100 Best Albums
- AUG 8, 1988
- 13 Songs
- N.W.A. Greatest Hits · 1988
- Straight Outta Compton · 1988
- Straight Outta Compton · 1988
- Efil4zaggin · 1991
- Efil4zaggin · 1991
- N.W.A. and the Posse · 1987
- Straight Outta Compton · 1988
- 100 Miles and Runnin' - EP · 1990
- Straight Outta Compton · 1988
- N.W.A. Greatest Hits · 1996
Essential Albums
- 100 Best Albums Coming hard on the heels of 1987’s excoriating “Dopeman” 12-inch, and Eazy-E’s career defining hustler narrative “Boyz-n-the Hood,” Straight Outta Compton was the album that would turn N.W.A from a local phenomenon into a nationally feared public menace. Dre’s simple, but impeccably equalized production, Ice Cube’s powerhouse flow and incipient Black radicalism, Eazy’s sneering nihilism, and MC Ren’s stolid ice grill turned the hip-hop world on its ear, swiftly shifting the focus of the hip-hop universe 3000 miles west and leaving old-school West Coast heads wondering where they went wrong. The adrenaline surge of the title track, the blaring sirens of “Fuck tha Police,” and the roughshod drums of “Gangsta Gangsta” comprise one of the most bracing opening sequences in music history, and if what follows fails to live up to the impossibly high standards set by these tracks, it is only a testament to their lasting power. Relentlessly violent and willfully outrageous, Straight Outta Compton arose from Los Angeles’ sprawling swap meets and dilapidated suburbs like a biblical plague, serving warning to all that hip-hop could no longer be ignored by the musical mainstream. Straight Outta Compton still retains its power to shock, delight, and enlighten. Ignore it at your peril.
Albums
Music Videos
Artist Playlists
- The West Coast icons ignited a gangsta-rap explosion.
- Running through the gangsta chronicles inspired by Compton's most notorious.
- Fearless funk-sampling L.A. gangsta rap with a message.
Singles & EPs
More To Hear
- When gangsta rap kicked down the door.
- 30th anniversary reflections on N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton.
- 30th anniversary reflections on N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton.
About N.W.A
N.W.A. may not have invented gangsta rap, but their brash, unapologetic approach to hip-hop made them innovators and one of the industry's most controversial groups ever. They formed in 1987 when Compton drug dealer-turned-rap mogul Eazy-E recruited Dr. Dre, a producer and DJ from World Class Wreckin' Cru, and rapper Ice Cube to write songs like "Boyz-n-the-Hood" for Eazy's label, Ruthless Records. The trio formed N.W.A.—Ni**az With Attitude––with Arabian Prince, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. They got their feet wet with their debut, N.W.A. and the Posse, but their 1988 follow-up, Straight Outta Compton, changed the game. They lived up to their billing as the World's Most Dangerous Group: Their lyrics (written by Cube, Ren, and Ruthless signee The D.O.C.) on songs like "Dopeman" and "Gangsta Gangsta" were misogynistic, violent, and lewd, while the battle cry "F*ck tha Police" still rings out for its fearless rebellion against racial profiling and police brutality. They dealt with warning letters from the FBI and countless protests, but their skills and star power were undeniable. Eazy's nasal voice, Cube's brawny baritone, and Dre and Yella's funky production fascinated, offended, and inspired—a template that future gangsta rappers would follow for decades after them. But the group's founding roster was short-lived. Contract issues led to the group's end in 1991, and Eazy-E died of complications from AIDS in 1995. Despite a relatively short run as a group, N.W.A.'s legacy lives on through 2015's Straight Outta Compton biopic and their 2016 induction into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame.
- ORIGIN
- Los Angeles, CA, United States
- FORMED
- 1986
- GENRE
- Hip-Hop/Rap