Release on August 8, 1988, Straight Outta Compton was the first album N.W.A released. N.W.A also known as "Niggaz Wit Attitude" was a group made up of Dr.Dre (Andre young), Ice Cube (O'Shea Jackson), Easy-E (Eric Wright), DJ Yella (Antoine Carraby), and MC Ren (Lorenzo Jerald Patterson). N.W.A originated in Los Angeles, California, specifically in Compton.
Music and Production []
Straight Outta Compton was the album that voiced the anger of the youth at the time.
There were three most popular songs from this album. "Straight Outta Compton" which was used to introduce the members of the group and show pride for where they came from. "Fuck tha Police" which was written as a song in protest of the police brutality and racial profiling that they dealt with growing up. The song describes a mock prosecution of the police department, with Dr. Dre as the judge and Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Easy-E are the witnesses who testify against the police department within each of their respected verses. "Gangsta Gangsta" was a song about the reality of living in Compton and the dangers but also why it can be appealing to many people.
The whole album was written entirely by members of the group N.W.A, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and The D.O.C. It was also produced members of the group N.W.A by Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, and DJ Yella. The lyrics on the album were criticized for its glamorization of black-on-black crime as well as shining a harsh light on police, specifically LAPD.
Controversy[]
Though this entire album caused a lot of controversies, the song "Fuck tha Police" caused the most discourse as the lyrics in the song caused a letter from the FBI describing their disapproval of the lyrics and stated that the lyrics misrepresented the police. The song was also banned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
The song, because of its disapproving nature towards police was not very popular when it came time to tour in certain areas, especially Detroit. Before performing in Detriot, they were warned not to sing that particular song, but that didn't stop them. In the middle of performing "Fuck tha Police" overcover cops at the scene started jumping over the barricade and fought with the security guards to get on stage and try and arrest N.W.A in front of the crowd and make an example. They managed to get to their hotel but were stopped in the lobby, full of police.
"Fuck tha Police" wasn't the only song that caused trouble and was banned from venues, but "Gansta, Gangsta" and "Straight Outta Compton" were some as well that get banned at certain venues.
Reviews[]
Once the album was released it was instantly compared with the rap music of Ice-T and Public Enemy. N.W.A was considered way more aggressive than the rest of those working in hip-hop. When it was first released it was given mostly negative reviews claiming it was vulgar and distasteful. But when it was re-released in 2002 Rolling Stone said that "Straight Outta Compton" is one of hip-hop's most crucial albums.