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
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
DJ Yella
Antoine Carraby (born December 11, 1961), better known by his stage name DJ Yella, is an American DJ, record producer, and film director from Compton, California.
DJ Yella began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru along wit ...
, attained greater fame as members of
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 ...
, which pioneered
gangsta rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, is a subgenre of rap music that conveys the culture, values, and experiences of urban gangs and street hustlers, frequently discussing unpleasant realities of the world in general th ...
. A song by the Cru had also featured R&B singer
Michel'le.
Early career
World Class Wreckin' Cru debuted in the nightclub Eve After Dark, owned by
Alonzo Williams, an early West Coast DJ very popular in the Los Angeles area. In the 1970s, Williams had begun producing dance songs under the name Disco Construction, named after funk group
Brass Construction. At his songs' popularity, Williams arranged nightclub performances. Initially directing its music program was Detroit-born Andre "Unknown DJ" Manuel (who would later join
Comptons Most Wanted), who was influenced by East Coast sounds, like Soulsonic Force, Orbit, and Scorpio.
As the 1980s opened, electronic funk arrived, sampling drum beats and borrowing from old-school rap. Disco Construction created a subgroup, the Wreckin' Cru, which was the Lonzos' roadies. Later, this honorific prefix ''World Class'' signified a recording group. Lonzo hired two local DJs—
Antoine "Yella" Carraby and
Andre "Dr. Dre" Young—who became the original "Mix Masters" for Los Angeles radio station
KDAY
KDAY (93.5 FM, "93.5 KDAY") is a radio station that is licensed to Redondo Beach, California and serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by Meruelo Media and airs a classic hip hop format. The station's studios are locate ...
. The Wreckin' Cru performed in various shows elsewhere in Los Angeles, including shows promoted by Lonzo as well as opening for
New Edition
New Edition is an American Contemporary R&B, R&B/Pop music, pop group from the Roxbury, Boston, Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, formed in 1978 by singer/rapper Bobby Brown. Their name is taken to mean a new edition of the Jackson ...
.
Success and break up
Alonzo Williams created the label "Kru-cut" which began releasing The Wreckin' Cru music through the mid-1980s with very minimal resources through Macola Records", a local independent record manufacturing and distributing company.
The Cru released the single "Slice", followed by "Surgery". By 1985 Kru-Cut had produced World Class’ debut album,
World Class. The success of their early releases led to a major record deal with CBS/
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
.
With Cli-N-Tel leaving after the first album to control his own direction in life, this left Shakespeare to step up to be the prominent MC as they signed with Epic Records.
With this they released a string of singles and also their second album,
Rapped In Romance.
After being signed to CBS records Lonzo was asked if he had any other acts. After seeing Dre's cousin Jinx' group perform in a rap contest, a teenage group called
C.I.A. (Cru in Action) starring O'Shea "
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...
" Jackson, Dre's cousin Tony "
Sir Jinx" Wheaton and Darrell "
K-Dee
Darrell L. Johnson, also known as K-Dee, formerly Kid Disaster (born May 24, 1969), is an American rapper most known for his album ''Ass, Gas, or Cash (No One Rides for Free)
He came into prominence in the hip hop scene with fellow West Coast ...
" Johnson, who with Dre would record a demo tape called "She's a Skag". The group was then signed to a single deal with CBS.
After being released from CBS, in April 1988, the Wreckin’ Cru featuring Michel'le, Dre's girlfriend, released their hit slow jam "Turn off the Lights" peaked at #54 on the Billboard Black Singles Charts. This was the WCWC biggest hit. WCWC which was primarily known as a dance and romance act released many locally successful songs including "Surgery," "Juice," "Cabbage Patch," and "Lovers during their tenure.
World Class's success was building an army of fans in the underground scene and each member a valued reputation. At this stage the look of Prince and Michael Jackson's Thriller outfits were cool, glitzy purple leather suits, sequin suits not unlike the glam-rock look running parallel to this scene, Dre was growing tired of the image and considered Lonzo's direction to be soft and yearned to control his own expression in music.
At this time, Dre was working on side projects for local entrepreneur Eric "
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 ...
" Wright in the Kru-Cut studio, and Ice Cube was ghostwriting for the World Class single "House Calls/Cabbage Patch" in 1987. The last time Dre was arrested and jailed for missed court appearances on multiple traffic violations was in 1986, when he owed $166, enough for an arrest warrant, and Lonzo refused to bail him out a third time. Eazy-E posted it in return for Dre's production for E's new record label, Ruthless Records. Eazy, Dre and Cube’s combined collaboration of talent then formed
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 ...
. As a solo artist, Lonzo released another LP, titled Phases in Life, in 1990. World Class member Shakespeare sought to become a pastor.
Discography
Albums
*''
World Class'' (Kru-Cut, 1985)
*''
Rapped in Romance'' (Epic/CBS, 1986)
Singles
*"Slice" (Kru-Cut, 1984)
*"Surgery" (Kru-Cut, 1985)
*"Juice" (Kru-Cut, 1985)
*"House Calls/Cabbage Patch" (Kru-Cut, 1987)
*"Turn Off the Lights" (Kru-Cut, 1987)
Compilations
*''The Best of the World Class Wreckin' Cru'' (Kru-Cut, 1987)
*''Turn Off the Lights (Before The Attitude)'' (S.O.H., 1991)
*''Dr. Dre vs. World Class Wreckin' Crew'' (Street Dance, 2005)
References
External links
Audio interview with Lonzoat
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Class Wreckin' Cru
Dr. Dre
Musical groups established in 1984
Musical groups disestablished in 1988
Hip-hop groups from California
American electro musicians
West Coast hip-hop groups
American contemporary R&B musical groups