The Strength of Street Knowledge

The Strength of Street Knowledge was a live-action TV series airing on Netflix. The series was based around the history of N.W.A., and their respective careers and lives. Each season consisted of 10 episodes, with each episode roughly an hour each.

Starring Cast

 * Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre (Season 1-6)
 * O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube (Season 1-2; guest star Season 3, 6)
 * Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E (Season 1-3)
 * Aldis Hodge as MC Ren (Season 1-2; guest star Season 3, 6)
 * Neil Brown Jr. as DJ Yella (Season 1-2; guest star Season 3)
 * Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller (Season 1-3)
 * R. Marcos Taylor as Suge Knight (Season 3-4; recurring Season 2, 5-6; guest star Season 1)
 * Keith Stanfield as Snoop Dogg (Season 3-4; guest star season 5-6)
 * Demetrius Shipp Jr. as 2Pac (Season 4; guest star Season 3, 5)
 * Tom Felton as Eminem (Season 6; guest star season 5)

Recurring Cast

 * Marlon Yates Jr. as The D.O.C. (Season 1-3; guest star Season 4, 6)
 * Corey Reynolds as Alonzo Williams (Season 1)
 * Azad Arnaud as Daz Dillinger (Season 3-4; guest star Season 5-6)
 * Melvin Jackson Jr. as Kurupt (Season 3-4; guest star Season 5-6)
 * Mark Sherman as Jimmy Iovine (Season 4-6)
 * Omari Hardwick as Hittman (Season 6)

Guest Stars

 * Brandon Lafourche as Arabian Prince (Season 1)
 * Lisa Renee Pitts as Verna Young (Season 1, 5)
 * Keith Powers as Tyree Crayon (Season 1, 6)
 * Rhyon Nicole Brown as Michel'le (Season 1-5)
 * Camryn Howard as DJ Speed (Season 1-2)
 * Cleavon McClendon as Sir Jinx (Season 1-2)
 * Tate Ellington as Bryan Turner (Season 2)
 * Rogelio Douglas Jr. as Chuck D (Season 2)
 * J. Kristopher as Laylaw (Season 2-3, 5)
 * Lance Gross as Cold 187um (Season 2-3, 5)
 * Christina Milian as Dee Barnes (Season 2)
 * John Singleton as Himself (Season 2)
 * Justin Bieber as Vanilla Ice (Season 2)
 * Alexandria Shipp as Kimberly Woodruff (Season 2)
 * Jussie Smollett as DJ Train (Season 2)
 * Sheldon A. Smith as Warren G (Season 3-4, 6)
 * ShahKapp as Nate Dogg (Season 3-4, 6)
 * Orlando Brown as RBX (Season 3-6)
 * Monique Coleman as Lady of Rage (Season 3-5)
 * Coco Jones as Jewell (Season 3-4, 6)
 * Mario Lopez as David Kenner (Season 3-4)
 * Vonii Bristow as B.G. Knocc Out (Season 3)
 * Nonso Anozie as Gangsta Dresta (Season 3)
 * Curtis Hamilton as Sam Sneed (Season 3-4)
 * Leon Thomas III as DJ Quik (Season 3-4)
 * Carra Patterson as Tomica Woods-Wright (Season 3)
 * Jamal Woolard as The Notorious B.I.G. (Season 3-4)
 * Derek Luke as Puff Daddy (Season 3-4)
 * Elena Goode as Nicole Threatt (Season 4-5)
 * James Hatter III as Yaki Kadafi (Season 4)
 * Jermaine Carter as Hussein Fatal (Season 4)
 * E.D.I. Mean as Himself (Season 4)
 * Young Noble as Himself (Season 4)
 * Doc Shaw as Napoleon (Season 4)
 * Jermel Howard as Mopreme Shakur (Season 4)
 * Phil Armijo as Johnny J (Season 4)
 * Ray J as Nas (Season 4-5)
 * Chris O'Neal as Danny Boy (Season 4-5)
 * Mike Tyson as Himself (Season 4)
 * Naturi Naughton as Lil' Kim (Season 4)
 * Marc John Jefferies as Lil' Cease (Season 4)
 * Grace Gibson as Faith Evans (Season 4)
 * Nadji Jeter as Teddy Riley (Season 4)
 * Trevor Jackson as Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson (Season 4)
 * Romeo Miller as Master P (Season 5)
 * NBA YoungBoy as C-Murder (Season 5)
 * Marc Rose as Tha Realest (Season 5-6)
 * Jarrett Ellis as Top Dogg (Season 5-6)
 * Mike Colter as Crooked I (Season 5)
 * Lil Mama as Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez (Season 5)
 * Winston Duke as J-Flexx (Season 5)
 * Keke Palmer as Foxy Brown (Season 5)
 * Kendrick Sampson as AZ (Season 5)
 * Daniel Kaluuya as Nature (Season 5)
 * Mechad Brooks as Mel-Man (Season 5-6)
 * FeeFo247 as Scarface (Season 5)
 * Najee Smith as LL Cool J (Season 5)
 * John Boyega as King Tee (Season 5)
 * Bryshere Y. Gray as Royce da 5'9" (Season 5-6)
 * Reed Alexander as Scott Storch (Season 6)
 * Corey Maggette as Xzibit (Season 6)
 * Bow Wow as Six-Two (Season 6)
 * Travis Bennett as Knoc-turn'al (Season 6)
 * LeanAndCuisine as Jay-Z (Season 6)
 * DaDa as Proof (Season 6)
 * Fazion Love as Bizarre (Season 6)
 * Steele Brim as Kuniva (Season 6)
 * Tyler James Williams as Bugz (Season 6)
 * Trai Byers as Swifty McVay (Season 6)
 * Malachi Kirby as Kon Artis (Season 6)

Season One
A group of kids from Compton, California have a dream; for their voice to be heard. After co-founding Ruthless Records with Jerry Heller, Eric "Eazy-E" Wright forms the group N.W.A. with producer Andre "Dr. Dre" Young. After recruiting rappers Ice Cube and MC Ren, and producer DJ Yella, the group got to work on making what they refer to as "reality rap", with their debut album as N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton, as well as Eazy-E's hit debut single "Boyz-n-the-Hood", and solo album Eazy-Duz-It.

Season Two
Ice Cube has left N.W.A., now in New York working on a solo album with Chuck D and the Bomb Squad. With Cube gone, the rest of N.W.A. moves on to create their next project without him, holding animosity towards their former friend. This leads to the beef between N.W.A. and Ice Cube throughout various projects during 1990 and 1991, and would eventually lead to the fall of N.W.A. - and the rise of Death Row Records.

Season Three
With Dr. Dre out of the picture and N.W.A. no more, Eazy-E moves forward by finding new talent to bring to the Ruthless Records roster. Now working alongside Suge Knight at their new record label Death Row, Dr. Dre gets to work himself, signing Snoop Dogg and various other young artists in the California area to build their new music empire. Although Dre is gone, his anger toward Eazy remains, leading to conflict between Ruthless and Death Row.

Season Four
Following the passing of Eazy-E, Dr. Dre soon begins to reconsider his place at Death Row Records with the overlooming image of violence clouding the label, as well as Suge Knight stepping into the light and revealing his strong-armed tactics. Dre makes the choice to leave Death Row behind and start his own label, Aftermath Entertainment, risking it all.

Season Five
After leaving Death Row with nothing, Dr. Dre starts fresh with his own label, Aftermath Entertainment. His new life shows to be difficult, as Dre struggles to find success, and on top of this, has to deal with Suge Knight and the sinking Death Row ship attempting to bring any former Death Row associates down with them. After a few misses, Dre finally finds success in white Detroit rapper Eminem, defying the odds and bringing himself, Eminem, and Aftermath to success.

Season Six
With Aftermath finally finding success after Eminem's debut solo album, Dr. Dre decides to work on his sophomore album. Returning to his West Coast roots that he had previously abandoned after leaving Death Row, Dre reunites with old friends like Snoop Dogg and Kurupt, as well as discovering new, younger talent to craft his second project, 2001.

Season One

 * 1) Boyz-n-The-Hood - After co-founding Ruthless Records with manager Jerry Heller, Eric Wright, better known as "Eazy-E", assembled the dream team that would be known as "N.W.A.". Andre Young, AKA "Dr. Dre", produces a song entitled Boyz-n-The-Hood with the help of Antoine "DJ Yella" Carraby, with lyrics written by O'Shea "Ice Cube" Jackson. After the song is rejected by a New York rap group, Dr. Dre convinces Eazy to rap the song instead, using the studio owned by Dre and Yella's former group-mate from the World Class Wreckin' Cru, Alonzo Williams.
 * 2) N.W.A. - After the release of the compilation album N.W.A. and the Posse, the group got to work on their second project. Following the departure of Kim "Arabian Prince" Nazel due to contract disagreements, N.W.A. (now consisting of Eazy, Dre, Cube, Yella and Lorenzo "MC Ren" Patterson) began the recording process for their first album; with Dre and Yella producing and Eazy, Ren and Cube rapping. Ren, Cube, and Dallas recruit Tracy "The D.O.C." Curry wrote a majority of the lyrics. The crew got to work on the tracks Straight Outta Compton, Parental Discretion Iz Advised, and Express Yourself.
 * 3) Fuck tha Police - While in the recording process for their debut album, N.W.A. were harassed by police officers for "looking like gang bangers". Furious, Cube penned the opening verse for song Fuck tha Police to show his hatred for police officers. After hearing the verse, Ren wrote a verse for himself and for Eazy, thus birthing the song Fuck tha Police. Shortly after, Cube would write a song for himself and Eazy entitled Gangsta Gangsta.
 * 4) Straight Outta Compton - N.W.A.'s first project, entitled Straight Outta Compton, would be released in August of 1988. The press dubs the album as "gangsta rap", and as a counter, the group refers to their work as "reality rap", depicting the reality of their lives in South Central Los Angeles. Following the success of their album, the crew (Eazy, Cube, Dre, Yella, Ren, The D.O.C., DJ Speed) were set to go on tour, however had a few obstacles; police refused to provide security for the group, and the album was one of the first to include the "Parental Advisory" sticker. Regardless, the group and Jerry proceeded to go on tour.
 * 5) Detroit - While on tour, the group had stopped for a performance in Detroit, Michigan. Prior to going on stage, the Detroit police department warned the group not to perform the song Fuck tha Police. While on stage, after performing songs such as Dopeman and 8 Ball, N.W.A. proceeded to ignore the Detroit law enforcement and perform Fuck tha Police. A riot ensues in the crowd, which leads to N.W.A. running off stage and being chased down by the Detroit police, before being handcuffed by police. This, as well as media coverage of the group and their album, led to Straight Outta Compton going double platinum.
 * 6) Tyree - While on their way to their next tour stop, Dre receives a call from his mother Verna Young; his brother, Tyree, was killed that night in Compton. Dre mourns the loss of his brother, but is comforted by Eazy, Cube, Ren, Yella, D.O.C., DJ Speed, and even Jerry. Dre makes it to Tyree's funeral, and the group continues their tour.
 * 7) Ruthless - After the tour ends, N.W.A. heads back to the studio; the success of both N.W.A. and J.J. Fad 's album Supersonic in 1988 helped skyrocket the success of Ruthless Records. The group got to work on Eazy's solo album Eazy-Duz-It, with D.O.C. writing Eazy's biggest hit We Want Eazy. The album would also go double platinum. The group took a bit of a break, however; Dr. Dre would go on to produce his then-girlfriend Michel'le 's self-titled debut album, as well as D.O.C.'s debut album No One Can Do It Better. Cube, Eazy, and Ren would team up with D.O.C. and Dre for the posse track The Grand Finale.
 * 8) Solo - With No One Can Do It Better going #1 on the charts, and Michel'le enjoying some album success of her own, N.W.A. began to move forward on a new project. Cube, however, had a problem. Since Cube had written a large portion of the lyrics off the album (for himself AND some of Eazy's verses), he felt he should be getting paid more. After coming to Jerry about the situation, Jerry insists that Cube sign a contract without legal representation just as the rest of the group had already done. An angry Cube leaves N.W.A. and Ruthless, going off to New York to make music with friend (and Dre's cousin) Sir Jinx, as well as production team The Bomb Squad.
 * 9) The Accident - With Cube gone, N.W.A. was more motivated than ever; they wanted to prove that they could still make a successful album without what many considered the "main rapper" from N.W.A.. Production took a brief stop when D.O.C. was involved in a car accident; after falling asleep at the wheel, D.O.C.'s car veered off the highway and D.O.C., who had not worn a seat belt, was thrown out of the car and face first into a tree. He would be in the hospital for two and a half weeks and couldn't speak for a month, and when he did, his voice was much raspier and different. It was in the hospital visiting his friend D.O.C. where Dr. Dre would have his first formal meeting with D.O.C.'s then bodyguard Suge Knight.
 * 10) The Next Chapter - With D.O.C.'s voice changed, he took a back seat, writing lyrics alongside Ren. Dre and Yella continued to produce; Ren and Eazy continued to be rappers for the group, but Dre became the group's third rapper following the departure of Cube. Both parties would be hard at work for their next projects; Cube was in New York producing his solo album, while N.W.A. remained in South Central to create their sophomore album.

Season Two

 * 1) Amerikkka's Most Wanted - Now in New York working with Sir Jinx and Chuck D and the Bomb Squad on his first album, Cube was hungry; he was hopeful to prove himself as a successful solo artist, and that he could be successful without the help of Eazy, Dre, and the rest of N.W.A. and Ruthless. Avoiding any direct mention, or any mention, of his former group, Cube put out Amerikka's Most Wanted in May 1990. The album, released on Bryan Turner's Priority Records, was a surprise critical and commercial success, proving Cube could hold his own on a record all alone.
 * 2) 100 Miles and Runnin' - N.W.A. would put out their own project, an EP entitled 100 Miles and Runnin ', to hold fans over before they released a second N.W.A. album. Jealous of Cube's new found solo success, Eazy coerced the rest of the group into throwing shots at him. The EP contained subtle jabs on the title track, but the song Real Niggaz was a full blown diss track towards Cube, with Dr. Dre referring to him as "Benedict Arnold" on the song. With Dre and Yella producing, Ren and D.O.C. writing and Dre, Ren and Eazy rapping, 100 Miles and Runnin' would prove to be a success, eventually going platinum following it's August 1990 release. It would, however, start a war of words with their former friend and group mate.
 * 3) Escalate - Ruthless would continue to enjoy their new found success; not only did N.W.A.'s EP perform up to expectations, group Above the Law 's album Livin' Like Hustlers was also out and doing numbers. Above the Law members Cold 187um would prove his loyalty to Eazy; after words went back and forth between Cube and ATL member Go Mack, Cold 187, Go Mack, Laylaw and the rest of the ATL posse would enter an altercation between Cube and his new group Da Lench Mob. Cube would also respond to N.W.A.'s 100 Miles and Runnin jabs on an EP of his own, Kill at Will, where he name-checked the group on the song Jackin' For Beats.
 * 4) Pump It Up - It wouldn't take long before N.W.A. and Ice Cube's beef caught the media's attention. On the hip hop TV show Pump it Up, host Dee Barnes interviewed Cube at the height of the beef; the interview included Cube, where he again name-checked N.W.A., stating he has "all suckas 100 Miles and Runnin", as well as mocking The D.O.C.'s new, raspy voice. The group felt that they were portrayed in a negative light, and when he saw her, Dr. Dre would assault Dee Barnes at a release party in Hollywood. Barnes would file assault charges and Dre would be fined and placed on probation, as well as being ordered to perform community service.
 * 5) Niggaz4Life - With all the media attention on them, N.W.A.'s second album Efil4zaggin (Niggaz4Life spelt backwards) would release in May of 1991. One of the biggest songs from the album, Alwayz into Somethin', would be Dr. Dre's first midtempo recording, and would be his first use of synthesizers, as well as the beginning of the "G-funk" era. More shots at Ice Cube would be fired as well: the interlude Message to B.A. echoes the beginning of the Ice Cube track Turn Off the Radio, and would again refer to him as "Benedict Arnold", as well as reference the fact that he was beaten up by Above the Law and that he was biting the New York sound. The track Real Niggaz would carry over from the 100 Miles and Runnin' EP and placed directly after the Message to B.A. interlude, confirming that it was a shot at Cube. Efil4zaggin would debut at #2 on the Billboard 200, but would make it to #1 in it's second week.
 * 6) Death Certificate - With N.W.A.'s second album out and the hype of the N.W.A./Cube still at a high, Cube would get to work on his second studio album, following the success of Amerikka's Most Wanted and the Kill at Will EP. In addition to this, Cube began his acting career by starring in the John Singleton film Boyz n the Hood. The film contained a slight N.W.A. jab - Ice Cube's character "Doughboy" and his friends are shown jumping a man with a We Want Eazy t-shirt on, which was Eazy-E's biggest song. Cube would drop Death Certificate in October 1991. Not only was Death Certificate controversial due to the racially and politically charged content, the album also included a full-blown diss track aimed at N.W.A. and Jerry Heller entitled No Vaseline, in which he sampled the Message to B.A. interlude and attacked Eazy, Dre, Ren and Yella by responding to both Real Niggaz and 100 Miles and Runnin directly as well as making fun of them all. He also refers to Jerry as a "Jew" in the song, leading to the belief that he was antisemitic. Death Certificate would be certified platinum only two months later.
 * 7) The Beginning of the End - Following Death Certificate 's release, Cube would continue to be accused of antisemitism due to the bashing of Jerry Heller's religion on No Vaseline. This would be the beginning of the accusations against him while affiliated with the Nation of Islam. Following the release of Death Certificate, N.W.A. began to crumble. Tensions began to rise within the group; tensions between Eazy and Ren, Eazy and Dre, and even between Jerry and Dre. After Jerry became the group's manager, Dre and Ren began to feel that Jerry was solely looking after Eazy, but not them or Yella. Growing suspicious of Eazy and Jerry, Dre came to Eazy and asked him to release him from his Ruthless contract, to which Eazy refused.
 * 8) Suge Knight - Following his attempted negotiation of being released from Ruthless, Dre came to D.O.C. and his bodyguard and friend, Suge Knight. Dre was the head producer at Ruthless, producing for N.W.A., Eazy, Michel'le, J.J. Fad, D.O.C., and Above the Law, yet he felt he was being underpayed, and sited Cube's reasoning for leaving N.W.A. and Ruthless as "proof". Dre, D.O.C., and Suge look into it and begin to believe Jerry was being dishonest regarding the financial situation. Suge has men threaten Jerry and he personally intimidates Eazy, going to him and threatening Eazy himself, Jerry and Eazy's family, using pipes and baseball bats to intimidate Eazy. Eazy would eventually let Dre, D.O.C., and Michel'le go from their Ruthless contracts, officially ending N.W.A..
 * 9) Money - While Eazy had let Dre, D.O.C. and Michel'le go off with Suge, he managed to retain a portion of their publishing rights. After deciding to start a record label with Dre and D.O.C., Suge went on a hunt for money; after Mario "Chocolate" Johnson claimed to produce the hit Ice Ice Baby for Vanilla Ice, Suge went to Vanilla Ice's hotel and threatened to throw him off the balcony if he didn't sign the rights to the song over to him. The money Suge gained from the encounter would help start up the label he, D.O.C., and Dre would form. Meanwhile, Ice Cube would get married to girlfriend Kimberly Woodruff.
 * 10) Back to Work - With Dre, D.O.C., and Michel'le all officially gone, Eazy would continue to find success at Ruthless. Above the Law released Vocally Pimpin in July 1991, while MC Ren would release his first solo effort, the Kizz My Black Azz EP, in 1992. Despite remaining on Ruthless Records, Ren and Eazy would continue to have internal conflict, not even on speaking terms. Ren would also turn to the Nation of Islam at this point in his life, guided by friend DJ Train', a DJ who worked with Ren and J.J. Fad. Cube would return to the studio to record his third album, while Dre started a new record label alongside Suge Knight: Death Row Records.

Season Three

 * 1) Welcome to Death Row - With the help of his attorney David Kenner, Suge arranges for Death Row to handle the soundtrack for the 1992 film Deep Cover. While at a bachelor party, Dr. Dre hears a demo tape by his younger brother Warren G and his friend Snoop Dogg. Impressed, Dre got in contact with Snoop and put together the track Deep Cover for the film. The track introduced Snoop to the world, and proved Dr. Dre as a successful solo artist. Shortly after, Dre and Suge agreed to sign Snoop to Death Row, making him the first new artist on the label.
 * 2) Nuthin' but a G Thang - After the success of Deep Cover, Dre began working on his debut solo album. Knowing he needed a huge hit to hype up the release of his album, Dre teamed up with Snoop and D.O.C. on a track that sampled Leon Haywood song I Want'a Do Something Freaky to You. D.O.C. taught Snoop how to construct write his verses, as opposed to Snoop's original approach, which was to just freestyle. With Snoop writing his verses and D.O.C. handling Dre's, the trio created one of Dr. Dre's biggest songs, Nuthin' but a G Thang.
 * 3) The Chronic - After completing Nuthin' but a G Thang, Dre continued to work on the rest of his album. At this point, Death Row had an entire roster to work on the album; Dre, Snoop, D.O.C., Daz Dillinger (Snoop's younger cousin), Warren G, RBX (Snoop's older cousin), Kurupt (a battle rapper from Philadelphia), Nate Dogg (close friend of Snoop and Warren G), Lady of Rage (a female rapper from Virginia), and Jewell (a singer/R&B artist). With Dre taking Warren and Daz under his wing and teaching them how to produce, and D.O.C. teaching nearly everyone how to properly construct their verse, Death Row released Dr. Dre's first solo album The Chronic in December 1992.
 * 4) It's On - Despite containing hit songs such as Let Me Ride, Dre's first solo album contained the song Dre Day, which was primarily a diss aimed at Eazy - it also took shots at East Coast artist Tim Dog, member of 2 Live Crew, Luke, and even a mention towards Ice Cube. After hearing the song, Eazy responded with an entire EP, It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa; in the title, the words "Dr. Dre" are crossed out to indicate he was no longer involved. Instead, the EP was produced by Cold 187um from Above the Law and former N.W.A. member DJ Yella. While every track took shots at Dre, Snoop and Death Row, the most notorious track was Real Muthaphuckkin G's, which featured Eazy's new proteges - Gangsta Dresta and his younger brother B.G. Knocc Out. In the song, the three question both Dre and Snoop's street credibility, as well as Eazy pointing out that he makes money off Dre's record sales. The music video included pictures of Dr. Dre from his World Class Wreckin' Cru days, which has him in women's clothing and makeup.
 * 5) Ride or Die - While Eazy and Dre were the source of the beef, those close to the two chose their sides and defended either Dre or Eazy, leading to an entire beef between Death Row and Ruthless. While on Arsenio Hall, Snoop dissed Eazy during a freestyle. Daz and Kurupt would call into the Ruthless Radio Show and get into a screaming match with Eazy, which would also include Michel'le and D.O.C.. During this time Snoop's debut album Doggystyle was released, going quadruple platinum. The entire album was produced by Dre and included shots aimed at Eazy once again. Above the Law and Kokane from Ruthless called out Snoop and Tha Dogg Pound on Don't Bite the Funk from the 1994 Kokane album Funk Upon A Rhyme.
 * 6) Murder Was the Case - Shortly after Snoop and Death Row released Doggystyle, Snoop would be charged with murder; after an argument outside Snoop's apartment, his then bodyguard shot and killed Philip Woldemariam. Although he didn't kill the man, Snoop would be charged with first and second degree murder. Snoop and his bodyguard McKinley Lee posted bail for $1 million each and were both placed on house arrest for the two years prior to the beginning of the trial. A 18 minute short film entitled Murder Was the Case, named after a track from Doggystyle, was released in 1994 and starred Snoop. A soundtrack accompanied the release of the film, which consisted of various songs including; the namesake of the film Murder Was the Case, Death Row producer Sam Sneed 's hit song U Better Recognize which featured Dr. Dre, Dogg Pound track What Would U Do? that included a diss towards B.G. Knocc Out, and Dr. Dre's Natural Born Killaz. Natural Born Killaz featured Ice Cube and officially squashed Dre and Cube's beef.
 * 7) Eternal E - Despite the beef between himself and Dre, Eazy remained with his head up high. Ruthless was still thriving, making money off Eazy and Dre's beef as well as MC Ren's Shock of the Hour that would go gold. DJ Yella, Above the Law, Gangsta Dresta, Kokane and B.G. Knocc Out would also continue to help the success of Ruthless, and Eazy would strike gold with Cleveland group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and their EP Creepin on ah Come Up, which included the hit song Thuggish Ruggish Bone. However, Eazy's new found success without Dre would be crushed when he was diagnosed with AIDS on February 24th, 1995. Eazy would make amends with Dre, Snoop and Cube, and wrote a letter to his fans on March 20th. On March 25th, 1995, Eric "Eazy-E" Wright passed away at age 30 due to AIDS. His funeral was held on April 7th and was attended by many celebrities, including nearly the entire Ruthless Records roster, his wife Tomica, and Jerry Heller (despite being fired prior to Eazy's passing).
 * 8) Life Goes On - After Eazy's death, life continued on. Friday, a film written by and starring Cube, released in April of 1995. The soundtrack featured the Ice Cube song Friday, as well as the Dr. Dre track Keep Their Heads Ringin. Suge Knight began to take more control of Death Row - the label became full of his friends and gang members fresh out of jail, as well as off-duty police officers. Dre began to fade into the background, avoiding all the violence that began to embody Death Row. Because of the violence, D.O.C. and RBX made the decision to leave Death Row. Because of this, Suge's grip on the rest of the artists tightened. Daz and Kurupt, together as the duo Tha Dogg Pound', put out their debut album Dogg Food. Although this would become another hit under Death Row's belt, it was the first album not produced by Dre. It was instead produced by Daz, although Dre did mix the album.
 * 9) The Source - Sometime during 1995, Death Row attended the 95 Source Awards, alongside various other prominent figures in hop hop at the time. Death Row had their own set, where their many artists performed; Dre performing Keep Their Heads Ringin, Dogg Pound's What Would U Do?, Lady of Rage's Afro Puffs, Nate Dogg's hook from the Snoop Dogg track Ain't No Fun, Sam Sneed's U Better Recognize, producer DJ Quik's MC Eiht diss Dollaz + Sense, and Snoop's Murder Was the Case. The award show also included a memorial for Eazy. The 95 Source Awards was notorious for Suge Knight going on stage and throwing shots at Bad Boy Records' CEO Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs; while on stage with Death Row artist Danny Boy claiming an award won by Death Row, Suge claimed that any artist that "wanted to be an artist" and didn't want the "executive producer all in the videos, all on the record dancing" should come to Death Row. Suge was referring to Puffy dancing in Craig Mack' 's Flava In Ya Ear Remilx music video. Snoop also caused trouble at the award show, claiming that New York didn't have "any love" for himself, Dre or Death Row.
 * 10) Rethinking - After the Source Awards incident, Dre began to rethink his tenure at Death Row. Despite the fact that Eazy and he squashed their beef prior to his death, the Ruthless and Death Row tension was still simmering; Bone Thugs-n-Harmony would diss Dogg Pound on their 1995 debut album E. 1999 Eternal, plus B.G. Knocc Out and Dresta would keep their beef going with the track D.P.G. Killa as well as the brawl with Nate Dogg on a golf course. In addition to all of this, Suge's comments at the Source Awards incited a beef between not only Death Row and Bad Boy, but the East Coast and the West Coast. Unbeknownst to Dre, Suge would sign Tupac Shakur to Death Row and post his bail, as he was in jail due to a sexual abuse conviction, starting a whole new era for Death Row.

Season Four

 * 1) Ambitionz Az a Ridah - With the beef between Ruthless and Death Row dying down following Eazy-E's death, Dr. Dre gets back to work, beginning the recording of The Chronic II: A New World Odor, as well as Lady of Rage's debut album and the mixing of Tha Dogg Pound's debut album (the first Death Row release not fully produced by Dre, a further testament to Dre's dwindling involvement with the label). While Dre continued his work behind the music, Suge Knight went behind Dre's back and, in October 1995, signed Tupac Shakur to Death Row, after bailing him out of prison. While Dre was at home recording the original version of California Love (which originally consisted of three Dr. Dre verses), 2Pac would head to the studio with Daz to record one of his biggest songs Ambitionz Az a Ridah, as well as I Ain't Mad At Cha alongside singer Danny Boy.
 * 2) California Love - While home recording more tracks for The Chronic II, Suge Knight and 2Pac showed up, announcing to Dre that Pac had been signed to Death Row. This upset Dre because when he and Suge formed Death Row, it was agreed that Dre would handle the artists and discovering/signing talent, whereas Suge would handle the business side. Nonetheless, Suge demanded that Dre give the California Love track to 2Pac, who was in the middle of the recording process for his Death Row debut. Reluctantly, Dre got rid of two of his three verses and recorded 2Pac's verse, thus creating 2Pac's first Death Row release, the California Love we all know today.
 * 3) Dogg Food - On Halloween 1995, Tha Dogg Pound (Kurupt and Daz) would release their debut album Dogg Food, which was the first Death Row release not to be produced by Dr. Dre; instead, it was produced by Daz, however Dre did mix it. The album included hits such as Let's Play House (featuring Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg and Michel'le), and New York, New York. The latter song's music video would be filmed in New York City. The video would contribute to the East Coast and West Coast beef that had already started, as the video showcased Daz, Kurupt, and Snoop Dogg kicking down New York City skyscrapers. The kicking of skyscrapers was filmed after the set for the music video was shot up. The New York, New York video would add fuel to 2Pac's fire, who believed New York/Bad Boy Records rapper and former friend The Notorious B.I.G., had set 2Pac up when he was shot at Quad Studios.
 * 4) Strong Armed - Dre slowly began to realize what made D.O.C. and RBX leave Death Row in the beginning of 1996. In January 1996 D.O.C. released his second album Helter Skelter, using lyrics he had written for Dr. Dre's collaboration album with Ice Cube, Heltah Skeltah, keeping the name to upset Dre. Dre would call D.O.C. and the two would settle their differences, Dre noting that both D.O.C. and RBX were right about the direction Death Row would be heading in. Later that day while producing a track for 2Pac's album, Can't C Me, Dre would discover Sam Sneed being beaten by Death Row artists, led by Suge and 2Pac, due to his including of East Coast artists in a music video. When he realized violence was taking precedence over the art and music, alongside Suge's new image in the public eye, Dre began to consider leaving the label.
 * 5) All Eyez on Me - February 1996 was a huge month for Death Row; February 16th would be the release of 2Pac's Death Row debut All Eyez on Me, the first double album in hip-hop, and featured verses from Dre, Snoop, Daz, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, 2Pac's group Outlawz, Danny Boy, and many others. It would be one of Death Row's biggest selling albums. Nearly a week later, Snoop and his bodyguard McKinley Lee would be acquitted of murder. With 2Pac's album out and Snoop acquitted of his murder trial it was time to head to work, with both artists beginning the recording of their second albums, although there was no sign of Dr. Dre; Dre only produced two tracks on All Eyez on Me, the two being California Love and Can't C Me, the majority of the album being produced by Daz and Johnny J. After speaking with Interscope Records CEO Jimmy Iovine, Dre continued to ponder the decision of leaving Death Row behind.
 * 6) Farewell - In March 1996 the decision was made. Dr. Dre decided to leave Death Row Records for multiple reasons; contract disputes, the in-house violence, and Suge Knight's apparent corruption. When Dre left he didn't take anything with him; he wanted to start fresh, packing up and heading to New York. It was a huge risk to leave all his friends, money, and music behind, but Dre claimed you "can't put a price on a peaceful state of mind". Now on his own, Dre formed Aftermath Entertainment under Interscope. With Dre gone Death Row slowly began to crumble. The once united label split up into separate camps; Snoop would work on his second album Tha Doggfather with Tha Dogg Pound, Warren G and Nate Dogg while 2Pac would begin the process of recording his second album with the Outlawz and smaller, relatively unknown producers.
 * 7) Makaveli - Luckily for Dre, he left just before the highest point in 2Pac's beef with the Notorious B.I.G.. In June 1996, 2Pac and the Outlawz would drop Hit 'Em Up, a song dissing Biggie, Puffy, Faith Evans, Lil' Kim, Lil' Cease and Junior M.A.F.I.A., and the entire Bad Boy Records roster, as well as New York rap group Mobb Deep (consisting of Havoc and Prodigy), taking his beef from just Biggie to the entirety of the New York hip hop scene. Choosing not to participate in the East Coast/West Coast beef, Dre headed to New York to start the production of his new album under Aftermath, signing RBX as his first Aftermath artist. Dre teamed up with Nas, who along with Biggie was believed to be one of the best New York rappers at the time, to record the track Nas Is Coming for his second album It Was Written. The track was recorded in response to the East Coast/West Coast beef.
 * 8) Influenced - Dr. Dre would collaborate with R&B group Blackstreet on the song No Diggity after being convinced by member Teddy Riley to rap a verse instead of just appearing in the music video for the song. The song was released and was heard by Death Row associates, who then played the song for Suge and 2Pac. Suge, who was still furious that Dre walked from the label, began to feed 2Pac false information that Dre was secretly bisexual. 2Pac would record the song Toss it Up; the song was infamous for having a beat that sounded nearly identical to the beat used for No Diggity, as well as a second verse rapped by 2Pac dissing Dre. Pac would rap that it was "no longer Dre Day", and made comments regarding Dre's sexuality.
 * 9) Vegas - On September 7th 1996, 2Pac would attend a boxing match of his close friend Mike Tyson in Las Vegas. Earlier that evening Pac, Suge, and various other Death Row affiliates would jump Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, who was claimed to have snatched a Death Row chain. Following the boxing match of Mike Tyson, Pac was in the car with Suge, leaving the event, when a white Cadillac would pull up and open fire, Pac getting shot four times. He would be hospitalized until September 13th 1996, when Tupac Shakur would pass away. Suge would be sent to prison shortly after Tupac's death for nine years due to violation of his parole. Tupac's death and Suge's incarceration would be the icing on the cake for the fall of Death Row, which started with Dr. Dre's departure.
 * 10) Aftermath - 2Pac's final album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (released under his moniker Makaveli) was released in November 1996, containing songs such as Hail Mary, Toss It Up (the song created to spite Dre following the release of No Diggity), To Live and Die in L.A., and Against All Odds. Snoop's album Tha Doggfather was released about a week later, containing songs like Vapors, Groupie, Snoop's Upside Ya Head, and others. In the midst of all of this, Dr. Dre would continue work on a compilation album for his label, releasing his first song since his leaving from Death Row, Been There, Done That. Although the song was a hit, Dr. Dre's road to newfound success would soon prove to be a bumpy ride.

Season Five

 * 1) Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath - After releasing Been There, Done That, Dr. Dre released the compilation album Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath, the first release on his new label Aftermath Entertainment. The album featured Dre along with various other artists, such as RBX, Nas, B-Real, KRS-One, and Roger Troutman among others. The intro for the album would mark Dre's first time working with producer Mel-Man, who would play a key role in Dre's second studio album. Despite Dre's hard work, the album received mixed reviews, and was not amongst the year's more commercially successful releases.
 * 2) The Untouchable - During the recording of his album The Untouchable, rapper Scarface, who previously appeared on a track from Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath, gets in contact with Dr. Dre to include a song that Dre had previously recorded with Ice Cube for Heltah Skeltah, entitled Game Over. Dre agreed, and the song would be included on the album, which was released in March of 1997. The album also included Smile, a Scarface track which featured 2Pac. Shortly after this, Death Row would release soundtracks for two of 2Pac's films, Gridlock'd and Gang Related. Both soundtracks would feature rappers Tha Realest and Top Dogg, who were notable for looking and sounding very similar to 2Pac and Snoop Dogg. This was part of Suge Knight's plan to reinvent Death Row, with his three biggest artists gone; 2Pac was dead, and both Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg had left the label. Most of the original Death Row roster was gone, all except Daz Dillinger and the Lady of Rage. Rage would leave after her debut album, Necessary Roughness, released in June 1997.
 * 3) The Firm - After working together on It Was Written and Dr. Dre Presents... The Aftermath, Nas and Dr. Dre came up with the idea to form a hip-hop supergroup. Nas would form the group known as "The Firm", joining forces with Foxy Brown, AZ and Nature. Their debut album, entitled The Album, released in October 1997. The Album was a concept album, revolving around the themes of mafia and "gangster" lifestyle. It received mixed  reviews, with critics citing its "mainstream pop-oriented sound" as a negative point. The first single Firm Biz would peak at #12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, but the second single Phone Tap failed to chart. The Album was considered another hit and miss for Dre and Aftermath, and the group would disband following the release of the album.
 * 4) Death Row: 2nd Generation - With most of the original Death Row roster gone, Suge Knight got to work on reinventing his label. With the only remaining member being Daz from Tha Dogg Pound, Suge worked hard from to reinvent the label with new acts, appointing Daz as the president of Death Row during his incarceration. With Daz in charge, Death Row found a whole new roster of artists in an attempt to recreate the magic that brought the original Death Row to stardom; Tha Realest and Top Dogg (Suge's attempt to imitate 2Pac and Snoop Dogg), Long Beach native Crooked I, TLC member Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopez, and former Dr. Dre ghostwriter J-Flexx, as well as Daz, Michel'le, Danny Boy and former Ruthless Records associates Above the Law.
 * 5) Still a G Thang - Shortly after his debut solo album Retaliation, Revenge and Get Back released in March 1998, Daz would leave Death Row and reunite with Dogg Pound member Kurupt to work on Kurupt's debut solo album. While Kurupt was finishing up his solo debut, Snoop Dogg released his third studio album Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told on August 4, 1998, this time on Master P's No Limit Records, collaborating with No Limit artists such as Master P himself and C-Murder. The album contained the single Still a G Thang, which is considered to be the sequel to the hit song Snoop and Dr. Dre recorded for The Chronic, Nuthin' but a G Thang. In the song, Snoop shouts out artists such as his cousin Daz and the D.O.C., as well as Dre himself, reminding Dre that he wishes to get back in the studio with him. The album is considered to be the soundtrack for the short film Da Game of Life, starring Snoop and C-Murder, written and produced by Snoop and Master P.
 * 6) Ask Yourself a Question - With Snoop's album performing, Death Row continued to struggle to stay afloat without its stars, releasing the Michel'le solo album Hung Dry. Kurupt's solo album Kuruption! would release in September 1998. Kuruption! was a double album with disc one being the "West Coast" edition and disc two being the "East Coast" edition. The album features songs such as We Can Freak It and C-Walk, as well as the Dr. Dre produced Ask Yourself a Question, which also featured vocals from Dre. Dre and Kurupt filmed a mini-movie for Ask Yourself a Question, which was never released and instead condensed into a music video for the song.
 * 7) Zoom - After hearing Snoop's Still A G Thang, Dre and Snoop got together and decided to start on a collaboration album, Break Up to Make Up. Dre produced the song Zoom for the two but, for whatever reason, the project was scrapped. The beat was to then be used by King Tee, who was signed to Aftermath at the time, for his album Thy Kingdom Come, but the album wold be shelved. The song eventually made its way to becoming a Dr. Dre collaboration track with LL Cool J, with the song making it onto the soundtrack for the film Bulworth.
 * 8) My Name Is - White Detroit rapper Eminem competed in the Rap Olympics, an annual nationwide rap battle competition. After placing second, an Interscope employee found and sent a copy of Eminem's 1997 Slim Shady EP to Jimmy Iovine, Interscope Records CEO, who would share the music with Dr. Dre. After hearing it, Dre demanded to find him, not even realizing he was white. After meeting for the first time, Dre and Eminem got to work on Eminem's debut studio album. In the first day recording together, the two would record the smash hit My Name Is in an hour. The two would also record three other songs that day, one of which being Role Model.
 * 9) Guilty Conscience - Around the same time Dr. Dre and Eminem worked on Eminem's debut studio album, Death Row released a Greatest Hits album for 2Pac. The album featured songs from all throughout his career, as well as the previously unreleased songs Unconditional Love and Changes. Meanwhile, Dre and Eminem would record the song Guilty Conscience. The song featured Dre and Eminem playing the role of ones conscience, with Dre being the "angel on your shoulder", and Eminem the "devil". The song references a number of things, including George Burns, the film Kids, Dre's beating of Dee Barnes, Straight Outta Compton and N.W.A., and the Dre single Been There, Done That.
 * 10) The Slim Shady LP - Eminem's debut studio album, The Slim Shady LP, released February of 1999. The album included songs such as My Name Is, Guilty Conscience, Role Model, Just Don't Give A Fuck, and Bad Meets Evil. The latter track featured Eminem's close friend Royce da 5'9", and the two would later form the duo Bad Meets Evil, named after the song. After the album's release, Dr. Dre continued work on his previously secret project The Chronic 2000, his planned second solo album and the sequel to his debut The Chronic.

Season Six

 * 1) The Next Episode - Shortly after the release of Eminem's The Slim Shady LP, Dr. Dre publicly announced his second studio album, The Chronic 2000, would be coming later that year. After hearing Snoop Dogg's Still A G Thang and failing to collaborate on Zoom, Dre and Snoop would reunite in the studio after years of not working together. The two recorded The Next Episode for Dre's album, which also featured vocals from Nate Dogg and Kurupt. In addition, they recorded two songs for Snoop's upcoming album No Limit Top Dogg; Just Dippin, which also featured Jewell, and the Dre produced Bitch Please with Nate Dogg and up and coming West Coast rapper Xzibit'.
 * 2) Hittman - During the recording process of the album, Dre discovered L.A. native rapper Hittman, who he would take under his wing as his next protege alongside Eminem. In addition to discovering Hittman, Dre would reunite with The D.O.C., and would be introduced to his artist at the time, Six-Two. Big Egos would be a song with Dre featuring Hittman, with D.O.C. writing Dre's verse. Dre and Hittman would also record What's The Difference, also featuring Eminem.
 * 3) Still D.R.E. - Alongside producer Scott Storch, Dre crafted the beat for what would be the album's first single, Still D.R.E.. However, nothing anyone wrote for the beat worked for Dre; Hittman, Snoop Dogg, and D.O.C. all attempted to write to the Still D.R.E. beat, but were all rejected due to Dre's perfectionism. Dre would call in New York rap star Jay-Z, who he had previously worked with on Jay's Vol. 3... Life and Times of Shawn Carter album, to write to the beat. Jay's lyrics worked, and would become the hit Still D.R.E..
 * 4) Xxplosive - After recording a song entitled The Way I Be Pimpin', with Dre's verses written by and a hook performed by Royce da 5'9", Dre reworked the song and took himself and Royce off, retitling it Xxplosive. Dre put Hittman on the intro and featured verses from Kurupt, Nate Dogg, and Six-Two. Kurupt's verse is notable for having so much profanity that it was left off the clean version of Xxplosive. Around this time, Dre would also record Housewife with Kurupt and Hittman.
 * 5) Suge Knight Represents: Chronic 2000 - In order to spite Dre after his Aftermath success, Suge Knight stole the title of Dre's album and used it for his Death Row Records compilation Suge Knight Represents: Chronic 2000. The album again featured Suge's artists Top Dogg and Tha Realest, who would record over old 2Pac songs and leftover tracks from Dre's The Chronic. The album also featured numerous disses towards Dre, Snoop, Eminem, and others. In response, Dre recorded Forgot About Dre alongside Eminem, where he reminds everyone of his impact on the rap game.
 * 6) 2001 - On November 16th, 1999, Dr. Dre released his second studio album, which he renamed to 2001 after Suge Knight stole the planned title The Chronic 2000. The album included hits like Still D.R.E., Forgot About Dre and The Next Episode, and other songs like What's The Difference and Xxplosive. The album also included The Message, a song written by Royce da 5'9" and was dedicated to the memory of Dre's late brother Tyree. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart and proved to the world that he had not "fallen off" like so many claimed.
 * 7) Chin Check - Around the time of the recording sessions for 2001, Dre would reunite with Ice Cube and MC Ren for the song Chin Check, which would be the lead single for Cube's film Next Friday, the sequel to Friday. Chin Check featured Snoop Dogg and was the first N.W.A. single to be released since Alwayz Into Somethin' in 1991, and served as a reunion for the group. The song was dedicated to the memory of Eazy-E, and was set to appear on an N.W.A. comeback album Not These Niggaz Again that never materialized. While DJ Yella wasn't present for the recording of Chin Check, he was set to appear on Not These Niggaz Again. Cube, Dre and Ren would reunite once more on Cube's Hello, from his 2000 album War and Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc).
 * 8) The Real Slim Shady - Eminem released The Marshall Mathers LP in May of 2000, with production being handled by Dr. Dre, Mel-Man, The Bass Brothers, and Eminem himself. The album included hits such as The Real Slim Shady, Stan and The Way I Am. Other songs included were Bitch Please II, a sequel to Snoop Dogg's Bitch Please, featured Dre, Snoop, Xzibit and Nate Dogg, and Under the Influence with Eminem's group D12.
 * 9) Up In Smoke - Starting in June 2000, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg headlined the "Up In Smoke Tour", a west coast hip hop tour. Other artists included on the tour were Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eminem, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Kurupt, Xzibit, D12, The D.O.C., Hittman, and Six-Two among many others. The tour went on from June 15th to August 20th and served as a reunion for most of the N.W.A. and Death Row families. Ice Cube would handle the first set, followed by Eminem in the second, and Dr. Dre and Snoop finishing out with the final set.
 * 10) Back On Top - 2001 turned out to be a big year for Dr. Dre and his associates. While Snoop dropped Tha Last Meal in December 2000, Tha Dogg Pound (Dillinger and Young Gotti), D12 (Devil's Night), Kurupt (Space Boogie: Smoke Odyssey), Nate Dogg (Music and Me), and Warren G (The Return of the Regulator) all released albums throughout the year. In November of 2001, Dre and Snoop released the film The Wash, in which the two starred as roommates working at a carwash. The film featured cameos from Eminem, Xzibit, and Kurupt among others. The soundtrack also featured songs such as The Wash by Dre and Snoop, and Bad Intentions with Dre alongside Knoc-turn'al. Off the heels of a new album, a feature film and soundtrack, and a tour, Dr. Dre was officially back on top.

Movie
Following the release of Season Six, showrunners and Netflix both announced The Strength of Street Knowledge had not been renewed for a Season Seven. A few months later, however, showrunners confirmed that they were writing the script for a direct-to-Netflix The Strength of Street Knowledge movie, using ideas they previously had for Season Seven and onward. They also confirmed that the movie would pick up where Season Six left off, and would include events from 2002 to the present day, would include time jumps, and that a majority of the cast would return.

Soundtrack
With each season, a soundtrack was released, containing songs shown in that season, as well as other songs released that were either released on the same album, or were released in the timeframe the season took place.

Season One

 * N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton
 * Eazy-E - Boyz-n-The-Hood
 * N.W.A. - Fuck tha Police
 * The D.O.C. - It's Funky Enough
 * N.W.A. - Express Yourself
 * N.W.A. - Gangsta Gangsta
 * N.W.A. - Dopeman
 * Eazy-E - No More ?'s
 * Eazy-E - We Want Eazy
 * N.W.A. - Paternal Discretion Iz Advised
 * The D.O.C. ft. N.W.A. - The Grand Finale

Season Two

 * N.W.A., King Tee, Body & Soul, Def Jef, Michel'le, Tone-Loc, Above the Law, Ice-T, J.J. Fad, Young MC, Digital Underground, Oaktown's 357 and MC Hammer - We're All In The Same Gang
 * N.W.A. - Sa Prize (Part 2)
 * Ice Cube - The Nigga You Love To Hate
 * N.W.A. - Appetite for Destruction
 * Ice Cube - How To Survive In South Central
 * N.W.A. - Alwayz Into Somethin ' 
 * N.W.A. - 100 Miles and Runnin ' 
 * Ice Cube - Jackin' For Beats
 * N.W.A. - Message to B.A. (Interlude)
 * N.W.A. - Real Niggaz
 * Ice Cube - No Vaseline
 * Above The Law ft. N.W.A. - The Last Song

Season Three
TBA

Season Four
TBA

Season Five
TBA

Season Six
TBA

Spinoffs
During the production of Season Five, showrunners confirmed spinoffs focusing around other rappers who appeared throughout the series would be coming to Netflix in the future.