Aaron Bernard Tyler (born May 22, 1971), better known by his stage name MC Eiht (pronounced "MC Eight"), is an American rapper. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in
KRS-One
Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from the Bronx. He rose to prominence as part of the ...
's name. He chose Eiht for its links to "hood culture", including
Olde English 800 (8 Ball) and .38 caliber firearms. He is the ''
de facto'' leader of
West Coast hip-hop
West Coast hip-hop is a regional genre of Hip-hop, hip-hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip-hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during th ...
group
Compton's Most Wanted, which also included fellow Compton-based
rappers Boom Bam,
The Unknown DJ,
Tha Chill,
DJ Mike T,
DJ Slip and Ant Capone. He is also known for his role as A-Wax in the 1993 film ''
Menace II Society'', as well as voicing the character Ryder in the 2004 video game ''
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''.
Biography
Tyler was born in
Compton, California
Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...
, and grew to fame on the
West Coast as one of two MCs in the four-man crew
Compton's Most Wanted. After enjoying increasing success with the group, which peaked with 1992's ''
Music to Driveby'', Eiht took a role in the hit movie ''
Menace II Society'' as well as a high-profile spot on the soundtrack. The song "
Streiht Up Menace", which chronicles the unfortunate downturn of the film's protagonist within the pathological conditions of American inner city life, is considered by many critics to be Eiht's ''magnum opus''. The movie spurred him into a solo career, although his next two albums ''
We Come Strapped'' and ''
Death Threatz'' would be accredited as MC Eiht featuring Compton's Most Wanted. These albums were considered his best and took place during the most tense years of the 'beef' between Eiht and
DJ Quik, Eiht's childhood friends Boom Bam and Tha Chill of
N.O.T.R were heavily involved with both albums and the
Quik beef, there are several explicit remarks towards Quik made on these albums by E, Bam and Chill. E was also associated with the West 159th Street Tragniew Park Compton Crips.
He states that he didn't wish to star in comedy films in order to maintain his public image. He later only appeared in the low-budget movies ''Reasons'', ''Thicker than Water'' and ''
Who Made the Potatoe Salad?'' as well as providing the voice for Lance 'Ryder' Wilson in the video game ''
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas''. His music has also been included in the
Grand Theft Auto
''Grand Theft Auto'' (''GTA'') is an action-adventure video game series created by David Jones and Mike Dailly. Later titles were developed under the oversight of brothers Dan and Sam Houser, Leslie Benzies and Aaron Garbut. It is prima ...
series, both alone and with Compton's Most Wanted.
He put out ''
Last Man Standing'', the first album accredited only to MC Eiht, then broke from the label for Big Beat/
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...
. Eiht never ended up putting out an album on the label, instead eventually signing with and releasing the album ''
Section 8'' on
Priority/EMI in 1999.
Eiht would hop between record labels and one-off releases in the next years, moving between independent labels Half-Ounce, D3 Entertainment and Lookin' Up Entertainment from 2001 to 2003. He would put out records with
Spice 1 and
Brotha Lynch Hung in 2004 and 2006 on
Real Talk Ent., releasing another solo album between them on West Inc./Native Records. His inability to settle at a label contributed to his joining
the Warzone, a trio put together by
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
and consisting of
Goldie Loc,
Kam, and MC Eiht himself. In 2006, Eiht and the group appeared on the single "
Candy (Drippin' Like Water)" on
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
's album ''
Tha Blue Carpet Treatment''. In 2010, Eiht appears on the remix to
Dam Funk's "Hood Pass Intact". MC Eiht also appeared with
Young Maylay in Blaq Poet's new street single, ''Ain't Nuttin' Changed (Remix)''.
In June 2011, MC Eiht released his single "Fine By Me" accompanied by a music video directed by Director Hugo V. under his new label Year Round/Blue Stamp Records. Year Round Records is owned by New York-based hip hop artist
DJ Premier.
In October 2012, MC Eiht was featured on the song "
m.A.A.d city" by
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first music ...
, from his major label debut ''
Good Kid, m.A.A.d City''. Eiht released the ''Keep It Hood'' EP, through BLUESTAMP Music Group on January 4, 2013. The album features cuts from
DJ Premier and production from Brenk Sinatra. In 2013, he plans to release a collaboration album with
DJ Premier.
In the summer of 2014, MC Eiht released a single with the Outlawz, Tupac Shakur's old group, titled "Shut ’Em Down", which made references to old Outlawz members Tupac and Kadafi. The song is a part of Eiht's upcoming "Which Way Iz West LP" and is MC Eiht's first LP in eight years.
Feud with DJ Quik
MC Eiht and his group CMW got involved in a long tumultuous rivalry with fellow Compton DJ/rapper
DJ Quik that lasted for several years.
The feud traces back to a track on DJ Quik's debut mixtape ''The Red Tape'', where Quik indirectly dissed both Compton's Most Wanted and
N.W.A. During that time, Quik was a member of the Tree Top
Piru Bloods and Eiht was a member of the 159th St. Tragniew Park Compton
Crips
The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips ...
. On the track "Duck Sick" from CMW's debut album ''
It's a Compton Thang'', they criticized and questioned Quik's street credibility.
They hit Quik again in 1991 on their second effort ''
Straight Checkn 'Em''. Quik didn't respond to CMW's disses on his debut album ''
Quik is the Name'', but he responded to Eiht on the title track to his sophomore effort ''
Way 2 Fonky'' & "Tha Last Word". CMW responded months later with a music video for "Def Wish II" which featured a DJ Quik lookalike having a surreal nightmare of CMW chasing & ambushing him leading to him getting killed & with "Def Wish III" leading to the peak of their rivalry. Quik then responded to it with "Street Level Entrance" & "Let You Have It", mentioning the "Def Wish II" music video, while facing label problems and other music projects.
However, on the soundtrack to the 1994 short film ''
Murder Was The Case'', on the track "Dollaz + Sense", Quik ruthlessly verbally attacks Eiht, calling him a movie script killer (in reference to Eiht's appearance in the critically acclaimed 1993 film ''
Menace II Society''), a coward, and more. Quik fanned the flames even more by performing the song at the 1995
Source Awards in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. The feud stayed quiet until April 1996, where Eiht responded to Quik on his second solo album ''
Death Threatz'' which featured the track Def Wish IV (Tap That Azz) exposing the backstory of how both artists met in person, & "Killin' Nigguz" which were the last diss tracks of their feud. The feud between Quik and Eiht slowly died down in 1997
following the deaths of
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...
and
The Notorious B.I.G., but the feud didn't actually end until the summer of 1998, where
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
,
Daz Dillinger
Delmar Drew Arnaud (born May 25, 1973), known professionally as Daz Dillinger or simply Daz (formerly Dat Nigga Daz), is an American rapper and record producer. As a member of Death Row Records in the early 1990s, he is credited with the label ...
, and other West Coast rappers helped Eiht and Quik squash the beef. MC Eiht and DJ Quik appeared in an interview on July 21, 1999 on
BET Tonight. Since then, Quik and Eiht collaborated on various songs.
Even though the rivalry was not on the level of the
Nas
Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones.
Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to:
Aviation
* Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea
* National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia
** Nas Air (S ...
-
Jay Z rivalry or the
East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry since it was not covered by the media, it has been hailed by most hip hop fans and critics that it stands out as one of the longest active hip hop rivalries of all time (from 1992 to 1998).
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
We Come Strapped'' (1994)
* ''
Death Threatz'' (1996)
* ''
Last Man Standing'' (1997)
* ''
Section 8'' (1999)
* ''
N' My Neighborhood'' (2000)
* ''
Tha8t'z Gangsta'' (2001)
* ''
Underground Hero'' (2002)
* ''
Hood Arrest
Hood Arrest is the eighth studio album by American rapper MC Eiht, released June 2, 2003 on Lookin Up Entertainment. It features a bonus DVD.
Track listing
#"Intro -- 0:29"
#"Bring Back the Funk -- 4:12"
#"Dead Money -- 4:29"
#"I'm a G -- 4:35"
# ...
'' (2003)
* ''
Smoke in tha City'' (2004)
* ''
Veterans Day'' (2004)
* ''
Affiliated'' (2006)
* ''Compton's O.G.'' (2006)
* ''
Which Way Iz West'' (2017)
* ''Official'' (2020)
* ''Lessons'' (2020)
* ''Revolution in Progress'' (2022)
* ''Lessons 2'' (2023)
Collaborative albums
*''
The Pioneers'' (with
Spice 1) (2004)
*''
The New Season'' (with
Brotha Lynch Hung) (2006)
*''Keep It Gangsta'' (with Spice 1) (2006)
Filmography
Film
Television
Video games
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eiht, MC
1971 births
Living people
21st-century American rappers
21st-century American male musicians
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male voice actors
American male video game actors
African-American male rappers
21st-century American male rappers
20th-century American male rappers
Crips
Epic Records artists
Gangsta rappers
Rappers from Compton, California
Place of birth missing (living people)
Priority Records artists
Rappers from Los Angeles
West Coast hip-hop musicians
21st-century African-American musicians
20th-century African-American musicians