MC Ren
MC Ren had a much less celebrated solo career than most of his former bandmates in N.W.A, despite enjoying some commercial success. Born Lorenzo Patterson on June 14, 1969, Ren was recruited to join N.W.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 Eazy-E's solo debut, Eazy-Duz-It. Following 1991's Niggaz4Life, N.W.A disbanded acrimoniously, and Ren stuck with Ruthless Records, 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 N.W.A; he patched up his differences with Ice Cube and remained neutral in the heated feud between Dr. Dre and Eazy-E. 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 Eazy-E's death from AIDS, Ren returned in 1996 with The Villain in Black, which found him working a G-funk blueprint with help from Above the Law. 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 Public Enemy 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 N.W.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 /TiVo
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Discography
16 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Shock Of The Hour
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment on 16 Nov 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kizz My Black Azz
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment on 30 Jun 1992
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ruthless For Life
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment on 30 Jun 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Villain In Black
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment on 9 Apr 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Renincarnated
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment on 31 Oct 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Back At It
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment on 1 Jul 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Renincarnated
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment on 31 Oct 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Villain In Black
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment on 9 Apr 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rebel Music (Remix) (feat. Ice Cube) - Single
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment - I.M.G.M.I on 9 Jun 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rebel Music - Single
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment - I.M.G.M.I on 27 Mar 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Burn Radio Burn - Single
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment - I.M.G.M.I on 29 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
King Villain
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Villain Entertainment on 14 Feb 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Detrás de una Sonrisa
World - Released by Mayra Music by Singtone Llc on 23 Feb 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sueños
Miscellaneous - Released by Mayra Music by Singtone Llc on 15 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Lost in the Game (Soundtrack)
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Get@Em Recordz on 11 Apr 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo