MC Ren
Real Name: Lorenzo Patterson
D.O.B.: June 14, 1969 Compton L.A., California
MC Ren was a founding voice for the ground-breaking super group, N.W.A. as a dominant vocal support behind Ice Cube’s and Eazy-E’s distinctive rap, he has become a very successful rapper in the west coast rap scene. His best work will remain in the chapter of N.W.A.
A Compton native, like the rest of N.W.A. joined the rap act after his senior year at Dominguez High School in Compton. His hard-hitting street edged vocal attributions kept him a predominant member in the group after Ice Cube’s departure in 1989. Ren took centre stage with Eazy-E for the remainder of N.W.A.’s albums with ‘Efil4zaggin’ reaching the number one spot on the Billboard in ’91. That year saw the disbandment of the group due to in-house conflict between Dre and Eazy-E with added venom from the outside peer-pressure of Ice Cube’s solo success. MC Ren stood by Eazy-E with Yella and brought out his debut solo EP under Ruthless Records, in 1992, entitled ‘Kizz My Black Azz’. With much success stemming from each artist from N.W.A. Ren followed suit but with little commercial promotion, the album still went gold.
By 1993 MC Ren delivered a different image, with creative inspiration from a personal conversion to the Nation Of Islam. Guided by his DJ, DJ Train, he put off his 1992 follow-up album, ‘Life Sentence’. ‘Shock of the Hour’ was put out the next year containing a few singles, none left any lasting impression. The unfortunate death of close friend, DJ Train in a house fire hit Ren hard before his 1996 release, ‘Villain In Black’. Suspected as the creative end to his career, he came back in ’98 to release ‘Ruthless For Life’ which proved a distinctive comeback from his last album success.
His career continued appearing on west coast collaborations, notably with old collegues, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube. By 1998 for Ice Cube’s album MC Ren joined with Cube and Dre for the track, ‘Hello’ with the ever-echoing line “I started this gangsta shit / And this is the mutherfuckin' thanks I get?”
This sparked a unification project with guest rapper, Snoop Dogg filling the shoes of Eazy-E for an N.W.A. comeback. Later track, ‘Chin Check’ for Ice Cube’s soundtrack for movie, Next Friday was recorded by the group for a taste of an anticipated album project entitled ‘Not These Niggaz Again’ this is still undeveloped due to industry red tape, contracts and label ties.
MC Ren’s career lives on through the collaborations with other west coast artists and the large involvement with the revolutionary super rap group N.W.A. MC Ren will be forever respected as a forefather of gangsta rap.
Discography:
- 1992 Kizz My Black Azz (EP)(Chart Position: 12) RIAA: Platinum (Ruthless)
- 1993 Shock of the Hour (Chart Position: 1) RIAA: Gold (Ruthless)
- 1996 The Villain in Black (Chart Position: 31) (Ruthless)
- 1998 Ruthless for Life (Chart Position: 100) (Ruthless)
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