MC Ren

MC Ren had a much less celebrated solo career than most of his former bandmates in <a href="spotify:artist:4EnEZVjo3w1cwcQYePccay">N.W.A</a>, despite enjoying some commercial success. Born Lorenzo Patterson on June 14, 1969, Ren was recruited to join <a href="spotify:artist:4EnEZVjo3w1cwcQYePccay">N.W.A</a> in 1988 while still attending high school. He was a strong presence on the group's landmark Straight Outta Compton later that year, and also wrote several tracks for <a href="spotify:artist:7B4hKK0S9QYnaoqa9OuwgX">Eazy-E</a>'s solo debut, Eazy-Duz-It. Following 1991's Niggaz4Life, <a href="spotify:artist:4EnEZVjo3w1cwcQYePccay">N.W.A</a> disbanded acrimoniously, and Ren stuck with <a href="spotify:search:label%3A%22Ruthless+Records%22">Ruthless Records</a>, kicking off his solo career with the six-song EP Kizz My Black Azz in 1992. It sold well, making the Top Ten on the R&B chart and nearly doing the same on the pop side. Ren subsequently converted to the Nation of Islam, which helped out relations with the remainder of <a href="spotify:artist:4EnEZVjo3w1cwcQYePccay">N.W.A</a>; he patched up his differences with <a href="spotify:artist:3Mcii5XWf6E0lrY3Uky4cA">Ice Cube</a> and remained neutral in the heated feud between <a href="spotify:artist:6DPYiyq5kWVQS4RGwxzPC7">Dr. Dre</a> and <a href="spotify:artist:7B4hKK0S9QYnaoqa9OuwgX">Eazy-E</a>. Meanwhile, he released his first full-length album, Shock of the Hour, in 1993 (the original title, "Life Sentence," was changed following his conversion). It hit number one on the R&B charts and sold quite well for a brief window of time. Shaken by <a href="spotify:artist:7B4hKK0S9QYnaoqa9OuwgX">Eazy-E</a>'s death from AIDS, Ren returned in 1996 with The Villain in Black, which found him working a G-funk blueprint with help from <a href="spotify:artist:1YStXHRj5phGb2LGCudZ6N">Above the Law</a>. It, too, made the R&B Top Ten, and sold respectably well without much airplay support. Ren further updated his sound on 1998's Ruthless for Life, which briefly made the R&B Top 20. During the following decade, he appeared on albums by the D.O.C. and <a href="spotify:artist:6Mo9PoU6svvhgEum7wh2Nd">Public Enemy</a> and released Renincarnated (2009).

In 2015, the critically acclaimed, Academy-Award-nominated biopic Straight Outta Compton was released in theaters. It made over $200 million worldwide at the box office and inspired a cultural resurgance for <a href="spotify:artist:4EnEZVjo3w1cwcQYePccay">N.W.A</a>. With increased mainstream recognition of their legacy in the history of rap and hip-hop, Ren's former crew received another honor with their induction into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. ~ Steve Huey, Rovi