Summary
"Natural Born Killaz" is a collaborative single released by Dr. Dre and Ice Cube for the soundtrack of the film Murder Was the Case. It was originally intended for the scrapped album Heltah Skeltah. It would later be used by professional wrestling tag team The Gangstas during their Extreme Championship Wrestling stint before being used by New Jack for the following years. The music video also has a brief appearance from Death Row labelmate 2Pac towards the end of the video.
| "Natural Born Killaz" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Dr. Dre and Ice Cube | ||||
| from the album Murder Was the Case | ||||
| B-side | "What Would You Do?" | |||
| Released | December 18, 1994[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1994 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:52 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Dr. Dre, Sam Sneed | |||
| Dr. Dre singles chronology | ||||
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| Ice Cube singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Natural Born Killaz" on YouTube | ||||
The song was originally supposed to be a Sam Sneed and J-Flexx track called "The Heist".[3]
Background edit
It is the first time the duo had worked together since the split of N.W.A. The single was released in 1994 in the United States, but was not released until March 30, 1995, in the United Kingdom. The production credits features Soopafly on the keyboards and Nanci Fletcher, Danette Williams and Barbara Wilson on vocals.
The song references such subjects as mass murder, Sarah Connor from the Terminator films, Al Cowlings' tight bond with O. J. Simpson, schizophrenia, Charles Manson, the attack on Reginald Denny during the Rodney King riots, strychnine poisoning, Michael P. Fay's caning in Singapore, Jeffrey Dahmer, Kurt Cobain's suicide and psilocybin mushrooms.
Album and music video edit
The music video was released for the week ending on November 27, 1994. The album song portrays a couple (performed by Priest ‘Soopafly’ Brooks and Nanci Fletcher) walking down the street until, from a distance, they are yelled at and verbally insulted by a local thug. Though the intro is different in the video and audio versions, both of them involve murder and end with the sound of a gunshot and a woman screaming. The final shot of the video features a cameo from rapper and actor Tupac Shakur, prior to his association with Death Row Records, as a SWAT sniper who takes out Ice Cube's character. Also appearing in the video as police detectives are John Amos and Art Evans. An alternate video exists which depicts a riot reminiscent of the 1992 Los Angeles riots and Dr. Dre and Ice Cube performing on top of an overturned bus. This previously unreleased version was included in the 2000 documentary Death Row Uncut.
Although the song and video were highly popular, and debuted a short time after release of the Oliver Stone film Natural Born Killers, the song did not appear in the film or on its soundtrack.
It did, however, appear in the 2011 film Bridesmaids starring Kristen Wiig.
Cover versions edit
In 1996, the song was covered by Christ Analogue for the electro-industrial various artists compilation Operation Beatbox.[4]
In 2014, the song was covered by the American metal band Conducting from the Grave and released as a free single. This was the final release from the band before their break-up.[5]
Track listing edit
- CD single[6]
- "Natural Born Killaz" (Radio Edit) – 4:16
- "Natural Born Killaz" (Video Edit) – 6:33
- "Natural Born Killaz" (LP Version) – 4:52
- "What Would You Do" (featuring Tha Dogg Pound) (LP Version) – 5:09
- 12" vinyl[7]
- "Natural Born Killaz" (Radio Edit) – 4:16
- "Natural Born Killaz" (LP Version) – 4:52
- "U Better Recognize" (featuring Sam Sneed) (LP Version) – 3:55
References edit
- ^ Chuck Philips (1994-11-03). "Snoop Doggy Dogg's Still Tops With Album Buyers : Pop music: His 'Murder Was the Case,' the soundtrack to a short film that premieres tonight, remains atop the charts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ "The Best Dr. Dre Songs". Complex. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
- ^ "Sam Sneed". The Recording Academy. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
- ^ Christian, Chris (August 1996). "Various Artists: Operation Beatbox". Sonic Boom. 4 (7). Retrieved November 17, 2016.
- ^ "Natural Born Killaz (Ice cube/Dr Dre cover), by Conducting From the Grave". Conducting From the Grave. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ "Dr. Dre & Ice Cube - Natural Born Killaz". Discogs. 1995. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ "Dr. Dre & Ice Cube / Sam Sneed – Natural Born Killaz / U Better Recognize". Discogs. 1994. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
External links edit
- Murder Was The Case at IMDb
- Video on YouTube
- Chartwatch UK
- Tupac Videography at the Wayback Machine (archived December 3, 2002)
- Natural Born Killaz (Death Row Uncut DVD version) on YouTube
