Rappin' Rodney King Launches Label

02/18/1998 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Bruce Haring

(2/18/98) - Three months after Rodney King was beaten by the Los Angeles police--an incident that later sparked the 1992 Los Angeles riots--he was approached by Eazy-E to do a new version of N.W.A's "F**k Tha Police."

"I wanted to do it," King says of the Eazy-E offer. "But the attorneys was like, 'No, don't do that. Because you might get somebody on your jury that heard the song and they might take it the wrong way.' So they talked me out of it then. But I wanted to do it at that time because I was so pissed off. So I guess it might not have been a good time to do it then."

King is now launching a new rap music label, Straight Alta-Pazz (named for the Altadena/ Pasadena area in California where he lives) which has released a single by the Compton rap group Stranded. King says he will perform with his label's artist roster from time to time, but will devote more time to running the show. "I like going out, searching and finding the talent and bringing it to the label," he says. "And if it's talent that I feel like I can blend in with, then it's all a plus. If I can get in on this group, and I can relate to what they singing, then I will perform with them."

Mack 10 has been giving King advice about the music business. King used to attend Mack 10's Little League games, back when Mack 10 was known as Monty. "He's been telling me about 'shystee' people. You know, staying away from shystee people and nothing's free in the industry, so don't expect nothing free."

King, who received a $3.8 million settlement from Los Angeles for his beating injuries, has learned at least one thing about the business: "I never dreamed it took so much money to make music. Whoa!"