Since were all stuck indoors for a while we may as well dive into some Netflix, right?  

This 4 part documentary goes back to an important part of my childhood during a time when I had to be very careful about certain cassettes that my parents were not aware that I had, because if they found out about it they would probably have a problem with it.  I'm talking about the creation of N.W.A. and how they created a genre of music (for the most part) that would become one of the most popular musical types, ever.

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Ok, so it isn't entirely about gangster rap, it focuses a great deal on American music producer Jimmy Iovine and how he and Dr. Dre have gone on to become some of the most successful people in the music industry, reaching a pinnacle when they sold *Beats Electronics* a few years ago for $3 billion.

For me, the main focus was on NWA and all the acts that followed.  It is not a coincidence that this was released shortly after the success of "Straight Outta Compton," which is a fantastic film that is also on Netflix.  

There is a lot more to Jimmy Iovine than just NWA, he was a successful music producer at Interscope records and supported acts outside of rap such as Tom Petty and No Doubt.  This series of episodes focuses on them as well, but it for me, and I think most people, the drama associated with the rap side of things is far more interesting.

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The internal struggles that occurred between the original members of N.W.A. is pretty fun to watch and they have loads of old footage of the group together, much of the footage that is seeing the light of day in this special for the first time ever.  If you weren't around for N.W.A. this could actually be a bit of a history lesson for you.  If you were around, maybe you didn't realize the struggles that this group went through to bring gangster rap to the forefront.  

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EMINEM isn't actually in a great deal of the thing, because Marshal Mathers is a very small part of the overall story and he came along well after most of the struggles were already behind Interscope.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhwAuYcInMQ

We all know Dr. Dre, but until I saw this limited series I had no idea how instrumental Jimmy Iovene was in the overall success of the business.  If it weren't for him, there is a good chance that the musical scene of the 90's and beyond might have been very different.  

Filled with tragedy and stories of success, *The Defiant Ones* is a must see for lovers of rap, although I do admit that you should probably watch this one with the remote in hand, since they do stick to a particular time per episode, and some of the information / interviews get to be a bit repetitive.  

*The Defiant Ones* has been on Netflix for nearly a year, but it hasn't been featured on my personal rotation until a few days ago.  I say give it a go!