Wow, I'd never have thought I'd get the opportunity to answer this here!

Truthfully, the only true "gangsta" in N.W.A. was Eazy-E. Born Eric Wright, Eazy dropped out of school after 10th grade and by the age of 23 had amassed $250,000 from selling marijuana. Eazy never killed anyone, however, and never sold cocaine or crack. He was business savvy enough to partner with Jerry Heller and establish Ruthless Records as a major player in gangsta rap.

Ice Cube, born O'Shea Jackson, graduated from high school and attended college for a year. He was never a drug dealer or a gang member.

MC Ren (who took Ren from his first name of Lorenzo) did indeed come from Compton where there was quite a bit of gang violence, but he too was never in a gang or affiliated with one. He joined NWA at the age of 19 in 1988, and was only a day older than Ice Cube. Being so young, the two had little time to live a life of crime.

DJ Yella and Dr. Dre also grew up in violent areas but never joined gangs nor had arrest records.

Now, for "HOW gangsta" they were? It should be noted that these guys ran in very tough circles. They may have been making up everything about killing people, but the pictures of Ice Cube with an AK-47 or Eazy with his guns should represent that these guys were not average Americans. They were very connected to the street scene of Compton and South-Central L.A. in the 80's and 90's that would come to define an era of culture. While Eazy-E was the only person that truly pursued and succeeded in a criminal life, all 5 members came from hardened backgrounds.