Crate Diggers: MC Ren
Showing posts with label MC Ren. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MC Ren. Show all posts

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Happy Birthday Ice Cube

“I love music. It's freedom, a way to deal with pent-up frustration” - Ice Cube
(Ice Cube)
Ice Cube was born as O’Shea Jackson on June 15th, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, USA. When Jackson was 12 his sister was killed. Jackson started writing raps while in the 9th grade. At age 16 he sold his 1st song to Eric Wright. In 1987 he enrolled at the Phoenix Institute of Technology in Arizona.
(Jackson in high school)
He completed his degree within one year and returned to Los Angeles to pursue a rap career. He formed the hip hop group C.I.A. (Cru In Action) with friend Sir Jinx. He then took on the stage name “Ice Cube”. C.I.A. would perform during parties hosted by Dr. Dre. Ice Cube then joined with Dr. Dre, Eazy E, MC Ren and DJ Yella to form N.W.A. In 1987 they released their 1st album “N.W.A. and the Posse”.
(N.W.A. is 1987)
In 1988 they released “Straight Outta Compton”. Ice Cube wrote most of the material for the albums. In 1989 Ice Cube left the group due to contract problems with manager Jerry Heller.
(N.W.A. in 1989)
In 1990 Ice Cube released his 1st solo album “AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted”. It was an instant hit. Ice Cube then released the EP “Kill at Will” which became the 1st rap EP to go platinum.
(Ice Cube in 1990)
In 1991 Ice Cube released “Death Certificate”. Critics accused him of being anti white, misogynist, and anti semitic. It features the response diss track, “No Vaseline”, to N.W.A.’s diss track “100 Miles and Runnin’”. Also in 1991 Ice Cube appeared in the movie Boyz N the Hood.
(Ice Cube in Boyz N the Hood(1991))
In 1992 he released “The Predator”. It debuted at number 1 on both the pop and R&B charts, the first album in history to do so. It sold over 3 million copies. Also in 1992 he formed the group “Da Lench Mob” and collaborated on their 1st album “Guerillas in tha Mist”.
(Da Lench Mob in 1992)
In 1993 he released “Lethal Injection”. Also in 1993 Ice Cube collaborated with 2Pac.
(Ice Cube (Left) and 2Pac (Right))
In 1994 Ice Cube and Dr. Dre came together to make the song “Natural Born Killaz”. In 1995 he starred in Friday. It made $28 million.
(Ice Cube (Left) and Chris Tucker (Right) in Friday (1995))
In 1996 Ice Cube formed Westside Connection. Their 1st album released the same year called “Bow Down” was certified platinum.
(Westside Connection in 1996)
In 1998 he released “War & Peace Vol. 1”. In 2000 he released “War & Peace Vol. 2”. Also in 2000 Ice Cube also joined Dr. Dre, Eminem & Snoop Dogg for the “Up in Smoke Tour”. Also in 2000 he starred in Next Friday. In 2002 he starred in Barbershop.
(Ice Cube in Barbershop(2002))
Also in 2002 he starred in Friday After Next. In 2003 Westside Connection released their 2nd album “Terrorist Threats”. The group later broke up. In 2004 he starred in Barbershop 2: Back in Business. In 2005 he starred in Are We There Yet?.
(Ice Cube in Are We There Yet? (2005))
In 2006 he released “Laugh Now, Cry Later”. In 2008 he released “Raw Footage”. In 2010 he released “I Am the West”. In 2014 he starred in Ride Along.
(Ice Cube (Right) and Kevin Hart (Left) in Ride Along (2014))
In 2015 a movie about N.W.A. was released featuring Ice Cube’s son playing him.
(Ice Cube (Left) and his son O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Right))
In 2016 he starred in Ride Along 2.
(Ice Cube (Left) and Kevin Hart (Right) in Ride Along 2 (2016))
In 2017 he released the single “Good Cop Bad Cop”.
Image result for ice cube 2017(Ice Cube in 2017)
Today he turns 48 years old and we would all like to say happy birthday Ice Cube.
Albums by Ice Cube
  • “AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted” (1990)
  • “Death Certificate” (1991)
  • “The Predator” (1992)
  • “Lethal Injection” (1993)
  • “War & Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc)” (1998)
  • “War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc)” (2000)
  • “Laugh Now, Cry Later” (2006)
  • “Raw Footage” (2008)
  • “I Am the West” (2010)

Films starring Ice Cube
  • Boyz N the Hood (1991) as Darin “Doughboy” Baker
  • Trespass (1992) as Savon
  • CB4 (1993) as himself
  • The Glass Shield (1994) as Teddy Woods
  • Higher Learning (1995) as Fudge
  • Friday (1995) as Craig Jones
  • Dangerous Ground (1997) as Vusi Madlazi
  • Anaconda (1997) as Danny Rich
  • The Players Club (1998) as Reggie
  • I Got the Hook Up (1998) as Gun Runner
  • Three Kings (1999) as Sgt. Chief Elgin
  • Thicker Than Water (1999) as Slink
  • Next Friday (2000) as Craig Jones
  • Ghosts of Mars (2001) as James “Desolation” Williams
  • All About the Benjamins (2002) as Bucum
  • Barbershop (2002) as Calvin Palmer
  • Friday After Next (2002) as Craig Jones
  • Torque (2004) as Trey Wallace
  • The N-Word (2004) as himself
  • Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004) as Calvin Palmer
  • Are We There Yet? (2005) as Nick Persons
  • xXx: State of the Union (2005) as Darius Stone
  • Are We Done Yet? (2007) as Nick Persons
  • First Sunday (2008) as Durell Washington
  • The Longshots (2008) as Curtis Plummer
  • Janky Promoters (2009) as Russell Redds
  • Lottery Ticket (2010) as Jerome “Thump” Washington
  • Rampart (2011) as Kyle Timkins
  • 21 Jump Street (2012) as Capt. Dickson
  • Ride Along (2014) as Det. James Payton
  • 22 Jump Street (2014) as Capt. Dickson
  • The Book of Life (2014) as The Candle Maker
  • Ride Along 2 (2016) as Det. James Payton
  • Barbershop: The Next Cut (2016) as Calvin Palmer
  • xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017) as Darius Stone
  • Fist Fight (2017) as Strickland

Videos of Ice Cube

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Saturday, February 18, 2017

Happy Birthday Dr. Dre

“I always loved the way music made me feel. I did sports at school and all, but when I got home, it was just music. Everybody in my neighborhood loved music. I could jump the back fence and be in the park where there were ghetto blasters everywhere” - Dr. Dre
(Dr. Dre)
Dr. Dre was born as Andre Romelle Young on February 18th, 1965 in Compton, California, USA. He became a DJ in a club called Eve After Dark, initially under the name "Dr. J", based on the nickname of Julius Erving, his favorite basketball player. At the club he met rapper Antoine Carraby, who later became member DJ Yella of N.W.A. Later Young took on the name of Dr. Dre. Dre and Yella recorded several demos in the club which they both worked at. They later joined the group World Class Wreckin’ Cru in 1984.
(Dr. Dre in 1984)
The group became successful among the electro hip hop scene that was very popular on the west coast. The record “Surgery” would become the group's first hit, selling 50,000 copies within the Compton area. Dr. Dre and DJ Yella performed for the local radio station KDAY. In 1986 Dre met rapper Ice Cube who collaborated with him to record songs for Ruthless Records. Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, Ice Cube, MC Ren and Eazy-E came together to make the group N.W.A.
(N.W.A.)
In 1987 they released their 1st album called “N.W.A. and the Posse”. In 1988 they released their 2nd album “Straight Outta Compton” which was very successful. The song “F**k tha Police” was the most controversial song on that album, so controversial that the FBI sent the group a letter telling them to stop making music.
Image result for dr dre 1988(Dr. Dre in 1988)
In 1989 Ice Cube left the group over financial disputes with their manager Jerry Heller. N.W.A. started a rap feud with Ice Cube by referencing him on their 3rd album “Efil4zaggin”. Dr. Dre produced albums for Eazy-E, Above the Law, Michel’le, The D.O.C., J.J. Fad, and Jimmy Z between the years of 1988 to 1991. In 1991 Dr. Dre left N.W.A. after disputes with Eazy-E and Jerry Heller. Dr. Dre and Suge Knight founded the record label “Death Row Records” in 1991.
(Dr. Dre in 1991)
In 1992 Dr. Dre recorded his first single “Deep Cover” for the movie Deep Cover with new upcoming rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. Also in 1992 Dr. Dre released his 1st solo album “The Chronic” which is considered the best rap album of all time.
Image result for dr dre 1992(Dr. Dre in 1992)
In 1993 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album triple platinum, and Dr. Dre also won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for his song "Let Me Ride". In 1993 Billboard magazine ranked Dr. Dre as the eighth best-selling musical artist, The Chronic as the sixth best-selling album, and "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" as the 11th best-selling single. Dr. Dre produced Snoop Doggy Dogg’s 1st album “Doggystyle” in 1993.
(Snoop Doggy Dogg (left) and Dr. Dre (right))
In 1994 Dre produced songs on the soundtracks of the movies Above the Rim and Murder Was the Case. In 1995 he rejoined with former member of N.W.A., Ice Cube, to record the song “Natural Born Killaz”. Dr. Dre recorded a song for Ice Cube’s movie Friday in 1995. Dr. Dre collaborated with 2 Pac and Roger to record the song “California Love” in 1995.
Image result for dr dre 1995(Dr. Dre in 1995)
In 1996 Dr. Dre left Death Row Records to form the record label “Aftermath Entertainment”. Also in 1996 Dr. Dre appeared on Blackstreet’s song “No Diggity”. In 1996 Dr. Dre appeared in the movie Set It Off. Dr. Dre produced songs for Nas, LL Cool J, and Jay Z in the late ‘90’s. In 1998 Dr. Dre signed rapper Eminem to Aftermath Entertainment and produced Eminem’s 1999 album “The Slim Shady LP”.
(Dr. Dre (left) and Eminem (right))
Dr. Dre’s 2nd solo album “The Chronic: 2001” was released in 1999. The album was highly successful, charting at number two on the Billboard 200 charts and has since been certified six times platinum. Dr. Dre won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2000. The Fatback Band sued Dr. Dre over alleged infringement regarding their song "Backstrokin'" in his song "Let's Get High" from the “The Chronic: 2001” album. Dr. Dre appeared in 2 movies in 2001, The Wash and Training Day.
Image result for dr dre in 2001(Dr. Dre in 2001)
Dr. Dre was ordered to pay $1.5 million to the band in 2003. In 2003 Dr. Dre produced 50 Cent’s album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”. In April 2005, Dr. Dre was ranked 54th out of 100 artists for Rolling Stone magazine's list "The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time". In 2008 Dr. Dre released a brand of headphones called “Beats by Dre”.
(Dr. Dre in 2008)
Two genuine singles "Kush", a collaboration with Snoop Dogg and fellow rapper Akon, and "I Need a Doctor" with Eminem and singer Skylar Grey were released in the United States during November 2010 and February 2011. Both songs are from his unreleased album “Detox”. On November 14, 2011, Dre announced that he would be taking a break from music after he finished producing for artists Slim the Mobster and Kendrick Lamar.
(Kendrick Lamar (left) and Dr. Dre(right))
In 2014 Dr.Dre sold “Beats by Dre” to Apple Inc. for $3 billion, making him the 1st rap billionaire in history. In 2015 Dr. Dre released his album “Compton” for his biopic movie Straight Outta Compton. Dr. Dre produced the movie Straight Outta Compton about his group N.W.A.
(N.W.A. (top row) with the cast of Straight Outta Compton (bottom row))
In 2016 Dr. Dre toured with P. Diddy.
Image result for dr dre 2016(Dr. Dre in 2016)
Today he turns 52 years old and we would all like to say happy birthday Dr. Dre.

Albums by Dr. Dre
  • “The Chronic” (1992)
  • “The Chronic: 2001” (1999)
  • “Compton” (2015)
Movies featuring Dr. Dre
  • Set It Off (1996) as Black Sam
  • Whiteboyz (1999) as Don Flip Crew #1
  • Training Day (2001) as Paul
  • The Wash (2001) as Sean
Videos featuring Dr. Dre
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