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"Real Muthaphuckkin' Gs," or "Real Compton City Gs" in its
radio edit In music, a radio edit, or a "clean version," is a modification, typically truncated or censored, intended to make a song more suitable for airplay. It may be censored for profanity, vulgarities, or subject matter; or adjusted for length, instr ...
, is a
diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') 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 feu ...
released as a single 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. Eazy-E is often re ...
with guest rappers Gangsta Dresta and
B.G. Knocc Out Al Hasan Naqiyy (born Arlandis Tremel Hinton; born January 23, 1975), known professionally as B.G. Knocc Out, is an American West Coast rapper. Raised in Compton and Watts, California, he became involved in gang life before entering the rap scene ...
. 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''. This
diss track A diss track, diss record or diss song (an abbreviation of ''disrespect'' or ''disparage'') 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 feu ...
answers Eazy's former
N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...
bandmate
Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...
and his debuting, guest rapper
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
, who had dissed Eazy on Dre's first solo album, ''
The Chronic ''The Chronic'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his record label Death Row Records along with Interscope Records and distributed by Priority Records. The recording ses ...
''. The music video accompanying the song has over 400 million views on
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
. Upon hearing the diss, Eazy-E initially planned to release the single "It's On" for an upcoming EP. However, after meeting fellow rapper Dresta, Eazy was inspired to craft a different response. Dresta wrote the song’s lyrics based on stories Eazy-E shared about his rivals, and the addition of his brother B.G. Knocc Out, who improvised a verse, solidified the track. Within the track, the trio challenges the authenticity of their rivals, their roots, new label operation, past musical involvements, looks, and claims of street credibility. Eazy also boasts about profiting from their success through contractual ties to Ruthless Records. "Real Muthaphuckkin Gs" stands as one of hip-hop's most iconic diss tracks, often hailed as a masterclass in ruthless battle rap. Unlike earlier disses that focused on a rival's skills, Eazy-E’s track cut deeper by exposing his opponent’s past and dismantling their public image. The single's raw approach to rivalry influenced future diss tracks in the genre.


Backstory

In 1991, Dr. Dre left N.W.A and, with
Suge Knight Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. ( ; born April 19, 1965) is an American former record executive, former National Football League, NFL player, and convicted felon, who is the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Knight was a central f ...
, 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. D ...
. It released Dre's ''
The Chronic ''The Chronic'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his record label Death Row Records along with Interscope Records and distributed by Priority Records. The recording ses ...
'', which in 1993 broke gangsta rap onto pop radio. On the album, Dre and guest rapper
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
, a star on the rise at the time, diss Eazy-E in skits, in the single " Fuck wit Dre Day" plus its music video, and, closing the album, in the hidden track " Bitches Ain't Shit."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 in New York City. It is headquartered in the Equitable Building (New York City), Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishe ...
, 2014)
p 237
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 Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted a late-night talk show, '' The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', '' Comi ...
, 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 Andre DeSean Wicker (born April 18, 1970), better known by his stage name Gangsta Dresta, is an American rapper. He is best known for collaborating with Eazy-E on the 1993 single "Real Muthaphuckkin G's". He is the older brother of rapper B.G ...
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
B.G. Knocc Out Al Hasan Naqiyy (born Arlandis Tremel Hinton; born January 23, 1975), known professionally as B.G. Knocc Out, is an American West Coast rapper. Raised in Compton and Watts, California, he became involved in gang life before entering the rap scene ...
, who, improvising it on the spot, added a verse. On their hiring B.G. Knocc Out explained "Snoop got with Dre in the early ‘90s, and he basically stepped into a beef that really didn’t have nothin’ to do with him. But because Dre picked him up he got on the song “Dre Day” and he dissed Eazy. So around the same time me and my brother, Dre’sta Da Gangsta, we met Eazy, and we stepped into a beef that didn’t have nothin’ to do with us. And we end up dissin’ Snoop and Death Row and Tha Dogg Pound. … We were just young, knucklehead kids who got into something that we didn’t really know nothin’ about. But because we was from the streets and we was used to dealing with beef anyway it really didn’t matter." And so Eazy's leading answer to Dre became "Real Muthaphuckkin' Gs."


Content

The three "Real Muthaphukkin G's" rappers, claiming gangster authenticity, mock Dre and Snoop as studio gangstas who are in fact from the
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...
s, though Dre promotes himself as sharing Eazy's famously tough hometown of
Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of 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 ci ...
.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
He says Dre "ain't worth a food stamp". 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 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 pioneered gangst ...
, which, in line with
Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...
'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 names Sista D and D Zire) 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 ...
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 independent record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California on March 3, 1987. All of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1987. Several ...
, left Eazy profiting from Dre's earnings through Death Row. 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" and suggests that death is the penalty for not following his orders.


Music video

The music video, written and directed by Eazy-E's longtime Ruthless video director Marty Thomas, was shot in Compton. It opens with aerial shots of Compton streets and scenes of lowriders, gangsters, and the metro Blue Line. There are numerous cameo appearances:
Kokane Jerry Buddy Long Jr. (born March 10, 1969), better known by his stage name Kokane, is an American rapper and singer best known for his distinctive vocal style and numerous guest appearances, such as on Snoop Dogg's ''Tha Last Meal''. Early life ...
, Rhythm D,
Cold 187um Gregory Fernard Hutchison (born August 4, 1967), known as Big Hutch and Cold 187um, is an American rapper and hip hop production, producer, and leader of the rap group Above the Law (group), Above the Law. He currently records for his self- ...
, Dirty Red, Krazy Dee, Steffon, H.W.A., DJ Slip from
Compton's Most Wanted Compton's Most Wanted (C.M.W.) is an American gangsta rap group and part of the early West Coast hip-hop scene. The leaders of the group are MC Eiht and Tha Chill. History Formation and early years C.M.W. included rappers MC Eiht, Tha Chill, ...
, 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
World Class Wreckin' Cru World Class Wreckin' Cru was an American 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 pioneered gangst ...
album cover, predating N.W.A, wearing a white, sequined jumpsuit and detectable makeup. Related cover photos appear several times during the video. Later in the video, Eazy is seen holding a pistol and alleges that Suge Knight would shoot Dre if Dre were to ever disobey him. 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' Gs" 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 a van. As the video closes, Sleazy lies, apparently dead, at his original, roadside spot. The censored 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.


Legacy

“Real Muthaphuckkin Gs" remains a defining diss track in hip-hop history, frequently topping lists of the genre’s most ruthless and influential battle songs. While early rap disses mainly focused on attacking a rival’s skills, Eazy-E recognized that unapologetic rawness was the core of his appeal, using “Real Muthaphuckkin Gs” to ruthlessly expose his rivals past and shatter their image. The single became Eazy’s highest-charting solo hit, peaking at No. 42 on the Billboard Hot 100. Its impact transcended the era, influencing the no-holds-barred style of future diss tracks and cementing Eazy-E’s legacy as a fearless force in rap’s most heated rivalries.


Charts


See also

* List of notable diss tracks


References


External links

*
Genius Genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations, sets new standards for the future, establishes better methods of operation, or remains outside the capabiliti ...

Real Muthaphuckkin' Gs - Lyrics
{{Eazy-E 1993 songs Eazy-E songs G-funk songs Diss tracks