N.W.A | |
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N.W.A (an abbreviation forNiggaz Wit Attitudes[5][6]) was an Americanhip hop group formed inCompton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of thegangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential acts inhip hop music.[7][8]
Active from 1987 to 1991,[1] N.W.A endured controversy owing to their music's explicit lyrics, which many viewed as misogynistic or homophobic, as well as to its glorification of drugs and crime.[9] The group was subsequently banned from many mainstream American radio stations. In spite of this, they have sold over ten million units in the United States alone. Drawing on its members' own experiences ofracism andexcessive policing, N.W.A made inherently political music.[10] N.W.A's consistent criticisms ofinstitutional racism within theAmerican police significantly contributed to the political awareness and involvement of American youth againstracism.
The original lineup, formed in early 1987,[1] consisted ofArabian Prince,Dr. Dre,Eazy-E, andIce Cube, withDJ Yella andMC Ren joining later that year. They released their first compilation album as a group in 1987, calledN.W.A. and the Posse, which peaked at No. 39 onBillboard magazine's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and it was followed by their debut studio albumStraight Outta Compton (1989).[11] Arabian Prince left N.W.A. in October 1988, about three months before the release ofStraight Outta Compton, with Ice Cube following suit in December of the following year. Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Dr. Dre later becamePlatinum-selling solo artists in their own right in the 1990s. Eazy-E died fromAIDS on March 26, 1995.
The group's debut album marked the beginning of the newgangsta rap era, as the production and social commentary in their lyrics were revolutionary within the genre. N.W.A's second and final studio album,Niggaz4Life (1991), was the firsthardcore rap album to reach number one on theBillboard 200 sales charts.[6] In general, N.W.A had a lasting impact on generations of hip-hop artists and, in the late '80s, played a crucial role in shapingrap as it evolved in the subsequent generations, both musically and lyrically. Moreover, the group was credited with being the first to open up rap to awhite American audience, contributing to the rapid spread of rap within the American population in general, starting from the late 1980s.[12]
Rolling Stone ranked N.W.A at number 83 on itslist of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".[13] In 2016, the group was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame,[14][15] following three previous nominations.
N.W.A was assembled byCompton-basedEazy-E, who co-foundedRuthless Records withJerry Heller. Eazy-E sought an introduction to Steve Yano. Although Yano initially rebuffed him, he was impressed by Eazy-E's persistence, and arranged a meeting withDr. Dre.[16] Initially, N.W.A consisted of Eazy-E and Dr. Dre. Together with fellow producerArabian Prince,Ice Cube was added to the roster after he had started out as a rapper for the groupC.I.A.[17] Dre later broughtDJ Yella on board as well.[18]
Dre and Yella were both formerly members of theWorld Class Wreckin' Cru as DJs and producers. Ruthless released the single "Panic Zone" in 1987 with Macola Records, which was later included on the compilation albumN.W.A. and the Posse. N.W.A was still in its developing stages, and is only credited on three of the eleven tracks, notably the uncharacteristic record "Panic Zone", "8-Ball", and "Dopeman", which marked the first collaboration of Arabian Prince, DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube. Mexican rapper Krazy-Dee co-wrote "Panic Zone", which was originally called "Hispanic Zone", but the title was later changed when Dr. Dre advised Krazy-Dee that the word "hispanic" would hinder sales.[19] Also included was Eazy-E's solo track "Boyz-n-the-Hood".[20]
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N.W.A released their debut studio album,Straight Outta Compton, in January 1989.[11] With its famous opening salvo of three tracks, the group reflected the rising anger of the urban youth. The opening song "Straight Outta Compton" introduced the group, "Fuck tha Police" protestedpolice brutality andracial profiling, and "Gangsta Gangsta" painted theworldview of the inner-city youth. While the group was later credited with pioneering the burgeoning subgenre ofgangsta rap, N.W.A referred to their music as "reality rap".[21]
Twenty-six years later, member and co-producer of theStraight Outta Compton film, Ice Cube, commented "they were talking about what really led into the style that we ended up doing, which is now called hardcore gangster rap."[22] Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, as HighPowered Productions, composed the beats for each song, with Dre making occasional rapping appearances. The D.O.C., Ice Cube, and MC Ren wrote most of the group's lyrics, including "Fuck tha Police", perhaps the group's most notorious song, which brought them into conflict with variouslaw enforcement agencies. Under pressure fromFocus on the Family,[23] Milt Ahlerich, an assistant director of theFBI sent a letter to Ruthless and its distributing companyPriority Records, advising the rappers that "advocating violence and assault is wrong and we in the law enforcement community take exception to such action." This letter can still be seen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inCleveland,Ohio.[24] Policemen refused to provide security for the group's concerts, hurting their plans to tour. Nonetheless, the FBI's letter only served to draw more publicity to the group.
Straight Outta Compton was also one of the first albums to adhere to the newParental Advisory label scheme, then still in its early stages: the label at the time consisted of "WARNING: Moderate impact coarse language and/or themes" only. However, the taboo nature of N.W.A's music was the most important factor of its mass appeal. Media coverage compensated for the group's lack of airplay, and its album eventually went doubleplatinum.[25] Two months beforeStraight Outta Compton, Eazy-E's solo debutEazy-Duz-It was released.[11] The album was dominated by Eazy's persona (MC Ren was the only guest rapper) but behind the scenes it was a group effort.
Music was handled by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella; the lyrics were largely written by MC Ren, with contributions from Ice Cube andThe D.O.C. The album was another double platinum success for Ruthless[26] (in addition to girl groupJ.J. Fad in 1988 and singerMichel'le in 1989). 1989 saw the reissue ofN.W.A and the Posse on CD, and the release of The D.O.C.'sNo One Can Do It Better. His album was essentially a collaboration with Dr. Dre and notably free of "gangsta rap" content, including the N.W.Aposse cut "The Grand Finalé". It became another #1 album for the record label.
Ice Cube left the group in December 1989 overroyalty disputes;[6] having written almost half of the lyrics onStraight Outta Compton himself, he felt he was not getting a fair share of the profits.[27] A lawsuit brought by Ice Cube against band manager Jerry Heller was settled out of court.[28] He wasted little time putting together his solo debut, 1990'sAmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, but he avoided mentioning his former label mates. N.W.A's title track from their 1990EP100 Miles and Runnin', however, included adiss towards Cube:"We started with five, but yo / One couldn't take it—So now it's four / Cuz the fifth couldn't make it." The video for the song depicted the remaining members of N.W.A together in a jail cell, while an Ice Cube look-alike is released.
Also heard on the EP (which found its way on theEfil4zaggin album) was "Real Niggaz", a full-blown diss to Ice Cube where the remaining members accuse him of cowardice, and question his authenticity, longevity and originality:"How the fuck you think a rapper lasts / With your ass sayin' shit that was said in the past / Yo, be original, your shit is sloppy / Get off the dick, you motherfuckin' carbon-copy", and"We started out with too much cargo / So I'm glad we got rid ofBenedict Arnold, yo."
The song "100 Miles and Runnin'" was Dr. Dre's finaluptempo recording, which had been a common feature of late 1980s hip hop. After this, he focused on a midtempo,synthesizer based sound which became known asG-funk, starting with "Alwayz Into Somethin'" fromEfil4zaggin in 1991. The G-funk style dominated both the West and East Coast hip hop music scene for several years to come.
N.W.A is referenced on Ice Cube's 1990 EP,Kill at Will, where he name-checks his former group (likely in a mocking manner) on the song "Jackin' For Beats". On "I Gotta Say What Up!!!", Ice Cube gives shout-outs to his rap peers at the time, among themPublic Enemy,Geto Boys, andSir Jinx. At the end of the track, in what appears to be an on-the-phone interview, Ice Cube is asked, "Since you went solo, what's up with the rest of the crew?" and the phone is abruptly hung up on the interviewer.
The group's second full-length release, 1991'sEfil4zaggin ("Niggaz4Life" spelled backwards), re-established the band in the face of Ice Cube's continued solo success. The album is considered by many Dr. Dre's finest production work, and it heralded the beginning of the G-Funk era. It also showed a clear animosity towards their former member, and derogatory references to Ice Cube are found in several songs. The interlude "A Message to B.A." echoes the beginning of his song "Turn Off the Radio" fromAmeriKKKa's Most Wanted: Ice Cube is first addressed by the name Benedict Arnold (after the infamous traitor of theAmerican Revolution) but then named outright in a torrent of abuse from both the group and its fans:"When we see yo' ass, we gon' cut yo' hair off and fuck you with a broomstick" spoken by MC Ren.[29]
The N.W.A–Ice Cube feud eventually escalated, both on record and in real life.AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted had avoided direct attacks on N.W.A, but onDeath Certificate, Ice Cube's second full-length release, he retaliated. He sampled and mocked the "Message to B.A." skit before embarking on a full-blown tirade, the infamous "No Vaseline". In a series of verses, Ice Cube verbally assaulted the group:"You lookin' like straight bozos / I saw it comin' that's why I went solo / Kept on stompin' / When y'all Muthafuckas moved Straight outta Compton / You got jealous when I got my own company / But I'm a man, and ain't nobody humpin' me."[29]
He also responded to members MC Ren, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E individually to "100 Miles and Runnin'", claiming"I started off with too much cargo / Dropped four niggaz and now I'm makin' all the dough", using homophobic metaphors to describe their unequal business relationship with Jerry Heller, who became the target of harsh insults:"Get rid of that devil real simple / Put a bullet in his temple / Cuz you can't be the 'Niggaz 4 Life' crew / With a whiteJew tellin' you what to do." The song attracted controversy for itsantisemitism (the beginning of such accusations against Ice Cube during his affiliation with theNation of Islam), based on the bashing of Heller's religion.[29]
The track was omitted from the UK release, and later pressings included a censored version of the song. In September 1990, members of hip hop actAbove the Law clashed with Ice Cube and his posseDa Lench Mob during the annualNew Music Seminar conference, forcing the latter to flee the premises ofTimes Square'sMarriott Marquis, the venue of the event.[30] On January 27, 1991, Dr. Dre assaultedDee Barnes, host of the hip hop showPump It Up, after its coverage[31] of the N.W.A/Ice Cube beef. According toRolling Stone reporter Alan Light:
He picked her up and "began slamming her face and the right side of her body repeatedly against a wall near the stairway" as his bodyguard held off the crowd. After Dre tried to throw her down the stairs and failed, he began kicking her in the ribs and hands. She escaped and ran into the women's rest room. Dre followed her and "grabbed her from behind by the hair and proceeded to punch her in the back of the head."[32]
In response, Dre commented: "People talk all this shit, but you know, if somebody fucks with me, I'm gonna fuck with them. I just did it, you know. Ain't nothing you can do now by talking about it. Besides, it ain't no big thing—I just threw her through a door."[32]
1991'sNiggaz4Life was the group's final album. After Dr. Dre, The D.O.C. and Michel'le departed from Ruthless to joinDeath Row Records and allegations over Eazy-E being coerced into signing away their contracts (while however retaining a portion of their publishing rights), a bitter rivalry ensued.[6] Dr. Dre began the exchange in 1992 with Death Row's first release, "Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')", and its accompanying video featured a character named "Sleazy-E" (played by actorA.J. Johnson) who ran around desperately trying to get money. The insults continued onThe Chronic with "Bitches Ain't Shit". Eazy-E responded in 1993 with the EPIt's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa on the tracks "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" and "It's On".
Eazy-E accused Dr. Dre of being a homosexual, calling him a "she thang", and criticizing Dre's new image by calling him and Snoop "studio gangsters". The music video for "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" showed a still of Dre wearing make-up and a sequined jumpsuit. The photos dated back to Dr. Dre's World Class Wreckin' Cru days, when such fashion was common among West Coast electro hop artists, prior to N.W.A's popularization of gangsta rap. Eazy-E kept dissing Dre and Death Row on most of his songs until hisAIDS-related death on March 26, 1995.
Even Eazy-E's longtime friend MC Ren voiced his dislike for Eazy-E in 1994, calling Eazy-E a "big-head" and "wannabe mega-star", and even suggesting that N.W.A should reunite without Eazy-E.[33] MC Ren later said that the only relationship he had with Eazy-E was through Ruthless Records, where he released the platinum-selling EPKizz My Black Azz (1992) and the albumShock of the Hour (1993). Eazy-E and MC Ren ended their feud shortly before the former's death in their 1995 duet '"Tha Muthaphukkin' Real" after two years of not talking to each other. All bad blood finally ceased within the rest of the group. Dr. Dre, MC Ren and Ice Cube later expressed their re-evaluated feelings to their old friend on 1998's "Ruthless for Life", 1999's "What's the Difference" and "Chin Check", 2000's "Hello", 2006's "Growin' Up", and in the 2011 music video "I Need a Doctor".
Having both parted with Ruthless Records on bad terms, tensions between Ice Cube and Dr. Dre eventually eased on their own. After Ice Cube made acameo appearance in Dr. Dre's "Let Me Ride" video in 1993, the two recorded the hit song "Natural Born Killaz" forSnoop Dogg's 1994 short film and soundtrackMurder Was the Case. Ice Cube also later appeared on MC Ren's albumRuthless for Life on the track "Comin' After You". MC Ren appeared on Dre's 1999 album2001, and the three remaining N.W.A emcees reunited for "Hello" on Ice Cube's 2000 albumWar & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc), and the song "Chin Check" in 1999 for theNext Friday soundtrack, a movie starring Ice Cube.[2]
The West Coast and "gangsta" music scene had however fallen out of the spotlight since the death ofTupac Shakur in 1996, and it was only after Dr. Dre's successful patronage ofEminem and Dre's ensuing comeback album2001 that the genre and its artists regained the national spotlight. 2000's all-starUp In Smoke Tour reunited much of the N.W.A and Death Row families, and during time spent on the road, Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, featured special guest Snoop Dogg[34][3][4][35] and Eminem began recording in a mobile studio. A comeback album entitledNot These Niggaz Again was planned[36] (and included DJ Yella, who had not been present on the tour).
However, due to busy and conflicting schedules as well as the obstacles of coordinating three different record labels (Priority,No Limit andInterscope), obtaining the rights to the name N.W.A and endorsing the whole project to gain exclusive rights, the album never materialized.[37] Only two tracks from these sessions were released: the aforementioned "Chin Check" (with Snoop Dogg as a member of N.W.A) from 2000'sNext Friday soundtrack and "Hello" from Ice Cube's 2000 albumWar & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc). Both songs also appeared on N.W.A'sremasteredGreatest Hits. There were also partial reunions on other projects, notably "Set It Off", from Snoop Dogg'sTha Last Meal (2000), which featured MC Ren and Ice Cube, and The D.O.C.'s "The Shit", from his 2003 albumDeuce, featuring MC Ren, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and Six-Two. Dr. Dre and DJ Yella were present in the studio for the latter song.
In addition to theGreatest Hits initially released by Priority in 1996,Capitol and Ruthless Records jointly releasedThe N.W.A Legacy, Vol. 1: 1988–1998 in 1999, a compilation that contained songs by other rap artists and only three songs from the actual group but various solo tracks from the five members. The success of the album prompted a second volume,The N.W.A Legacy, Vol. 2, three years later. It emulated the format of its predecessor, containing only three genuine N.W.A tracks and many solo efforts by the crew members. In 2007, a new greatest hits package was released, entitledThe Best of N.W.A: The Strength of Street Knowledge.
In 2014, Ice Cube appeared on MC Ren's remix for "Rebel Music". This was the first time the duo had worked together since the N.W.A reunion in 2000.[38]
On June 27, 2015, MC Ren and DJ Yella joined Ice Cube during his solo set as part of the BET Experience show at theStaples Center inLos Angeles, California. This marked the first reunion performance of the group (minus Dr. Dre) in 15 years. Following a 27-year hiatus, the group reunited with surviving members Ice Cube, MC Ren, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella taking the stage during the second weekend of theCoachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2016, just days following the group's Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame induction.[39][40]
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Although the group disbanded in 1991, it remains one of the greatest and most influential hip-hop groups,[7][8] leaving a lasting legacy on hip hop music in the following decades.[7] Its influence, from the use of funky, bass-driven beats to its exaggerated lyrics, was evident throughout the 1990s and even into the present, and is often credited as bridging the white/black American musical lines with its appeal to white Americans in the late 1980s.[12] The group's influence, impact and initial rejection bycritics and cultural elites was compared to theSex Pistols forrock.[42]
The first album of the group,Straight Outta Compton, has been described by Gerrick D. Kennedy as one of the loudest "big bangs" inhip-hop music and a "a sonicMolotov cocktail that ignited a firestorm when it debuted in the summer of 1988".[43] In 2017,Straight Outta Compton was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Recording Registry by theLibrary of Congress, who deemed it to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[44]
They were influential in appearance ofWest andEast Coast hip hop genres and artists,[45] as well in development ofalternative andnu metal acts such asSystem of a Down,Slipknot andKorn.[46][47][48]
N.W.A were among the first to popularizepolitical speech within rap.[49][50]
Despite significant controversies regardingmisogyny orhomophobia in the lyrics of certain songs,[49][51] the group left a significant mark onAmerican politics, and more generally, worldwide. This was notably achieved by offering a dissenting discourse in response to the state speeches during theWar on Crime era.[49] Such discourse was later adopted by numerous artists. N.W.A's repeated attacks against theinstitutional racism of theAmerican police, particularly with the song "Fuck tha Police", played a crucial role in the politicization ofAfrican-American youth and subsequently in the politicization ofWhite American youth againstpolice brutality and, more broadly,racism.[49][50]
In the 1980s and 1990s, rap was perceived byAmerican political elites as an "existential threat" to the United States social order.[49] According to researcher Bryan J. McCann:[49]
The political and cultural mainstream of the 1980s regardedgangsta rap as a genuine threat to the social order rather than a playful destabilization of the period’s law-and-order discourses. (...) Indeed, a seismic cultural force had emerged (...) NWA’s iconic album became a popular window into black inner-city life by enacting, exaggerating, and celebrating the practices and locales at the heart of 1980s law-and-order politics. In other words, the album represented an alternative, and business-savvy, rendition of the mark of criminality.
More specifically, the song "Fuck tha Police," like other songs from the group, became a symbol of resistance againstneoliberalism.[52]
In Dr. Dre's 1999 single "Forgot About Dre",Eminem paid homage to the group, rapping "So what do you say to somebody you hate / Or anyone tryna bring trouble your way? / Wanna resolve things in a bloodier way? / Just study a tape of N.W.A", possibly referring to the negative reception of N.W.A's works by mainstream radio, which considered the group's songs violent and thus unusable for radio.[53]
A scene in the music video for the 2005 single "Hate It or Love It" byThe Game featuring50 Cent showsTequan Richmond and Zachary Williams (portraying a youthful Game & 50 Cent respectively) being caughtspraypainting "N.W.A" on a wall, resulting in their subsequent arrest by two policemen. The Game also has a tattoo that says "N.W.A" on the right side of his chest.[54]
New Line Cinema representatives announced toEntertainment Weekly's "Hollywood Insider Blog" that N.W.A's story was in development to become a feature film for theatrical release in 2012. However, it was delayed to sometime in 2014. The script was researched and written by filmmakerS. Leigh Savidge and radio veteranAlan Wenkus, who worked closely with Eazy-E's widow, Tomica Woods-Wright.[55] Ice Cube and Dr. Dre act as producers of the film. In September 2011,John Singleton[56] was selected as director. Ice Cube and Singleton previously collaborated onBoyz n the Hood, a movie that was nominated for anAcademy Award, and Ice Cube also played the part of the character "Fudge" in Singleton'sHigher Learning.[57]
Casting calls began in the summer of 2010. There were rumors ofLil Eazy-E playing his late father Eazy-E, and Ice Cube's son and fellow rapperO'Shea Jackson Jr. playing his father as well. Ice Cube stated of the movie, "We're taking it to the nooks and crannies, I think deeper than any other article or documentary on the group," he said. "These are the intimate conversations that helped forge N.W.A. To me, I think it's interesting to anybody who loves that era and I don't know any other movie where you can mix Gangster Rap, the F.B.I., L.A. riots, HIV, and fucking feuding with each other. This movie has everything from Darryl Gates and the battering ram."[57]
In August 2012,F. Gary Gray was selected as director rather than Singleton.[58] The film, namedStraight Outta Compton, had been picked up byUniversal Pictures who hired Jonathan Herman[59] in December 2013 to draft a new script and brought inWill Packer to executive produce.[60][61] On February 21, 2014, director F. Gary Gray announced a March 9, 2014 open casting call for the film via hisTwitter account.[62] There were also open casting calls inAtlanta andChicago.[63][64] RapperYG auditioned to play MC Ren in the film.[65] The project was scheduled to start filming in April 2014 but was pushed backed due to casting delays.[66][67][68]
On June 18, 2014, Universal announced that the N.W.A biopicStraight Outta Compton would be released August 14, 2015. Ice Cube's son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., plays a younger version of his father in the movie, whileJason Mitchell plays Eazy-E,Corey Hawkins plays Dr. Dre,Aldis Hodge plays MC Ren, andNeil Brown Jr. plays DJ Yella.[69][70][71] In early July 2014, casting directors for the N.W.A biopic issued a casting call for extras and vintage cars in the Los Angeles area for scenes in the movie. The film received positive reviews and grossed over $200 million worldwide.[72]
Rolling Stone ranked N.W.A at number 83 on itslist of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".[13] In 2016, the group was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame,[14][15] following three previous nominations.
Straight Outta Compton was the first rap album ever to gain five stars from Rolling Stone at initial review, it placed 70th among the magazine's500 Greatest Albums of All Time in its 2020 revised list.[73]Time, in 2006, named it one of the 100 greatest albums of all time.[74]Vibe appraised it as one of the 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century.[75] In 2012,Slant Magazine listed it 18th among the "Best Albums of the 1980s".[76] In any case, in November 2016,Straight Outta Compton became the first rap album inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[77]
Studio albums
Extended plays
Compilation albums
Also on the marquee was Eazy-E, the "Godfather of Gangsta rap" and founder of the most notorious hip-hop group of all time, N.W.A. (...)
... a self-consciously violent and dangerous lyrical stance ... ridiculously violent and misogynist lyrics.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)Of the many big bangs that have transformed rap over the decades, N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton is one of the loudest. It was a sonic Molotov cocktail that ignited a firestorm when it debuted in the summer of 1988. Steered by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella's dark production and Ice Cube and MC Ren's striking rhymes, and brought to life by Eazy-E's wicked charm, the record fused the bombastic sonics of Public Enemy's production with vicious lyrics that were revolutionary or perverse, depending on whom you asked.
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