See also Part I of this series.

In 1988, N.W.A. hit the rap scene with the groundbreaking album, Straight Outta Compton, and America saw the infiltration of gangsta rap from South Central L.A. all the way to the East Coast. No one seemed to notice at the time that the only member of N.W.A. with any history as an actual gangmenber was Eazy-E. Eazy’s criminal record and drug-dealing past seemed enough to carry the group to its current status as the godfathers of gangsta rap.

N.W.A.’s lyrics were once considered “highly dangerous” and its most controversial song, “Fuck tha Police,” prompted a letter from the assistant director of the FBI to the group’s record company that law enforcement took “exception to such action (fucking the police).” It is commonly known that N.W.A.’s albums resulted in the parental advisory label scheme.

Yet, reflecting the change of attitudes with time, the parental advisory label today on a newly purchased copy of the album displays merely “WARNING MODERATE impact coarse language and/or themes.”

So compared to the music and media violence of today, N.W.A. were practically pussycats. Where are these former confrontational gangsta rappers now? Let us see…

ICE CUBE – The Instigator: The most politically proletariat of the group, Ice Cube’s rage was directed towards hypocrisy and the issues of racism and ganglife. was a source of internal strife when he discovered that Eazy-E was earning far more than other members. Split from the group and proceeded to insult remaining members.”Repeatedly.

Now: Has released six solo albums, of which five were critically acclaimed. Continued to provide social commentary on gun control in the ghetto and the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Never at a loss for publicity, 1996 saw him involved in the raucous East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. Ice Cube has also experienced success as a film actor and director with critically acclaimed films such as Boyz N the Hood and Friday.

MC REN: The Ass Kisser He had problems with Eazy-E’s appearance of impropriety, but for reasons unknown, he pretty much kept his mouth shut.

Now: Released four utterly crappy albums under Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records label. Despite so-called underground success, Ren became dissatisfied and went on to help produce gentrified, bling-blingy rap for the 2006 Public Enemy album Rebirth of a Nation .

EAZY E – The Playa, Straight up: Eazy may have not gotten along very well with his fellow rappers, but he sure did like the ladies, and the ladies loved him. Eazy’s talents were vastly overshadowed by the fact that he fathered seven children with six different mothers. Immediatly after the departure of Dr. Dre, Eazy released two videos, “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s” and “Its On,” both of which accused Dre of being a “she thang” and featuring pictures of Dre wearing flashy clothes and makeup.

Now: Although he was the executive producer of many hard-hitting acts of the gangsta rap scene, Eazy damaged his street cred with atrocious political affiliations with the Republican Party, including President George H.W. Bush. He eventually dropped the feud with Dre and became the predominant representative image of hardcore gangsta rap. In 1995, Eazy checked into the hospital with a bad case of strep throat and found instead that he had contracted HIV due to unprotected sex with multiple women. One month after a publicized announcement of his illness, Eazy fell into a coma and died at the age of thirty-one years.

YELLA – The Talentless Hack: Yo, like, he spun the records!

Now: As the group DJ, Yella didn’t find prospects for a solo career. As such, he was the only member to remain loyal to Eazy-E after the group split up. He assisted in producing Eazy-E’s albums and claims to have been the only N.W.A. member present at Eazy’s deathbed. Since Eazy’s passing, Yella has left the music business and has found a riveting career in producing and directing pr0n movies.

DR. DRE – The Mogul and The Man Behind The Man Behind The Man: As the producer of N.W.A. albums, Dre was often mischaracterized by other rappers as not being involved enough with the music itself. However, as his fans were well aware, he was the driving creative force behind the group.

Now: Dr. Dre has arguably led the most successful solo career as a rapper and producer. After N.W.A., Dre went on to create G-funk, a new type of West Coast. Dre’s debut solo album, The Chronic, went quadruple-platinum and heavily featured the then-unknown rapper called Snoop Dogg. Thus began Dre’s status as a mentor to fledgling rappers, as his own label, Aftermath Entertainment, sought to promote such proteges as Eminem, Eve, and Busta Rhymes. Rolling Stone magazine has elevated Dr. Dre to Number 54 on its list of 100 Greatest Artists Of All Time. Dre is set to release his final solo album, Detox, sometime in Autumn 2006.

Sources: N.W.A. Legacy, Public Enemy’s Official Website, and Wikipedia.