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Reverse Reviews : NWA, Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A – STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (1988)
What, like you didn’t think we were doing this one?
Here’s one of those rare records that not only created a new musical style, but also gave rise to a new political and cultural movement. Usually there are just a handful of these per generation.
And now, the narrative sequence.
There are two threads of history that explain the importance of this record:
One. 1980s: EAST COAST DOMINANCE.
Rappers from the East Coast pretty much ran the hip-hop scene for most of the 1980s.
I think we all know about Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Fives’ ‘The Message’, and Sugarhill Gang’s ‘Rappers Delight’…and the fact that these tunes were a huge part of the spark that ignited the flame. These ideas were very punk rock at the time, because of how different they were, but they also began to sniff the Billboard Top 40 charts. Kurtis Blow’s ‘The Breaks’ and ‘Basketball’ also dealt heavy blows during this time. Artists such as Run-D.M.C., Biz Markie, Slick Rick, Big Daddy Kane, The Fat Boys and EPMD all drove the scene and were considered pioneers that were firmly rooted on the East Coast. In fact, Kurtis Blow (Kurtis Blow), LL Cool J (Radio) and especially Run-D.M.C. (Raising Hell), were among the first hip hop artists to ‘break out’ and gain significant acceptance from the mainstream media, as proven by record sales and radio successes.
Two. FREE SPEECH SUPRESSION IN AMERICAN MUSIC.
In 1985, as musicians started writing lyrics and printing album covers that rubbed sensitive Western taboos the wrong way, the Powers That Be – manifested by the RIAA and the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) – began a program of externally labeling all records with “offensive” or “explicit” lyrics in order “to educate and inform parents” about “the growing trend in music towards lyrics that are sexually explicit, excessively violent, or glorify the use of drugs and alcohol” (the transcript of the first Congressional Hearing on the issue is here; also, here’s a nice history of the PMRC). The result of this campaign was this little sticker:
Now, to be fair, most Government officials riding this hypocrisy train stated they had no intention of suppressing the 1st Amendment, and who knows, maybe they meant it…but all the same, as Congressional hearing after Congressional hearing came and went, people came to realize that there were far better uses of the Government’s time and resources than categorizing records by how many nasty words they contained.
And so, after a few years, the crusade died down as federal politicians (and their voters) began losing interest. The reality: the PMRC campaign against “offensiveness” soon became perceived as an overreaction to a minimal threat that, in the end, was just some cuss words or some scantily clad women on the cover of a CD. These were things that had been around for years, and, for the most part, parents were familiar with how to deal with them. Overall, the status quo had remained intact.
THE RECORD.
Then, just when everything had gotten quiet and peaceful (it was a Presidential election year, after all), a surprise attack came out of nowhere, a war began and a new subculture was born. A baby called ‘gangsta rap’ arrived on the scene…and it was pissed and hungry.
On August 8, 1988, N.W.A (“Niggaz With Attitude”), a rap group hailing from the housing projects of Compton, CA, released their second album, Straight Outta Compton. This monster was built by some relative unknowns at the time, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella and MC Ren, and it was filled with amazing samples by James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Funkadelic, Ohio Players, Kool and the Gang, Slick Rick, and even the Steve Miller Band, to name a few. It was a record that told an entirely new story that the rest of the nation, quite simply, had never heard before. A story of gang life in South Central Los Angeles and Compton, where life was, in a lot of ways, as lawless as the Wild West. Violence and chaos reigned supreme in this previously-unknown corner of America, and this was its sonic manifesto. This biographical story was narrated by a new type of artist…one that was combining its god-given talents with the hardcore, real-life stories from life on the streets of Compton. Truth. In your face. Motherfucker. Deal with it.
Straight Outta Compton was a best-seller overnight, eventually becoming the first record to ever go platinum with out any radio play. The album’s cultural impact was similar in effect to the release of Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977) on an unsuspecting rock world, or Elvis Presley’s first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. It obliterated expectations and ideas of “acceptability” by completely ignoring that they even existed in the first place.
“You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.”
With this line, the album begins.
This record was brutally honest, unapologetic, lyrically brilliant, and supported by our first real look at (the now legendary) Dr. Dre and his beats. No filler whatsoever. It was so strong, in fact, that this record lived more in headphones than at house parties for a while. People were taking the time to REALLY listen to this shit and better understand the criminal lifestyle and what life may be like on the other side. After that, they were hooked. Shit was on, and the door was open. It was now ‘OK’ to say things like ‘Fuck tha Police’, ‘A Bitch Iz a Bitch’, and actually admit that there was a ‘Dopeman’ out there. When I say ‘OK’, I don’t mean to the FBI or Secret Service or to Middle America Moms, mind you…but to artists and believers in free speech, this was a long overdue hall pass. Basically, this record helped wake a sleeping giant that was backed by a pesky little thing called ‘The First Amendment’. Holy shit.
Then, the movement came…like a tsunami…and it was driven by attitude and dressed with L.A. Kings hats and Raiders jackets. The West Coast had officially shown up to the hip-hop party, fashionably late, and in a fleet of tanks fueled by 40’s, bandanas, and gats. They were the doormen for some notable West Coast artists, including Ice T, Snoop, Too Short, Warren G, and Tupac Shakur (one of the most influential rappers of all time). It can be argued that this movement helped open the door for West Coast pop-rap as well, with the unleashing of Oaklands MC Hammer and his sweet pants onto the airwaves. ‘2 legit to quit’ was pretty lame, but you have to admit that ‘Turn this mutha out’ was the jam. And as long as we admit that, we also have to admit that Hammer helped open the door for crap…but that’s OK.
We could write about this record for days. Bottom line is: listen to it with an open mind if you haven’t done so already (5,000 times). This is one of those critical records that shifted the thinking of a generation, and it deserves some credit for that.
If you like this record, you will love: All Tupacs records, All Ice Cubes records, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Too Short, Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Dj Quick, Eminem, J.T. The Bigga Figga, and The Game…to name a few.
Parental Advisory is still in full affect. Here is a dose of the real:
Another:
NWA : Fuck Tha Police (DJ Shadow Remix)
Video for "Express Yourself," one of the more pop friendly tracks on Straight Outta Compton. Yes, this is "pop friendly," relative to the rest of the record. An early demonstration of Dr. Dre's songcrafting prowess.