Lorenzo Jerald Patterson (born June 16, 1969), better known by his stage name MC Ren, is an American rapper from Compton, California. He is the founder and owner of his own record label Villain Entertainment. His moniker is derived from the middle letters in his first name (Lorenzo).

Ren began his career signed as a solo artist to Eazy E's Ruthless Records in early 1987, while still attending high school. By the end of 1987, after having written almost half of Eazy E's debut album Eazy-Duz-It, he was included in the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A with Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and DJ Yella, which popularized the use of explicit lyrics in rap to detail the violence of street life. After the group disbanded in 1991, he stayed with Ruthless, putting out several platinum and gold selling albums, before leaving the label in 1999.