Born Lorenzo Jerald Patterson in Compton, California on June 16, 1969, the rapper known as MC Ren made his debut in 1988 with the group N.W.A., while still in high school. Present until the group split up in 1991, and then at various reunions in 1999, 2015 and 2016, the MC began his own career in 1992, partnering Ruthless Records for the Kizz My Black Ass EP, from which the hit "Final Frontier" was taken . A key figure in West Coast gangsta rap, he collaborated with Eazy-E and released his first solo album, Shock of the Hour, at the top of the rap charts in 1993. The gold-selling opus included the hit "Same Ol' Shit" (#90 on the Billboard Hot 100). Subsequent albums The Villain Is Black (1996) and Ruthless for Life (1998) maintained the rapper's popularity, featuring Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg among others. After founding his own Villain Records label in 2004, MC Ren worked on his fourth album, Reincarnated, which was confidentially released in 2009. Seen in the movies in Menace II Society (1993), the rapper has diversified his activities. His latest EP, Osiris, was released in 2022.
