A previously-unknown member of iconic hip-hop group N.W.A. has come forward, following the group’s resurfacing in the public eye.
The announcement comes just after N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton spent its first three consecutive weekends in first place at the domestic box office, causing a resurgence for the musical group. However, one man feels his role in the group has been left out. If you’re thinking of Arabian Prince, sorry, but no one cares about him; rather, the neglected member is Steve Johnson, a previously-unknown, Caucasian member of N.W.A..
“I was a white member in an ostensibly and overtly black group of musicians,” Johnson reminisced in an interview with The Peak. Now in his late 40s, the former rapper has mixed comments regarding his experience in the group: “I was the only white guy who rapped in L.A. back then, so it wasn’t like I had a lot of competition in being the token white guy in a group.”
Johnson went on to describe how N.W.A. member Eazy-E was interested in adding another layer of controversy to an already infamous group, and hired Johnson on the spot after hearing him freestyle. Johnson recalls the whole experience as being very strange: “From what I remember, it wasn’t really a successful night. Vanilla Ice was in the audience, and even he was booing me.”
Johnson took Eazy-E’s offer, but that was before he knew what controversial name Eazy had planned. “I was originally rapping under the name Slick Steve, but Eazy wanted to change my name to Krazy Killa Kracka or KKK,”said Johnson, with a note of coldness. Eazy thought it would be a good play on the name and a way to both attract white supremacists and shock black audiences. But the other N.W.A. members disapproved of the name and of Johnson’s presence. “The name wasn’t my idea. I guess Eazy didn’t tell them and the fact I was a white MC didn’t fit with the N part of N.W.A..”
After the group disbanded, Eazy-E promised to help get Johnson’s career off the ground, but the rapper died in ‘95 before anything was recorded. Afterwards, Johnson reverted back to his Slick Steve identity and attempted to release a series of dirty rap albums that received negative reviews. He had a few sleeper hit songs, including “Da Vanilla Thrilla,” “Slick Like My Dick,” and “Bitch Gave Me Herpes.”
Now, Johnson says he wants his story told and suggested a director’s cut of Straight Outta Compton should be made available for the home release, with a scene referencing his time in the group: “I don’t have an ideal actor in mind, but I’d take anything from Eminem to Shia LaBeouf,” said Johnson. “Man, I live out of my car right now [. . .] Couldn’t Ice Cube or at least Yella come down and bring me some McDonalds?”
Johnson still hasn’t heard back from Universal Studios on receiving a mention in the film, but he wants the rest of the group to know he’s currently in the South Central Walmart parking lot and he’s waiting on that Big Mac, preferably in a combo with fries and a drink.
