In the 1980s in south-central Los Angeles, drive-by shootings were the norm and casualties piled up by the hundreds as gang warfare ruled much of the blood-soaked inner city hoods.
From this bullet-riddled nightmare, gangsta rap was born with a menacing glower. It was a no-holds-barred and nasty form of artistic expression. N.W.A were the pioneers of the genre and their leader, a diminutive and unrepentant thug named Eazy-E, became known as the godfather of gangsta rap.
In 1988, N.W.A released their debut studio album Straight Outta Compton and almost immediately it became an iconic tome not just for the disaffected and violent youth of south-central LA but for rap fans and wannabe gang bangers the world over. Eazy-E became instantly recognisable by the gold bling around his neck and his trademark dark glasses and black Los Angeles Kings hat.
Now if you handed a hockey stick to Eazy-E, he probably would not know what end to hold. But no matter, because the baddest rapper in the world and his thug band were now wearing a hockey team's hat. The LA Kings hat became the choice of fashionable gang bangers all over town and for the first time since they arrived in Los Angeles some 20 years earlier, the Kings had finally made a cultural impact on the city. It might have been unconventional but it was better than being completely insignificant.
Los Angeles was the first experiment for the NHL in the Sun Belt when the expansion franchise was awarded in 1967. A bunch of bearded behemoths from obscure outposts in Canada were now toiling amid the palm trees and endless beaches of Hollywood. These same guys, who grew up shovelling snow for hours just to get to the rink, could now practise in the morning and go to the beach or golf in the afternoon. Not surprisingly, their focus on hockey often waned and the Kings experienced little success. The reception from fans was also somewhat underwhelming.
But within weeks of N.W.A releasing Straight Outta Compton, the Kings actually made some noise of their own when they acquired Wayne Gretzky, who was arguably the greatest player ever and at 28 still in his formidable prime. For a front-running town built on star power, Gretzky was the golden child and attendance increased overnight. He brought a buzz to the buzzless and in 1994 helped the Kings to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time before losing to Montreal.