Natural Born Killaz

"Natural Born Killaz"
Single by Dr. Dre and Ice Cube
from the album Murder Was the Case
Released	1994[1]
Format	12" single, CD single
Recorded	1994
Genre	Horrorcore, gangsta rap, g-funk
Length	4:52
Label	Death Row/Interscope
Writer(s)	James Anderson O'Shea Jackson Andre Young
Producer(s)	Dr. Dre Sam Sneed Suge Knight (exec.)
Dr. Dre chronology "U Better Recognize" (1994) "Natural Born Killaz" (1994) "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" (1995) Ice Cube chronology "Bop Gun (One Nation)" (1994) "Natural Born Killaz" (1994) "What Can I Do? (Ice Cube song)" (1994)

"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 Gangsta's during their ECW stint before being just used by New Jack for the following years.

Background

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 Jewell on vocals. The song was used by Extreme Championship Wrestling tag team, The Gangstas–and, after they split, the solo New Jack–used the song for entrance music. Uniquely, the song nearly always played, on repeat, for the duration of their matches.

The song covers 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, flagellation in Singapore, Jeffrey Dahmer, Kurt Cobain's suicide and psilocybin mushrooms.

Album and music video

The album song portrays a couple walking down the street in a bad neighborhood, 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. The final shot of the video features a cameo from rapper and actor Tupac Shakur, prior to his association with Death Row Records, who poses as a SWAT sniper who takes out Ice Cube's character. 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

In 1996, the song was covered by Christ Analogue for the electro-industrial various artists compilation Operation Beatbox.^[2]

Track listing

• CD single^[3]

1. "Natural Born Killaz" (Radio Edit) - 4:16
2. "Natural Born Killaz" (Video Edit) - 6:33
3. "Natural Born Killaz" (LP Version) - 4:52
4. "What Would You Do" (featuring Tha Dogg Pound) (LP Version) - 5:09

• 12" vinyl^[4]

1. "Natural Born Killaz" (Radio Edit) - 4:16
2. "Natural Born Killaz" (LP Version) - 4:52
3. "U Better Recognize" (featuring Sam Sneed) (LP Version) - 3:55

References

External links

• Murder Was The Case at the Internet Movie Database
• 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
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics