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Lorenzo Patterson gets no respect. No respect at all. The rapper better known as MC Ren was the Ringo of N.W.A., except he doesn't even have the legions of contrarian drum nerds to champion him. With the release of the Straight Outta Compton biopic, you'd think his contributions to gangsta rap's Fab Five would be ripe for reappraisal. But the trailers haven't just relegated him to also-ran status—they've erased him completely.
It's a shame, really. Yeah, he had the least distinguished solo career of any MC in the group, but one could argue he was the best pure rapper. Certainly, he was the one member who, based on voice alone, sounded like you really, truly didn't want to cross.
But don't worry, Ren. We've got your back. Here are five reasons why you should reconsider N.W.A.'s most underappreciated force.
He developed the classic look of N.W.A.
Have you ever seen the cover of N.W.A. and the Posse, the compilation that preceded Straight Outta Compton? It's a photo of a dozen dudes—the five main members plus a bunch of guys who'd soon fall off the face of the planet—hanging out in a graffiti-stained alley, and together they rank somewhere between the Jets and the Baseball Furies on the Gang Intimidation Scale. A year later, the core quintet would bum-rush the American consciousness while wearing black ball caps, Locs and Chuck Taylors, an outfit that'd become as synonymous with the nightmares of suburban parents as Freddy Krueger's sweater and fedora. According to Ren, that was his doing. "That was my thing—the Raiders hats and all that," he told WW's own Martin Cizmar in 2010. "That was before I even got in the group."
He wrote half the words that ever came out of Eazy-E's mouth.
Sure, Cube is responsible for the most famous of them ("Cruisin' down the street in my 6-4"), but Ren is the mostly unseen force driving Eazy-Duz-It, his then-label boss' double-platinum solo debut, penning half the songs and guesting on many of them. After Cube bounced, Ren took over as N.W.A.'s chief lyricist, writing nearly all of 1991's Efil4zaggin and the stopgap EP 100 Miles and Runnin' and firing several shots at his former bandmate in the process. And yeah, Cube later eviscerated them all with "No Vaseline," but that just means, ipso facto, Ren is responsible for two classic dis tracks.
Kizz My Black Azz is one of the most successful EPs in history.
That Ren's greatest accomplishment as a solo artist is a six-song teaser for a full-length that sold a lot less might indicate that audiences only wanted him in small doses, but still: Name another platinum-selling EP, hip-hop or otherwise. With Ren helming 100 Miles and Runnin'— another of hip-hop's more memorable mini-albums—as well, you could say he's the master of the rap EP.
The Villain in Black is a lost G-funk classic.
As for his long-form material, 1993's Shock of the Hour, which managed to turn up the gangster nihilism while addressing myriad social issues, was the most well-received by critics, and the best-seller. But The Villain in Black, Ren's 1996 foray into his former running mate Dr. Dre's G-funk sound, is gaining in renown. Yeah, he doesn't say anything new, but his menacing presence—always his best quality—makes Cold 187um's beats rattle even harder.
In recent years, he's moved to Palm Springs to be closer to his parents…
…as evidenced by his most recent press photos, which are the hardest ever taken in the driveway of a tract home. Eazy's gone, Dre's a billionaire, DJ Yella's directing porn movies, and Cube's in commercials catching money shots from bottles of Coors Light. Whether it's by choice or circumstance, Ren's kept it the realest. And for that, we doff our collective Raiders hat to you, sir.
MORE: See more Straight Outta Compton coverage in on the Movies page.
WWeek 2015