.......
Before there was a group
called N. W.A there were in
dividu lly, angry, young Blac
m I ; ro ming through darkened
alley w y, urviving the
roughest of treet tests nd
emerging, once again as sur
vivors. All of them had a story to
tell; all of them wanted to be
heard; all of them searched for an
answer. But the true base of
power for any group has been the
individual strength and character
of its members. And now, since
they've stepped the f off!
another MC emerges for the fall
out - "The Black nigga that they
call Ren."
Back in 1987, "Eazy was
trying to get me and Train to sign
on Ruthless for a solo deal, but Ice
Cube had left to go to school.
Eazy had me write some material
for the N. W.A album, so me and
Train's solo project had to be put
on hold." Now, Ren is ready to
rock the mic on his own. He's out
to show and prove what he is
made of, 'cauz "Real Nigga
Don't Die."
Kizz My Black Azz, the debut
EP on Ruthless/Priority, is the
first sign of life since N.W.A's
EFIL4ZAGGIN. This six track
EP was produced by Bobcat, a
member of the Boogie Men
"The Final Frontier"
expresses Ren's lyrical
intent to handle all Me's
that think gangsta rap is just
"
'At 8 time when we were starv
ing from a lack of hosts to boast
about the west coast, Ren was
rehearsing for his debut. "I had a
rep at Roosevelt Jr. High, me and
DJ Train (of JJ Fad)." M.e. Ren
went on to high school with his
reputation in tow. By the time he
gradu ted, Eazy-E, from around
the comer, was knocking on his
door.
Production team, which ironical
ly produces some of Ice Cube's
songs. "The Final Frontier" is the
first single to hit the streets this
month.
"The Final Frontier" expres
ses Ren's lyrical intent to handle
all MC's that think gangsta rap is
just a category. "Rap is getting
away from where it started," ex
plains M.e. Ren. "Everybody is
trying to be like Hammer and
have a band playing behind their
raps. " he hook on this will have
even the most passive of listeners
thinking of Ren, whenever real
rap is the subject, "Who iz it? -
The Black nigga that they call
Ren." The intro kicks in with the
'back in the day' piano riff from
"The Bridge Is Over," and is
woven throughout the entire cut
with a nice sax handling the
breaks, while Ren flows like
melted I-CE:
"Right Up My Alley" begins as
a neighborhood eviction of the
local smokers (crack addicts)
from the alley in' which Ren
reigns supreme and turns into the
news story of the week. Our
reporter Ren spins the rhymes
and weaves the tell tell story of
the day to day events in the alley;
"90% of the Black males from the
streets got a spot in their neigh
borhood where all the dirt goes
down - gambling, drinking, dope
selling - you know."
Oh yeah! Ren is still a nigga
with attitude, 'cauz "Kizz My
Black Azz" shoots holes in
everybody. Sounding very ir-
Runaway Slave, the debut
album by Payday/PLG progres-
sives Showbiz & A.G, features
thumping bass notes and jazzy
horn clusters over raw poetics, it
promises to lift listeners way past
the future of the funk and into a
new phase Showbiz has dubbed
"B-boy swing music."
Right after dropping' the EP
Soul Clap in 1991, Showbiz says
he and A,G. started coursing the
path toward Runaway Slave,
which includes four cuts from the
'EP. He adds, "We don't ever stay
still." The new track "Bouce Ta
This" fea tures Dres from the
platinum crew Black Sheep,
while "Represent" warms it up
with Lord Finesse, Diamond 0,
Big L. and De Sha un.
Both Showbiz and A.G. were
born and raised in the South
Bronx, amid trash-littered lots,
gang wars and drug games. "I
used to stay in the house a lot,"
A G. recalls.
Back then he was Andre Bar
nes, and when he ventured out
side, many times it was only to the
park across the street, where
Grand Wizard Theodore,
Grandmaster Flash and other rap
pioneers used to jam. "I saw how
people admired them," A.G. (for
Andre The [mental] Giant)
remembers. "I was amazed at
what they did and I just wanted to
be in their position."
SO HE STARTED practicing
rapping to breakbeats. From
there, he migrated into attending
old-school jams. When RunDMe
released the seminal "Sucker
MCs" in 1983, A.G. became even
more inspired to go for his.
While attending high school,
he was an active participant in
lunchtime Me battles. He be
came friends with one opponent
named Lord Finesse. In 1989,
they joined forces on Funky
Technician. Finesse's first album
on Wild Pitch Records.
RUnaway Slave
features
thumping bass
notes andjcazy
hom clusters
over raw poetics,
it promises to lift
listeners way
past the future
of the funk.
It was through working 'with
Finesse that A.G. met Showbiz,
The turntable assassin, beat nut,
party promoter and sometimes
rapper had been hired to produce
three track on Funky Tech-
. nician. "I'd been deejaying ince
I was in high school," says Show
biz. "Music is where my heart
alway was, and that's reflected
ritat d Jon id of an U( -tcmpo
track M.C. Ren delrve . blow to
all the tricks and hoes that only
call to ay they re in n ed. And
to the ni gaz cl iming to be down
in a cr w, Ren ays, "Why would
anyb dy want to b a number
two, feeling im rtant .au: e f
someone else a c m pl i h-
See Me REN, 810
in my nam .."
Sh wbiz can't rem ru .r
when he first notic 'd rap "it wa ,
lik , alway th rc," he hru.),'
but the experiences of learnin
turntable art during st len m -
ments with a cou in' equipment,
deejaying at the legendary Di .
Fever when he wa 15, and al
most debuting with e solo track
titled "Girl Frontin' " n World
To World Records (the lab I that
introduced R ib Bas ') still flash
thr ugh hi' mind. "The rec rd
never came out," h \ says, "and
from that point I started ertin '
eriou about th busin ss."
From d cjr yin J in pc rks and
recreati n - .nt .rs, h iwb iz
grabbed a 'tack of old di 'C and,
ho ked-up in the hip-hop lab with
Fine e 9 ( n i hborhood buddy
who became a mentor). in
then howbiz ha built a rep as a
street-beat virtuo 0 and he rdcore
gr vc t .hnician. 'he .k hi
growing client lis ; Ma uro resh
We rrcstcd D .vcloprn .nt,
Diamond D. an the P sych tic
Neuroti , Bi L., end hi
two-man cr w.
ALTHO' (,11 ru«
See RUNAWAY, 810