Tha Dogg Pound and Special Ed recently debated whether N.W.A. did more harm than good for hip-hop.
Tha Dogg Pound confronted Special Ed for his controversial take on N.W.A. doing more harm than good for the hip-hop community. Debating the topic on Instagram in a video captured by Forgotten Kingz TV, the two sides discussed the merits of the argument. Ed claimed that the legendary group brought police attention to the industry.
“My point was basically N.W.A. was used for the era we’re in now,” Special Ed began. “We’re in the era of destruction. We’re destroying ourselves as a Hip Hop community. Period. We’ve got teenagers out here killing each other, every state, every urban city over Hip Hop music, over tweets, over social media. So, that’s my point — none of this existed before the FBI got involved.” He cited the rates of violent crime among Black youth.
N.W.A. Perform In Kansas City
N.W.A.’s anti-police sentiment on tracks like “Fuck tha Police” famously brought on the wrath of the FBI’s assistant director of the office of public affairs, Milt Ahlerich, who sent them a warning letter in 1989. “Law enforcement officers dedicate their lives to the protection of our citizens, and recordings such as the one from N.W.A. are both discouraging and degrading to these brave, dedicated officers,” the letter reads in part. To the argument from Special Ed, Kurupt of Tha Dogg Pound replied: “Don’t be mad at us though, cuz. You say we ruined something — like ruined Hip Hop. We took Hip Hop to a different world. N.W.A took Hip Hop up top.”
Tha Dogg Pound & Special Ed Discuss N.W.A
Special Ed further argued: “They brought the attention of the government. There was already an agenda. As we know, the FBI dismantled and destroyed the Black Panthers. They assassinated Malcolm X. They assassinated Martin Luther King. So, what you think they’re going to do to us? We low-hanging fruit.”
