N.W.A. courted controversy with the incendiary inner-city realism of this seminal rap classic. The group was formed in the L.A. county city of Compton by Eazy-E (Eric Wright) who had formed Ruthless Records with Jerry Heller. World Class Wreckin' Cru producer Dr Dre (Andre Young) and DJ Yella (Antoine Carraby) joined next, followed by rappers Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson) and MC Ren (Lorenzo Patterson). The Arabian Prince (Mik Lezan) and the D.O.C.(Tracy Lynn Curry) also became a part of the crew for the recording of their debut album 'Straight Outta Compton'.
Easy-E found the business of making music a safer bet than dealing drugs: "We're not making records for the fun of it. We're in it to make money. It was getting too dangerous so I decided to look for something legal to do with the money I had made."
Ice Cube says the violence in their lyrics reflects the reality of the streets: "If you sat on this porch at night and just listened real hard, you'd hear nothing but gunfire. I've heard it so much in my neighborhood that I can't hear it no more. At night, you'll see the helicopter flying around here with the spotlight on, looking for somebody. If you hear a car with a beatbox booming at night, you know they're out looking for somebody. As long as you can't see where they're coming from, gunshots aren't scary. Now, if you see the fire from the gun, then you run...Whenever the media shows California, all they picture is beaches and pretty girls; they never go to our neighborhood. People here don't look poor because they get what they want. It's how they get it that means it just ain't safe...I'm a little calmer now, because I'm making the records, but I used to do some crazy stuff. I don't have to be out there robbing cars and stuff now, but that's the way I used to be. The rap is how I feel. If somebody's out there, breaking into my car, I'm going to shoot them and probably wouldn't think nothing of it. It's Vietnam here; nobody knew where nothing was coming from there, and it's the same way down here with the gangs and crack. You gotta be true to yourself in this city: you in your car, me in my car...The parents, the police and the people of the local community are scared of what we say. We use the same kind of language as the kids use every day. In the black community, the ministers and teachers don't deny that the problems we rap about exist, but they'd rather sweep it under the rug. Maybe that's why we sell so many records, because the people in the community all tell the kids what to do, the police are watching them 24-seven, so when they party, they don't want to hear, 'Don't do this and don't do that.' Our raps are documentary. We don't take sides."
The album gained notoriety for the song 'Fuck Tha Police', which led to a letter from an assistant director of the FBI admonishing the label for releasing a song advocating violence. The song also created problems with law enforcement agencies around the country when the group would tour. Despite receiving virtually no radio airplay, 'Straight Outta Compton' went to number thirty-seven in the US, thirty-five in the UK, and number nine on the US R&B album chart. It has sold more than two million copies in the US alone. The album became instrumental in bringing gangsta rap to the mainstream consciousness.
http://www.nwaworld.com/
Express Yourself
'Straight Outta Compton'
full album:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEDbY0bmJgw&list=PLD5361CCD714F2A8A
http://www.playthishiphop.com/listen-nwa-straight-outta-compton-full-album/
01. Straight Outta Compton 00:00
02. Fuck Tha Police 04:22
03. Gangsta Gangsta 10:10
04. If It Ain't Ruff 15:50
05. Parental Discretion Iz Advised 19:27
06. 8 Ball [Remix] 24:46
07. Something Like That 29:42
08. Express Yourself 33:20
09. Compton's In The House [Remix] 37:48
10. I Ain't Tha 1 43:12
11. Dopeman [Remix] 48:10
12. Quiet On Tha Set 53:33
13. Something 2 Dance 57:36
14. Express Yourself [Extended Mix] 01:01:11
15. Bonus Beats 01:05:57
16. Straight Outta Compton [Extended Mix] 01:09:03
17. A Bitch Iz A Bitch 01:13:59
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