In the early ’80s, Dr. Dre was in a group called World Class Wreckin Cru before he was in N.W.A.. World Class Wreckin’ Cru was an electro group from Compton consisting of members (from left to right) Dr Dre, DJ Yella, Cli-N-Tel and Lonzo. World Class Wreckin’ Cru premiered in a Compton club called Eve After Dark which was owned by Lonzo (DJ Alonzo Williams).
As hip-hop grew during the ’80s, Dr. Dre rebranded himself after he went to jail. In exchange for bail money, Dr. Dre agreed to work on beats for his friend Ruthless Eric “Eazy-E” Wright’s fledgling label. This led to Eazy E, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella joining forces with Ice Cube and MC Ren to form the classic N.W.A. lineup. N.W.A. albums “Straight Outta Compton” (1988) and “Niggaz4Life” (1991) were both released on Ruthless Records.
In HBO’s 2017 documentary series, “The Defiant Ones,” Dr. Dre referred to World Class Wreckin’ Cru’s 1984 record “Surgery” as “corny.”
The group released two albums; World Class (1985) and Rapped In Romance (1986).
Purchase our 100 Hip-Hop Facts (1973-2000) Book
Read: Jay-Z wrote “Still D.R.E.” For Dr. Dre, the lead single off Dr. Dre’s “2001” album
Read: Dr. Dre was the first hip-hop producer to win a Grammy for Producer of The Year
