“F**k The Police” is one of the most fiery, righteous rap songs of all time. Where Public Enemy eventually became a broader protest song, N.W.A’s scathing rage made the song raw and specific. However, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy E, and co. actually didn’t intend to make this great anthem that would fuel protests in the future. Instead, “F**k The Police” actually stemmed from the aftermath of a prank.
In a 1999 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Dre reflected on his days with N.W.A. and how they sparked a real revolutionary fire. But he was insistent that he was just sharing his reality with the world. “People today talk about how revolutionary N.W.A was and how we had all these big ideas about how to change rap,” Dr. Dre said. “But we were just making it for the neighborhood. . . . We were making stuff we knew our friends would like.”
For “F**k The Police” specifically, that came as a result of some ridiculous shenanigans with the group. “[N.W.A member] Eazy-E and I were driving through Torrance, and Eazy was leaning out the window shooting people at bus stops with these paint guns that you can buy,” Dre says.
Dr. Dre Recalls How a Ridiculous Prank Ended in Recording ‘F**k The Police’
“We were laughing our asses off watching the people on the benches freak out because the paint balls were red. Well, not too much later we found ourselves down on the freeway with guns to our heads and the police were being like real a**holes. We left that experience and went into the studio and made that song–the same day,” Dr. Dre continued.
Because of the initial inspiration behind N.W.A’s classic song, they didn’t flinch when the FBI was notably upset over it. The way they saw it, there was no such thing as bad publicity. From there, they wondered how they could enrage the authorities even more. “We felt it was going to help sales,” Dr. Dre told the publication. “After that happened, we went, ‘Yo, what else can we say to piss people off?’”
Their antagonism from “F**k The Police” eventually made Milt Ahlerich of the FBI write a sternly worded letter to Jerry Heller and Priority Records. He claimed that 78 cops died from the ripple effect of the N.W.A. song. But in the end, Dr. Dre and the rest of the group ended up becoming huge stars from it.
The post Dr. Dre Shares How the Classic N.W.A Song ‘F**k The Police’ Was Initially Made Because of a Prank appeared first on VICE.
