"Real Muthaphuckkin G's," or "Real Compton City G's" in its

radio edit In music, a radio edit or radio mix is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay, whether it be adjusted for length, profanity, subject matter, instrumentation, or form. Radio edits may als ...

, is a song released in August 1993 by American rapper

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred t ...

with guest rappers Gangsta Dresta and BG Knocc Out. Peaking at #42 on ''Billboard'''s Hot 100, and the most successful of Eazy's singles as a solo artist, it led an EP, also his most successful, ''

It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa ''It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa'' is the second EP released by rapper Eazy-E and the last be to released during his lifetime. It was released on October 19, 1993 by Relativity Records, Epic Records and Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, as a response t ...

''. This

diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (diss – abbr. from ''disrespect'') is a song whose primary purpose is to verbally attack someone else, usually another artist. Diss tracks are often the result of an existing, escalating feud between the ...

answers Eazy's former

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip hop group whose members were among the earliest and most significant popularizers and controversial figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, and the group is widely considered ...

bandmate

Dr. Dre Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and ...

and his debuting, guest rapper

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

, who had dissed Eazy on Dre's first solo album, '' The Chronic''. The single was nominated for a Grammy in 1994 and according to some sources sold 5 million copies in the U.S.Sacha Jenkins, Elliott Wilson, Gabe Alvarez, Jeff Mao & Brent Rollins, eds., '' Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists'' (New York:

St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...

, 2014)
p 237
Dresta wrote his own verses and ghostwrote

's verses.

B.G. Knocc Out Al Hasan Naqiyy (formerly Arlandis Hinton; born January 23, 1975), known professionally as B.G. Knocc Out is an American West Coast rapper and songwriter. He is best known for his collaboration on Eazy-E's 1993 single "''Real Muthaphuckkin G's'' ...

wrote his own verse.

Backstory

In 1991, Dr. Dre left N.W.A and, with

Suge Knight Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. (; born April 19, 1965) is a American former music executive, convicted felon, and the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight is considered a central figure in gangsta rap's commercial success in ...

, launched

Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C., Dr. Dre, Suge Knight, and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre ('' ...

. It released Dre's '' The Chronic'', which in 1993 broke gangsta rap onto pop radio. On the album, Dre and guest rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, a star on the rise at the time, diss Eazy-E in skits, in the single "

Fuck wit Dre Day "Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')", or as a single titled "Dre Day", is a song by American rapper and record producer Dr. Dre featuring fellow American rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg, released in May 1993 as the second single from Dre's ...

" plus its music video, and, closing the album, in the hidden track "

Bitches Ain't Shit "Bitches Ain't Shit" is the final song of Dr. Dre's debut solo rap album, ''The Chronic'',Thomas Golianopoulous"Dr. Dre, 'The Chronic' at 20: Classic track-by-track review" ''Billboard.com'', Prometheus Global Media, LLC, 15 Dec 2012. which was ...

."Thomas Golianopoulous
"Dr. Dre, 'The Chronic' at 20: Classic track-by-track review"
''Billboard.com'', 15 Dec 2012. To seize the moment, Eazy planned an EP, shorter than an album. Its lead single originally slated was "It's On."On the single's production, see Vlad Lyubovny, interviewer
"BG Knocc Out: Story behind Eazy-E's Dre diss 'Compton City G's' "
''VladTV''–''DJVlad'' @ YouTube, 22 Sep 2015, or for deeper backstory
"Dresta & BG Knocc Out (full interview)"
13 Dec 2018. For a glimpse of the times, see Arsenio Hall, interviewer, with Eazy-E, guest, and live stage performance featuring Dresta and Knocc Out, ''

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989, ...

'', Season 6
Episode 64
10 Dec 1993. But an Eazy associate got word of two halfbrothers, both Nutty Blocc Compton Crips, who rapped. Recently released from several years of youth incarceration, Dresta had forged his rap skill through activities inside, whereby his reputation preceded him onto the streets. Visiting the brothers' house, Eazy's associate found Dresta and took him to the studio, where Eazy told him tales of Dre. Dresta, thereby forming the song concept, wrote all the lyrics for an Eazy and Dresta duet. Yet the next day, Dresta brought to the studio his brother Knocc Out, who, improvising it on the spot, added a verse. And so Eazy's leading

answer Answer commonly refers to response to a question. Answer may also refer to: * Answer (law), any reply to a question, counter-statement or defense in a legal procedure Music * Answer, an element of a fugue Albums * ''Answer'' (Angela Aki albu ...

to Dre became "Real Muthaphuckkin G's."

Content

The three "Real Muthaphukkin G's" rappers, claiming gangster authenticity, mock Dre and Snoop as "studio gangstas."Elijah Lossner, "Studio gangsta", in Mickey Hess, ed., ''Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture'', Volume 1 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007)
p 325
Also disputing Dre's masculinity, Eazy alludes to Dre's androgynous styling, by attire and makeup, in the 1980s DJ crew

World Class Wreckin' Cru World Class Wreckin' Cru was an American electro music, electro group, during the 1980s in the Los Angeles area, that contributed to rap's development. Two of its members, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, attained greater fame as members of N.W.A, which pion ...

, which, in line with

Los Angeles county Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, with 9,861,224 residents estimated as of 2022. It is the ...

's hip hop scene until N.W.A, was also an electro rap group, occasionally donning glitzy styling. In the process, Eazy briefly disses Snoop as an "anorexic rapper" who weighs "60 pounds" when "wet and wearing boots." Back to Dre, Eazy disparages the sentiment that beating a woman makes one a man, as Dre's assault of TV personality

Dee Barnes Denise "Dee" Barnes (stage name Sista D) is an American rapper and former Fox television personality who performed in the West Coast hip hop female duo Body & Soul and hosted a radio show on KDAY, prior to gaining wider fame as the host of Fox' ...

was highly publicized. Further, Eazy refers to the single "Fuck wit Dre Day" as "Eazy's pay day." Dre's contract with Eazy's label,

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California in 1986, where all of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1997. Several artists on the la ...

, left Eazy profiting from Dre's earnings through Death Row.Death Row's distributor,

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

, paid Ruthless a "huge" cash payout and publishing royalties on Dre's Death Row earnings: 10% on production and 15% on solo performance errick D. Kennedy, ''Parental Discretion Is Advised'' (New York: Atria Books, 2017)
p 156
. By some estimates, Eazy netted up to some $1.5 million before his 1995 death: 25 to 50 cents per copy on some three million sold [Al Shipley
"Dr. Dre's ''The Chronic'': 10 things you didn't know"
''Rolling Stone'', 15 Dec 2017]. Finally, claiming rumors that Death Row is Dre's "boot camp," Eazy calls its CEO, Suge Knight, widely known for strongarm tactics in the music business, Dr. Dre's "sergeant."

Music video

The music video, written and directed by Eazy-E's longtime Ruthless video director Marty Thomas, was shot in

Compton, California Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporat ...

. It opens with aerial shots of Compton streets and scenes of lowriders, gangsters, and the metro Blue Line. There are numerous cameo appearances: Kokane, Rhythm D, Cold 187um, Dirty Red, Krazy Dee, Steffon, H.W.A.,

DJ Slip Terry K. Allen, (born November 29, 1968) professionally known as DJ Slip, is an American record producer from Inglewood, California. He is a founding member of gangsta rap groups Compton's Most Wanted and N.O.T.R. Discography Solo *2007: ''The ...

from Compton's Most Wanted, Young Hoggs, Blood of Abraham, K9 Compton, and Tony-A. Once Eazy-E, on camera, raps, "All of a sudden, Dr. Dre is the G thang / But on his old album covers, he was a she-thang," shown is a photo of Dre on a

album cover, predating N.W.A, wearing a white, sequined jumpsuit and detectable makeup. Related cover photos appear several times during the video. On the other hand, nearly closing the video, in Eazy's hand, artificially blurred out, is perhaps a pistol while he alleges that if disobedient, Dre would get popped by Suge Knight's Smith & Wesson. Previously, in Dr. Dre's music video for "Fuck wit Dre Day," actor and comedian Anthony "A. J." Johnson parodies Eazy-E as "Sleazy-E." In the "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" video, A. J. reprises the Sleazy-E role. As Eazy-E's music video opens, still jittering, Sleazy stands roadside, holding up the sign ''WILL RAP FOR FOOD''. But Eazy's posse, including Dresta and Knocc Out, chase him through town, and finally pull him into van. As the video closes, Sleazy lies, apparently dead, at his original, roadside spot. The clean version's video closes instead with Sleazy, running again, falling flat at a ''Leaving Compton'' sign. Although paid in advance, Johnson failed to appear for his second of two days shooting. Vlad Lyubovny, interviewer
"AJ Johnson: Suge pulled a gun on me for playing 'Sleazy-E' in Eazy-E's video (part 3)"
''VladTV''–''DJVlad'' @ YouTube, 1 Oct 2018. Eventually, he publicly confirmed the speculation that he had been threatened by Death Row or by its associates. Johnson explained that Suge Knight had summoned him to his office and threatened him with a gun, eliciting A. J.'s agreement to abandon the video shoot. Johnson informed Eazy of the threat, and recommended fellow comedian Arnez J to replace him in the video.

Charts

References

External links