New York and he would call me from New York when he was working with the Bomb Squad. Me and him was supposed to do a song for his album called "The Villain and the Gangsta." He was like, "man we gonna do this song," but we couldn't do the mutherfucka 'cause them niggaz got all mad and it was like all that animosity them niggaz had. It was like, "man that nigga this, and that" and then he stopped talkin' to me and we stopped talkin'.

ThaFormula.com - What did Dre think about this at the time?

MC Ren - Dre was mad that nigga left 'cause Dre brought him in so he was mad and that's why when Cube had his record he was on his homegirl Dee Barns show "Pump It Up" one night. I didn't have no beef with the nigga. It was all cool and everything but them niggaz was kind of hot and Cube said some shit on there like "I got all suckaz "100 miles and Runnin'" or some shit. He said that and we was like, "Ohh!!"

ThaFormula.com - So she set that show up with both of you (NWA and Ice Cube) on it without you even knowing right?

MC Ren - Yeah we didn't even know. She could have came to us and said "we want you all on the show," or "we want to do something," but she just did that shit for her ratings I guess, and that nigga outspoken like he was back then and said "I got all these suckaz 100 Miles and Runnin'" and we was like "what!" When he did that niggaz was hot and then he wanted to use on "Jackin' for Beats" when it comes on and says "Gimme that beat fool," he had our shit on there originally from the" Niggaz4Life" album. You know the "Prelude" beat, he had that on there first but since he was on Priority and our "Niggaz4Llife" album was fittin' to come out, we told Brian Turner 'cause he let us hear it first. We was in his office and he said, "I want you all to hear this song." He let us hear it and we was like "hell nah!" I remember Dre was like "fuck that, he can't use our beat" cause Dre made that beat. He was "like this man ain't gonna use our beat and be clowning us" you know what I'm saying? So Dre told him "if this nigga uses our beat, we ain't fuckin' with you," and Brian Turner told that nigga he couldn't use it 'cause he knew that the "Niggaz4Life" album was coming and he knew like "I can't let Cube use this muthafucka cause NWA is hot and they ain't gonna finish this muthafuckin' album if I let him do this."

ThaFormula.com - But in between all this you all did the "100 Miles and Runnin'" EP and you knew now that it was your time to step up. How did you feel about that?

MC Ren - When that nigga left, I knew I had to pick my shit up 'cause Dre wasn't really no rapper. He wasn't really no hell of a rapper back then and shit. He just would fill in. But when Cube left he started rapping more, but I always knew I had to pick it up. I was writing my shit, Eric's shit, Dre was helping write Eric shit, 'cause when Cube left we still had me, D.O.C. and Dre.

ThaFormula.com - So Dre actually wrote his shit?

MC Ren - Yeah, he wrote some of his shit. He write some of his shit and some of his shit he don't write. You can tell shit he writes. D.O.C. would write a lot of Dre's shit too. You could tell when you hear a lot of Dre shit if DOC wrote it.

ThaFormula.com - So even through all this and when you dissed Cube on the "Real Niggaz" track, were you still cool with Cube?

MC Ren - Nah, nah hell nah. Nah, Nah, Nah, I wasn't cool with that nigga at that time. It's crazy 'cause I went out on the "Up In Smoke Tour" with that nigga and me and that nigga was talkin' about them disses we did and I said "yeah nigga, I didn't even get a chance to do a whole verse on your ass." I said "nigga I would have got you!" He looked at me like "yeah ok." I said "alright nigga, you got a verse and some shit on me, but I never got a verse or song."

ThaFormula.com - Now when that dropped and Cube dropped his shit a lot of people thought NWA was through. "Niggaz4Life" hadn't dropped yet and I remember a lot of people were ready to call you guys over, did you guys hear any of this?

MC Ren - A little bit 'cause nigga, that was motivating us 'cause we was like "niggaz think we ain't gonna do shit 'cause Cube left." That was the first thing we thought. But them muthafuckas had to eat all they words though cause "Niggaz4Life" was a classic muthafuckin' album man. But I do be wishing Cube could have been on it. Can you imagine if that nigga was on that album?

ThaFormula.com - I don't know. I never thought those beats were meant for Cube. I thought that it was as good as it could have been and that no one ever rode a Dre beat like you which "Alwayz Into Something" proved…

MC Ren - Yeah that's my cut right there.

ThaFormula.com - And I loved the "Prelude" track 'cause you always dissed wack rappers and sell outs who did wack love songs…

MC Ren - And I'ma keep dissin' their wack asses.

MC Ren - We was feelin' cool.  We was supposed to go on tour for that shit.  We was planning out a "Niggaz4Life" tour.  We were getting our props ready and had muthafuckas coming to build our stage, and that's when Dre left.

ThaFormula.com - Were you guys still kicking it at this time or was everybody doing their own thing?

MC Ren - We was cool.  It's like one day Dre came to me and said, somebody I know wanna holla at us because we ain't getting paid right.  So I remember going down there to Solar records.  At that time Dre and Suge was kickin' it real tough and shit.  Suge told Dre about this dude at Solar and I remember going down there and meeting with them, and that's when Dre left.

ThaFormula.com - What did you say when Dre took you down to Solar?

MC Ren - From what I saw, I just saw one nigga trying to get niggaz to come over with him.  I mean I had seen alot more money by then.  I still wasn't getting what I was supposed to be getting, but I wasn't going to go into another fucked up situation.  My street smarts said, fuck this.  This is a worse situation.  That's why I didn't do it.  Then when Dre left, Eric was saying we still gonna do NWA.  I'm happy I didn't go along with the shit.  He said were gonna do the NWA album and we gonna get some more producers.  He was saying Yella, Hutch and some new people are gonna produce it.  I told him an NWA album is not gonna work without Dre doing the beats.  I wasn't about to play myself though.  Cube left, Dre left.  The beat mutherfuckers and one of the hardest lyricists in the group.  We ain't got shit.  I wasn't about to rap over any niggaz beat back then, because you know niggaz beats back then was wack.  I mean how you gonna go from the top muthafucka to that.  When I told Eazy I wasn't gonna do the NWA album, me and him didn't talk for like a year or two.  Probably longer then that.  When Dre was doing the first Chronic album, I was still talking to Dre.  I would go to his house and be kicking it.  That's why Snoop says in the Intro of the Chronic, "What up Ren."  Cause I used to be there kicking it with niggaz.  I told Erick and Dre that the problem was between them and that I didn't have nothing to do with that.  I'm not about to be dissin' neither of you.  That's why when Eazy was dissin' Dre, I wasn't in on that and Dre dissin' him, I wasn't in on that.  I was just neutral.

thaFormula.com - So I'm sure you heard the Chronic before it dropped.  How did you feel about it?

MC Ren - I thought the shit was tight.  I remember when it first came out.  Erick was in the studio going through the first Chronic album saying, this shit is wack.  All the little groupies around him were saying yeah that shit is wack.  I said, nigga this shit is hard.

thaFormula.com - So there was no way you could have been on the Chronic?

MC Ren - Yeah, because of all that shit that was going on.  

thaFormula.com - So when did you decide to do your first EP, "Kiss My Black Azz"?

MC Ren - When I saw the group wasn't gonna do no more shit.  So I went and got Bobcat.  When we was on tour during the NWA days, he was on tour with LL and we used to always kick it back in them days.  So we hooked up and did that shit.

thaFormula.com - It did pretty good for you right?

MC Ren - Yeah it went platinum and shit.  I got that muthafuckin plaque.  

thaFormula.com - What made you decide to do an EP and not an LP?

MC Ren - Cause I wanted to test the waters dog.  I didn't wanna do an album and have muthafuckas not feelin' me.  So I did the EP to see how muthafuckas react to it.  

thaFormula.com - Did the death of DJ Train really fuck you up alot cause you guys used to always roll together?

MC Ren - Yep.  Me and him went to high school together.  When I told him I rapped, he told me that he was a DJ.  So I went to his house and this muthafucka started doing shit on the turntable I had never seen.  He was pickin' the muthafuckas up at like a 45 degree angle and the needle was even jumpin'.  So when Erick signed JJ Fad they needed a DJ.  They weren't hard or nothing, but Train was hard.  I remember Train was in the 12th grade and their shit started jumpin' before our shit.  He was on the Run's House tour flying in and out of town.  That nigga was tight as a muthafucka man.  That was my nigga all the way from high school.  

thaFormula.com - What exactly did happen to Train man?

MC Ren - His house caught on fire.  He thought his son was still in the house and his son had left.  His son momma had came and got him.  So he was thinking his son was still in that muthafucka.  He went back in after he got everybody out thinking his son was still in there, but he wasn't.  So he went in there and got all that smoke caught up in him.  That was some wack ass shit. 

thaFormula.com - Was he a big reason that you started changing up your style after the EP and going towards the more righteous path?

MC Ren - Yeah.  He would give me tapes on Egypt and tell me we were gonna go there.  So yeah my shit did start changing.  I went into the Nation of Islam in 1993 and got out in 1995.  Went to Egypt in 1995.  Me and Train was supposed to go together and he couldn't make it, so I said fuck it, Imma go anyway.

thaFormula.com - How was going to Egypt?

MC Ren - It was the shit.  I went out there for about  two and half weeks.

thaFormula.com - Now your album was supposed to be called "Life Sentence."  Was it because of that situation that you changed the title?

MC Ren - Yeah.  

thaFormula.com - How did you feel about the "Shock of the Hour" album and how did that do for you?

MC Ren - Back then it sold like 480,000 copies when E was alive.  It was cool.   The first side of that muthafucka I recorded before I even got into the Nation.  If you listen to it you can tell.  The second half of that album is when I was in the nation.

thaFormula.com - I have to ask you this man before I forget.  When Cube dropped "No Vaseline" what did you guys think about it?

MC Ren - Nigga I was ready to mash.  Niggaz was mad.  Like "oh, this nigga wanna do it like this."  I was mad.  That was the greatest sneak attack ever.  

thaFormula.com - Would you say that he won that battle?

MC Ren - Nah he didn't win!  How he gonna win and I ain't put my gloves on.  That's like that movie Ali when he's in the car with Joe Frazier saying yeah, but you ain't the real champ.  I didn't get my chance.  I will never get my chance cause me and him are cool as a muthafucka.  Even if we did, it probably wouldn't be like it would have been then.  

thaFormula.com - Did you guys feel it on the streets as far as people fucking with you about it?

MC Ren - Yep, everything.  I remember I went somewhere to this party at a hall and muthafuckas was playing it, and I remember trippin' on them telling them to take that shit off (laughs).  I remember one time I was in Compton where my homeboy was doing a video show for this cable station, and this punk ass nigga was trying to play that in the background.  You know them jealous ass niggaz and shit, but fuck them.  We got the last laugh though cause all of us is cool now.

thaFormula.com - Is it true that Dre didn't produce that whole first Above The Law album?

MC Ren - Alot of that shit was done before Dre touched it.  Hutch did alot of that shit before Dre even came and sat down.  We was on tour and Laylaw brought them in.  He had they shit and we used to listen to it when we was on the "Straight Outta Compton" tour.  So alot of the songs on that first album were already done.  Hutch did that shit along time ago.  

thaFormula.com - So now you dropped your EP and your solo.  At this point how are you feeling coming into your next album "Villain In Black"?

MC Ren - I was feelin' good dog.  Happy that me and Hutch hooked up.  Me and that nigga used to be in the studio damn near like everyday.  To me though, it's harder now then back then.  Now when I'm in the studio with niggaz, it's a different feelin' from back then.  

thaFormula.com - So at this time were you and Eazy not speaking still?

MC Ren - Yeah.  That's why he wasn't on none of my albums and why I wasn't really on his shit.  He knew we didn't have shit to say to each other, but he knew he still could make money off my shit.  The only thing was that after we had the fall out, when my records came out, they never pushed them like they should have pushed them.  Cause my "Shock The Hour" went to number 1 on the Billboard Charts, but I didn't get no Gold or no Platinum Plaque.  If you go number 1, come on.  My shit was number 1 all around everywhere.  They didn't promote it and I think it had alot to do with the shit I was sayin'.  It scared alot of muthafuckas. It felt like a nigga got blacklisted or something.  That's the vibe I got from niggaz.  It just seems like nobody wanted to talk about that record.  So what could I do.  

thaFormula.com - What do you think Tupac would say if he saw all these Tupac clones runnin' around?

MC Ren - Come on dog.  If Tupac was alive, he would be giving all these niggaz hell, 50 Cent included.  INCLUDED!  All of them niggaz would catch it.

thaFormula.com - So how did you feel about "Villain In Black"?

MC Ren - It was cool.  The only thing is my budgets kept getting smaller, smaller, and smaller.  They wouldn't give me the paper I needed.  They was looking at it like if he don't want to talk to us and don't want to do this then fuck it.  That's how it went.  But if I would have helped them diss Dre, man I probably would have got all kinds of shit.

thaFormula.com – So that's why BG Knockout and Dresta kept getting promoted?

MC Ren - Yep.  If you see, they got promoted more then I did and I was there for the longest.  Fake ass company.

thaFormula.com - So after that came your last album "Ruthless For Life".  It seemed like you were out of it on that album...

MC Ren - Yeah I was.  I ain't even gonna lie, I was.  Nigga was going through shit.  All kind of problems.  Nigga was out of it on that album.  I'm more into it now then I was in that time.

thaFormula.com - So in between "Ruthless For Life" and now you just disappeared.  What happened man?

MC Ren - Dog, I was just chillin' with my family, still working on music.  I left Ruthless and I just didn't want to be in one of them situations again like that.  So I just started making music.  I did a little independent film.  So just little shit like that trying to stay busy and get shit crackin' again.  It wasn't my fault though.  A nigga was going through shit making other transitions, then the game changed.  So when I came back, the game had changed drastically.  Muthafuckas was dead, muthafuckas ain't working here, gone.  Shit wasn't the same.  But I just realized that that's how life is and things are gonna always change.  

thaFormula.com - So when you got out of Ruthless did you approach other labels?

MC Ren - Yeah.  They was saying that they wasn't trying to fuck with me.  The sound that I was giving them, they didn't want that shit.  They wanted more radio friendly type shit.  They don't wanna hear like a hard muthafucka with lyrics, they wanna hear some dancing shit.  They wanna hear a beat come on that they can get on Power 106.  They wanted that happy shit and I ain't got that shit.  I couldn't make that if I tried.  I would play myself.  I love Run DMC.  But they even went through that shit when they made that record "Pause."  You never thought you would see them dancing like that.  To go from the Adidas and derbies and all that dope shit to be with white hats and big medallions dancing.  Come on man.  But that's the game.  Even legendary muthafuckas like them get confused.  You just got to realize that we are legends in this shit.  We can't be what we used to be, but we still here.

thaFormula.com - So it took many years but you finally got back to working with Dre on Chronic 2001.  How did that come about?

MC Ren - My homeboy said that Dre wants you to come down, so I went down there and did it.  I was rappin' on the muthafucka.  I was on another song bustin', but he took me off of it and put this other nigga on it.  There was a dude originally on there, but when I came, I got on there.  Then niggaz told me that the reason they took me off was because the nigga that was on there was crying about it.

thaFormula.com - That's wack...

MC Ren - You know man. Little bitch shit.  Nigga took me off and shit.

thaFormula.com - After you guys all recorded "Chin Check", what happened with the NWA project?

MC Ren - Ain't nothing really happened and shit.  Cube was doing his movie and wanted us to do that shit.  Then we did "Hello" for his album and we were supposed to work on the NWA project on the road, but it never went down.

thaFormula.com - I remember when you guys did Farm Club on TV.  I remember Dre's expression when you said you wanted to tour and record the new album.  I knew from seeing Dre's expression that that shit was never going to happen.

MC Ren - It was on Dre.  We was ready.  Me and Cube was ready, but we weren't gonna keep begging this dude to do no record.  We had a studio out there to do it, but it didn't happen so fuck it.  I don't give a fuck.  I do but I don't cause it's over with now.  I ain't fittin' to cry over that shit.  "Chin Check" was alright, but "Hello" was better to me.  It was better but it just wasn't like it used to be.  Muthafuckas be having a gang of niggaz now in the studios.  When we used to record back in the day nobody would really be there, only a few people.

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