Kennedy - Parental discretion is advised: the rise of N.W.A and the dawn of gangsta rap

Thank you for downloading this Simon & Schuster ebook.

Get a FREE ebook when you join our mailing list. Plus, get updates on new releases, deals, recommended reads, and more from Simon & Schuster. Click below to sign up and see terms and conditions.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

Already a subscriber? Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox.

We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster ebook.

Get a FREE ebook when you join our mailing list. Plus, get updates on new releases, deals, recommended reads, and more from Simon & Schuster. Click below to sign up and see terms and conditions.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

Already a subscriber? Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox.

An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2017 by Gerrick Kennedy

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Atria Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Atria Books hardcover edition December 2017

and colophon are trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or .

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

Interior design by Laura Levatino

Jacket design by Rodrigo Corral

Jacket image Waring Abbot/Getty Images; Lynn Goldsmith/Getty Images

Author photograph by Andres Tardio

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Kennedy, Gerrick, author.

Title: Parental discretion is advised : the rise of N.W.A and the dawn of gangsta rap / Gerrick Kennedy.

Description: First Atria Books hardcover edition. | New York: Atria Books, 2017.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017032780 (print) | LCCN 2017033278 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501134937 (eBook) | ISBN 9781501134913 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781501134920 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: N.W.A. (Musical group) | Rap musiciansUnited StatesBiography. | Rap (Music)History and criticism.

Classification: LCC ML421.N25 (ebook) | LCC ML421.N25 K46 2017 (print) | DDC 782.421649092/2 [B]dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017032780

ISBN 978-1-5011-3491-3

ISBN 978-1-5011-3493-7 (ebook)

For Jermaine, Charles, and Robert. I am, because of you.

SEPTEMBER 07, 2013 * SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA

A maze of metal barricades was stuffed with hundreds of rap fans waiting to file into San Manuel Amphitheater. Inside, heavy, pounding bass from the DJs turntable drowned out the piercing beeps of metal detectors that greeted early arrivers. It was opening day of Rock the Bells, an annual hip-hop festival that was launched in Southern California and toured throughout the world during its decade run. Twenty thousand fans made the pilgrimage to the hills of the Inland Empire desert, roughly an hour and a half outside of Los Angeles, for two days of music performances. The mix of underground genre outliers; revered elder statesmen; and young, chart-topping wunderkinds allowed Rock the Bells to enjoy a status as the preeminent destination for hip-hop fans well before massive music gatherings like Coachella, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza diversified their lineups to reflect raps surging mainstream dominance. A gust of wind swept dust through the security line as workers confiscated prohibited paraphernalia from disappointed fans who unsuccessfully hid marijuana blunts or glass one-hitters they hoped to bring into the festival. It was well over 100 degrees on this Saturday afternoon, but more palpable than the triple-digit temperature was the anticipation from fans waiting to get inside.

The bill was a heady, extensive representation of several generations of hip-hop acts that traversed mainstream and alternative lanes of the genre. Common; Jurassic 5; Kid Cudi; Pusha T; KRS-One; Talib Kweli; Kendrick Lamar; Tech N9ne; Earl Sweatshirt; Slick Rick; Juicy J; Too Short; Immortal Technique; E-40; Tyler, the Creator; Doug E. Fresh; Lecrae; J. Cole; Rakim; A$AP Rocky; Danny Brown; the Internet; and Wu-Tang Clan were all booked for a weekend that marked the landmark tenth anniversary of the festival.

Also on the marquee was Eazy-E, the Godfather of Gangsta rap and founder of the most notorious hip-hop group of all time, N.W.A.

Nearly two decades had passed since Eazy took his last breath, losing his battle with AIDS years after N.W.A crumbled amid accusations of shady contracts and bitter rivalries. Eazy was long expunged from the narrative of hip-hop, succumbing to the mores of irrelevance after his hard-core image morphed into a sort of zany caricature of itself. But today he would rap again.

In the months leading up to the festival, Rezin8, a San Diegobased company that specializes in immersive design, was hard at work resurrecting Eazy. A combination of green-screen motion capture, animation, multimedia, and Eazys childrens memories produced what was hyped as an accurate, authentic reflection of the rapper. Eric Lil Eazy-E Wright Jr. was used for the avatars body. Derrek E3 Wright provided the voice. And Eazys face was constructed using an imprint of his daughter, Ebie Wright.

Youre not going to be looking at 1987 Eazy-E, youre going to be looking at 1994 heyday, Eazy-Es widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, said ahead of the festival. Youre going to get probably what most people remember of that last impression of that era he was in.

We arent trying to mimic something, youre creating something, Wright continued. Were building, in the capacity, a reflection to carry on thats a piece of him. Its not going to be him, but its going to be as damn close as you can get.

On what would have been Eazys fiftieth birthday, the technology that brought Tupac Shakur, Ol Dirty Bastard, and Michael Jackson back from the dead for another musical thrill introduced Eazys digitized likeness for a virtual performance (as it was billed by the festival organizers).

A dozen incandescent bulbs cast a blue glow over the stage as plumes of dank marijuana smoke hung over the audience. Despite years of beef among the group, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, the Cleveland rap posse Eazy signed to his Ruthless Records, reunited for the occasion and had just performed a set of its biggest hits when the lights came to a slow dim. From the amphitheaters rafters, a complex rig descended slowly as multiple smoke machines sent thick clouds of fog, pale red from a strip of lights, rolling across the stage. With the push of a button, there he was again, clad in his signature slate-gray Dickies that sagged slightly and a black hat with Compton stitched in white, Old Englishfont letters.

Eazyor, more accurately, the digital composition of himstood still, soaking up the rapturous applause from the crowd.

We Want Eazy! We Want Eazy! We Want Eazy! the crowd cheered.

When his former bandmate DJ Yella, behind a pair of turntables, cued up a beat as startling as an air-raid siren, Eazy started bobbing his head to the music and finding his swagger before addressing the crowd, many of whom hoisted smartphones in the air to record the moment. There were even gasps of disbelief as one of raps earliest fallen heroes was resurrected.