Ice Cube Reunites With N.W.A’s DJ Yella and MC Ren Onstage
As promised, N.W.A staged a semi-reunion at Los Angeles’ BET Experience Saturday night as Ice Cube performed alongside MC Ren and DJ Yella for the first time in over 25 years.
Sandwiched between a mini-set of Ice Cube solo cuts (“Check Yo Self,” “You Can Do It” and “It Was a Good Day”), the N.W.A trio performed four of their tracks, including “8 Ball,” “Straight Outta Compton,” the 1999 reunion cut “Chin Check” and “Fuck tha Police.” The trio also paid homage to the late Eazy E by referencing “Boyz-N-The-Hood” and “Foe Tha Love of $,” Billboard reports.
The BET Experience concert at the Staples Center also featured performances by Snoop Dogg (who made a cameo during “Chin Check”), Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul and Jay Rock. Despite the presence of many of Dr. Dre’s former band mates and protégés, The Chronic rapper himself did not partake in the N.W.A reunion.
As Ice Cube told Rolling Stone recently, the Predator rapper hadn’t appeared onstage with DJ Yella since 1989 and last performed with MC Ren during their Up in Smoke Tour in 2000. “It was real cool to be onstage with him again, but that’s still been 15 years ago,” Ice Cube said. “So it’s real cool to get up there and with the excitement around Straight Outta Compton, the movie. I think people are going to just be extra excited to get a glimpse of us.”
Ice Cube also expressed doubts that Dr. Dre would show up for the reunion. “You never know. It’s like, I hope he blesses us with his presence,” Ice Cube said. “But if not, I’ve been rockin’ for a long time without anybody. So whoever shows up, I’m still gonna rock. Whoever don’t show up, we still gonna rock.”
Ice Cube reunited N.W.A to celebrate the upcoming release of the group’s big screen biopic Straight Outta Compton. That film, which features Ice Cube’s son O’Shea Jackson, Jr. portraying his father, arrives in theatres on August 14th.
Watch fan footage of the N.W.A performance below: