Filed under: Black Music Month
While New York's Public Enemy expressed political outrage through high-minded poetic rants and a black nationalist's worldview, Compton's N.W.A. (see here with Above the Law's Laylaw and the D.O.C.) exposed the grim realities of West Coast rap and gang culture in sobering detail.
The group's knee-quaking name said it all: N***az With Attitude. And its members Eazy E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella produced some of hip-hop's most daring music. Their defining moment came with the 1989 release of 'Straight Outta Compton,' a stunningly unapologetic album that is considered the benchmark for gangsta rap.
The LP's boldest statement was the group's most notorious song 'F**k tha Police.' The track decried police brutality and wound up being a chillingly prescient anthem considering the Rodney King beating and Los Angeles riots of 1992. For all their outspokenness, the group endured scrutiny from the FBI and various other law enforcement agencies and conservative organizations. But not long after that release, the group splintered - Ice Cube left acrimoniously, Dr. Dre exited the fold after beefing with Ruthless Records label boss Jerry Heller and by 1991, Eazy E died of AIDS complications.
In recent years, Cube has transformed a monster solo rap career into Hollywood TV and movie moguldom. As arguably hip-hop's best producer, Dre has masterminded his own solo ventures ('The Chronic' and '2001') as well as being instrumental in two of music's biggest artists, Eminem and 50 Cent. Dre's 'Detox' is this year's most hotly anticipated album.
Influence is felt by ... Odd Future, Eminem, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Mack 10, Nate Dogg, Warren G, among others.