MC Ren
| MC Ren | |
|---|---|
MC Ren at the Straight Outta Compton premiere
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| Born |
Lorenzo Jerald Patterson June 14, 1969 Compton, California, United States |
| Other names | The Villain, The Ruthless Villain, The Villain In Black, Mad Scientist, Rebel Villain |
| Occupation | |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse(s) | Yaasamen Alaa (m. 1993) |
| Children | 5 |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Hip hop |
| Instruments | |
| Labels |
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| Associated acts | |
| Website | MC Ren |
Lorenzo Jerald Patterson (born June 14, 1969), better known by his stage name MC Ren, is an American rapper from Compton, California. He is the founder and owner of the record label Villain Entertainment. His moniker is derived from the middle letters in his first name (Lorenzo).
Ren began his solo career signed as a solo artist to Eazy-E's Ruthless Records in early 1987, while still attending high school. By the end of 1987, after having written almost half of Eazy-E's debut album Eazy-Duz-It, he was included in the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A with Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and DJ Yella, which popularized the use of explicit lyrics in rap to detail the violence of street life. Ren was featured in Straight Outta Compton, 100 Miles and Runnin', and Niggaz4Life. After the group disbanded in 1991, he stayed with Ruthless, putting out the Platinum-RIAA selling Kizz My Black Azz, before leaving the label in 1999.
Lorenzo Patterson was born in Compton, California on June 14, 1969 and raised on East Pauline Street, around Kelly Park, the same street Eazy-E grew up on. He grew up with his parents, two brothers and a sister. His father used to work for "the government", until he later opened up his own barber shop.
Growing up in Compton, Patterson joined the Kelly Park Compton Crips along with Eazy E, but quickly left the gang-situation when he wasn't making any money: "At one moment I tried to get into the little banging thing, but the little banging thing wasn't working out. I wasn't getting paid." Leaving the gang, Patterson began selling dope after watching people getting paid: " I seen everybody around me getting paid and making ends, so I started getting into the dope game for a quick minute." Following a raid on his childhood friend MC Chip's house, Patterson abandoned the dope game and focused on making music: "Then my homie Chip, his house got raided, fucked up everything. So we had to chill out for a minute. After that I was just trying to stay deep into the music."
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Wikipedia