As
this blog is an assignment for a class I am taking at BYU Idaho, the response
from class mates and my professor could possibly be interesting. The reason why
I say this is because the inspiration for me post came to me last night from
watching the biopic “Straight Outta Compton”, but before we get into the meat
of the message here tonight, please allow me a minute to explain myself.
Picture
me as a young thirteen year old boy attempting to find himself in the different
cliques that composed the landscape of junior high schools in the 90’s. I was
in 7th grade and up until that point I had never liked “rap” music
due to the influence of my parents who was mainly into 70’s rock and horrid 80’s
pop. One day after school my friend Courtlund and I returned to his home and he
wanted me to listen to something different that I had never heard of before.
The artists name was Ice Cube and the album was called “Lethal Injection”.
Courtlund had me sit in a banana chair right next a speaker while he put the CD
in his parents stereo. From there we listened to the introduction titled “The
Shot” which followed Ice Cube pretending to be a doctor giving an apprehensive
man a simple shot in the arm. Everything seemed normal as Cube narrated
prepping the man’s arm for his shot when you suddenly hear, BAM! I jumped like
a cat at the loudest gunshot I had ever heard to that point in my life and it
was right then I was hooked. So when the biopic on a group I grew up listening
to came out, I wanted to take a moment and see these men who I looked up as a
kid be shown in what would be a different light.
NWA
as a group was founded by Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, MC Ren, and Easy-E
during the late 80’s. They pulled their talents together and put out a
successful single titled “Boyz in the hood” which they recorded, and released independently.
This single let them into the sights of one Jerry Heller who would manage them
for the duration of the group’s tenure. It during this tenure that Jerry Heller
and defacto leader of the group Easy-E pressured the remaining members to sign
contracts without allowing them time to read them over or having proper legal
counsel. The others like Dr. Dre felt backed into a corner almost being forced
to sign because they had yet to be paid for their efforts. Heller used this to
their advantage by waving a check for 75 thousand dollars in front of each of
them in exchange for the signature he needed to keep milking them like cows.
Heller and Easy where easily making a hundred thousand for every thousand the
other members of NWA earned due to these contracts. They were being legally
screwed over all because they did not take the time to seek legal counsel to
validate the content of the contract.
This
movie served to be a public service announcement to someone who wants to explore
the options of being an entrepreneur, consultant, or contractor in the future.
Sadly we live in a world where someone’s handshake and word is not enough to guarantee
they will fulfill their end and all three career paths will create times when a
contract will be needed. I am going to make sure when I am ever in a position
like this, I will have the proper representation looking over any contract
before I sign it. If that a rift or if the other party objects then I will take
my services elsewhere because I would rather be broke then screwed.
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