Biography
World Class Wreckin' Cru cut a series of strong West Coast electro sides under Dr. Dre’s production guidance and reached the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988 with the polished ballad “Turn Off the Lights,” the same year N.W.A issued its gangsta-rap milestone Straight Outta Compton. Lonzo, whose full name is Alonzo Williams and who owned the Compton nightclub Eve After Dark, assembled the lineup by bringing in two well-known local DJs, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, plus Cli-N-Tel, a high-school acquaintance of Dre’s. Early releases such as “Surgery” and “Juice,” many tracked at the four-track facility housed inside the Eve After Dark building, ranked with the Egyptian Lover and L.A. Dream Team as prime specimens of the rapid merger between old-school rap and electro. Although the World Class Wreckin' Cru emerged as one of southern California’s leading rap attractions, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella began chasing outside production work, including projects for the newly established Ruthless label founded by Eazy-E. Together with Ice Cube they penned the single “Boyz-n-the Hood,” first pitched to the Ruthless act HBO, yet the track ultimately spurred the whole circle to coalesce as N.W.A. Once N.W.A’s underground singles “Dopeman” and “8 Ball” turned into major regional successes, World Class Wreckin' Cru slipped down the list of priorities for both Dr. Dre and Yella. Even after “Turn Off the Lights” climbed into the R&B Top 40 in 1988 they remained focused on N.W.A, while Dre additionally handled tracks for fellow Wreckin' Cru member Michel’le. The 1990 album Phases in Life functioned essentially as a Lonzo solo project.
Albums
