Editing MC Ren (section)

===Career beginnings: 1987–1991===
In 1987, Patterson was signed as a solo artist to [[Eazy-E]]'s [[Ruthless Records]], while still attending high school. However, when [[Ice Cube]] went to study for a year, Ren was asked to write songs for the in-progress ''[[Eazy-Duz-It]]''. After writing much of the album, MC Ren was asked to join the group N.W.A. They immediately started on the album ''[[Straight Outta Compton]]''. With a budget of US$8,000, the album was finished in four weeks and released in January 1989.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gold & Platinum |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=N.W.A&ti=&lab=&genre=&format=&date_option=release&from=&to=&award=&type=&category=&adv=SEARCH#search_section |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=RIAA |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Interview: Ice Cube Talks About The Making of Eazy-E's "E... |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/rob-kenner/ice-cube-interview-easy-e |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=Complex |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/cashbox52unse_43/page/10/mode/2up?q=%22straight+outta+compton%22 |title=Cash Box |date=1989-05-27 |publisher=Cash Box Pub. Co. |others=William and Mary Libraries Special Collections Research Center}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Ice Cube -Interview |url=http://www.bombhiphop.com/newbomb/bombpages/articles/MC/Ice%20Cube.htm |access-date=2025-01-11 |website=www.bombhiphop.com}}</ref> Propelled by "[[Fuck tha Police]]", the album became a major success, despite an almost complete absence of radio airplay or major concert tours. The [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]] sent Ruthless a warning letter in response to the song's content.<ref>{{cite web |title=Compton Rappers Versus the Letter of the Law : FBI Claims Song by N.W.A. Advocates Violence on Police |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-10-05-ca-1046-story.html |website=Los Angeles Times |date=5 October 1989}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Harrington |first1=Richard |title=THE FBI AS MUSIC CRITIC |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1989/10/04/the-fbi-as-music-critic/3f9abdb7-bed1-45b2-83ca-7a6e7da59fa9/ |newspaper=Washington Post |date=4 October 1989}}</ref>

[[File:Uncle Jam's Army - Eazy-E and N.W.A. 1988 Skateland Concert Poster.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Poster for one of N.W.A's first concerts at a Compton skating rink, 1988]]
Two months before ''Straight Outta Compton'', ''Eazy-Duz-It'' was released, with lyrics largely written by Patterson, with contributions from Ice Cube and [[The D.O.C.]]<ref>McDermott, Terry (2002-04-14). [https://web.archive.org/web/20100916205810/http://articles.latimes.com/2002/apr/14/magazine/tm-37890/10 "Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics"]. ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''.</ref>

Following Ice Cube's departure from the group in 1989, N.W.A quickly released the EP ''[[100 Miles and Runnin']]''<ref>{{cite web |title=Old music: 100 Miles and Runnin' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2012/jun/19/nwa-100-miles-runnin |website=The Guardian |language=en |date=19 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Allah |first1=Sha Be |title=Today in Hip-Hop History: N.W.A.'s Second LP '100 Miles And Runnin' Turns 30! |url=https://thesource.com/2020/08/14/today-in-hip-hop-history-n-w-a-s-second-lp-100-miles-and-runnin-turns-30-2/ |website=The Source |date=14 August 2020}}</ref> with lyrics written by Patterson, with contributions by The D.O.C. The group's second full-length studio album, ''[[Niggaz4Life]],'' was released the next year.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Grow |first1=Kory |title=N.W.A Reflect on 'Efil4zaggin,' 1991's Most Dangerous Album |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/n-w-a-reflect-on-efil4zaggin-1991s-most-dangerous-album-191362/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=29 May 2016}}</ref> Selling 955,000 copies in the 1st week and was certified as Platinum,<ref>{{cite web |title=American album certifications – N.W.A. – EFIL4ZAGGIN |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=N.W.A.&ti=EFIL4ZAGGIN&format=Album&type=#search_section |publisher=[[Recording Industry Association of America]] |access-date=September 7, 2020}}</ref> it became the first rap album to enter #1 on the [[Billboard charts]].<ref>{{cite web |title=N.W.A Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums) |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/n.w.a/chart-history/blp/ |publisher=Billboard |access-date=15 January 2022}}</ref> This album would become the group's final, as [[Dr. Dre]] left the group over financial disputes with [[Jerry Heller]].

According to Patterson, it was common opinion that Heller was the one receiving their due:
{{blockquote|We felt he didn't deserve what he was getting. We deserved that shit. We were the ones making the records, traveling in vans and driving all around the place. You do all those fucking shows trying to get known, and then you come home to a fucking apartment. Then you go to his house, and this motherfucker lives in a mansion. There's gold leaf trimmings all in the bathroom and all kinds of other shit. You're thinking, "Man, fuck that."<ref name=mcren>{{cite web|last=Burgess|first=Omar|title=MC Ren: RenIncarnated|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/interviews/id.1253/title.mc-ren-renincarnated|publisher=Hiphop DX|date=October 26, 2008|access-date=April 18, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927205439/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/interviews/id.1253/title.mc-ren-renincarnated|archive-date=September 27, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> }}