Representative Albums: "Turn off the Lights: Greatest Hits Plus," "Gold," "Greatest Hits Plus"
Representative Songs: "Turn off the Lights," "Surgery," "Juice"
Biography
The World Class Wreckin' Cru recorded some solid West Coast electro with Dr. Dre in the production chair, hitting the pop charts with a smooth love jam named "Turn Off the Lights" during 1988, the same year Dre's N.W.A. delivered the gangsta landmark Straight Outta Compton. The group was formed by Lonzo (Alonzo Williams), owner of the Compton club Eve After Dark, who recruited a pair of popular local DJs, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, along with Dre's high-school friend Cli-N-Tel. Early singles like "Surgery" and "Juice" -- many of them recorded at a four-track studio that was part of the Eve After Dark complex -- stood alongside work by the Egyptian Lover and L.A. Dream Team as stellar examples of the fast-moving fusion of old school rap and electro. But even as the World Class Wreckin' Cru became one of southern California's most popular rap acts, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella were pursuing other production opportunities, one of which came from a new label (Ruthless) formed by Eazy-E. Along with Ice Cube, they wrote a single named "Boyz-n-the Hood" that was initially offered to the Ruthless act HBO, but later prompted the entire crew to form as N.W.A. After street-level singles like "Dopeman" and "8 Ball" became huge local hits, the World Class Wreckin' Cru became less of a priority for both Dr. Dre and Yella. Even after the loverman ballad "Turn Off the Lights" entered the R&B Top 40 in 1988, they continued with N.W.A.Phases in Life, a World Class Wreckin' Cru LP released in 1990, was basically a solo release by Lonzo. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide
The World Class Wreckin' Cru was a 1980s Electro-hop group from Compton, California formed by the Eve After Dark nightclub owner and established DJ Alonzo Williams. Other members of the fluctuating lineup included DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, Shakespeare, and Cli-N-Tel. Dr. Dre and DJ Yella would go on to achieve fame as members of N.W.A.. Fila Fresh Crew's Dr. Rock was also an early member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru.
The group were originally known as The Wreckin' Cru and used that name when the groups first song was produced called "Slice" performed by DJ Yella and Cli-N-Tel. Although when the World Olympics were coming to Los Angeles during 1984, Lonzo decided to change the groups name to the World Class Wreckin' Cru.
They were managed by Jerry Heller, who also managed Egyptian Lover and LA Dream Team. Heller would later become part of the gangsta rap scene on the west coast, forming Ruthless Records with Eazy-E, and helping launch the careers of several rap artists. Jerry Heller and Eazy-E were introduced through Lonzo Williams in the Eve After Dark nightclub.
World Class Wreckin' Cru singles such as "Surgery" and "Juice" were marked by a blend of old school rap and a rip of the new electro sound, best exemplified by Kraftwerk's single, "Tour de France".
The group released two albums; World Class (1985) and Rapped In Romance (1986). The group were part of the Kru-Cut record label established by Lonzo Williams.
In 1987, the group hit the national charts with "Turn Off the Lights", featuring vocals by Michel'le. However, by this time Dr. Dre and DJ Yella had left to join Eazy-E and Ice Cube in N.W.A. Alonzo Williams went on to briefly front a new group with a similar name, World Class Wreckin' Kru.
The album World Class contains pictures of Dr. Dre wearing flashy clothing and cosmetics, for which Eazy-E dissed him in the song "Real Muthaphuckkin G's", showing pictures of him from this album.
