N.W.A.

DJ Yella sat down with VladTV and discussed how Eazy E’s break out single “Boyz-n-the-Hood” evolved after East Coast group HBO turned down the song. The famed producer revealed that despite Ice Cube being a rapper and writing the track, Dr. Dre wanted Eazy, who was never a rapper, to perform the song. Yella explained that no one in the group ever asked why Cube didn’t do the song, which went on to be a major success. During the sit-down DJ Yella also spoke about Jerry Heller helping them get a deal with Priority Records, why he wasn’t on the “N.W.A. and the Posse” album cover, and more which you can hear about in the above clip.

NWA founding member DJ Yella recently sat down with VladTV and spoke about the drama surrounding Ice Cube leaving the group, plus the alleged assault of TV host and journalist Dee Barnes by Dr. Dre. “It just happened. You know, he left,” the Compton native said of Cube leaving NWA due to a contract dispute with group manager Jerry Heller. “It wasn’t no, talkin’ no mess, it wasn’t nothin’ like that, it was just like, he went his way.” Moving on, Yella spoke on the alleged incident between Dr. Dre and Dee Barnes, who hosted a TV show called Pump It Up! which aired an episode many felt portrayed NWA in a bad light. “I guess she let [Ice Cube] say something, but they edited right before our part,” he explained. Asked if Ice Cube took the first shot, Yella said that “it was made to look like the first shot.” The conversation then turned to the incident between Dre and Dee Barnes, where he allegedly beat her up and attempted to throw her down some stairs at a club. Check out what DJ Yella had to say about the incident above.