N.W.A was an American hip hop group formed in Compton, California. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential acts in hip hop music.
Lorenzo Jerald Patterson, known professionally as MC Ren, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Compton, California. He is the founder and owner of the independent record label Villain Entertainment.
O'Shea Jackson Sr., known as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1988 album Straight Outta Compton contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popularity, and his political rap solo albums AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990), Death Certificate (1991), and The Predator (1992) were all critically and commercially successful. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of N.W.A in 2016.
Eric Lynn Wright, known professionally by the stage name Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. He is often referred to as the "Godfather of Gangsta Rap".
Straight Outta Compton is the debut studio album by American gangsta rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, with lyrics written by N.W.A members Ice Cube and MC Ren along with Ruthless rapper and unofficial member The D.O.C. Not merely depicting Compton's street violence, the lyrics repeatedly threaten to lead it by attacking peers and even police. The track "Fuck tha Police" drew an FBI agent's warning letter, which aided N.W.A's notoriety, with N.W.A calling itself "the world's most dangerous group."
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony is an American hip hop group composed of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Flesh-n-Bone. Formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio, the group signed to fellow American rapper Eazy-E's Ruthless Records in late 1993, on which they debuted with their EP Creepin on ah Come Up the next year. The EP included their breakout hit single "Thuggish Ruggish Bone". In 1995, the group released its second album E. 1999 Eternal, which included hits "1st of tha Month" and "East 1999". Their hit song "Tha Crossroads", a tribute to then-recently deceased mentor Eazy-E, won a Grammy Award in 1997.
Delmar Drew Arnaud, known professionally as Daz Dillinger or simply Daz, is an American rapper and record producer. As a member of Death Row Records in the early 1990s, he is credited with the label in pioneering West Coast hip hop and gangsta rap for mainstream audiences. Alongside Kurupt, he formed the hip hop duo tha Dogg Pound in 1992, with whom he has released eight albums.
Mia Young, better known by her stage name Mia X, is an American rapper and songwriter from New Orleans. She enjoyed success in the local "bounce" scene of the early 1990s. She was the first female emcee to get a contract with rapper and entertainment magnate, Master P on his successful record label No Limit Records. She is known for collaborations with several No Limit Records artists, including Master P and Silkk the Shocker on the seminal albums, Ice Cream Man, Ghetto D and Charge It 2 Da Game.
Delinquent Habits is an American hip hop group, formed in Norwalk, California in 1991. They are known for their Latin-tinged rap, which is both melodic and hardcore. Their first album was executive produced by Cypress Hill member Sen Dog and featured guest appearances by Sen himself as well as Puerto Rican New York City rapper Hurricane G. Their second album, Here Come the Horns, again featured Sen Dog as well as Sen's brother, pioneering Latin rapper Mellow Man Ace. The melodic Merry-Go-Round featured the female singer Michelle Belle. The group chose to focus more on hardcore rap on their fourth offering, Freedom Band.
Above the Law was an American hip hop group from Pomona, California, founded in 1989 by Cold 187um, KMG the Illustrator, Go Mack, and DJ Total K-Oss.
Chicano rap is a subgenre of hip hop that embodies aspects of the Mexican American or Chicano culture.
Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Master P, Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, Silkk the Shocker, Jay-Z, Paris, Mack 10, 504 Boyz, Brotha Lynch Hung, C-Murder, Mia X, Westside Connection, and Ice-T. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death Row Records, Hoo-Bangin' Records, No Limit Records, Posthuman Records, Rap-A-Lot Records, Rawkus Records, Roc-A-Fella Records, Ruthless Records Duck Down Records, and Wu-Tang Records. According to Billboard, "few record labels were as important to the rise of West Coast hip hop as Priority Records".
"Real Muthaphuckkin G's," or "Real Compton City G's" in its radio edit, is a diss track released as a single in August 1993 by American rapper Eazy-E with guest rappers Gangsta Dresta and B.G. Knocc Out. Peaking at #42 on Billboard's Hot 100, and the most successful of Eazy's singles as a solo artist, it led an EP, also his most successful, It's On 187um Killa. This diss track answers Eazy's former N.W.A bandmate Dr. Dre and his debuting, guest rapper Snoop Dogg, who had dissed Eazy on Dre's first solo album, The Chronic.
Richard Johnson, better known by his stage name Tweedy Bird Loc, was an American rapper. Johnson and producer Ronnie M. Phillips organized the hip hop project Bloods & Crips, a collaboration between members of the California-based Bloods and Crips street gangs. Johnson was a Crip himself, affiliated with the Kelly Park Compton set.
"Boyz-n-the-Hood" is the debut single by Eazy-E, then leader of a new rap group, N.W.A. Released in March 1987, the single was a local hit, reissued, by year's end on the unauthorized compilation album N.W.A. and the Posse.
Asian hip hop is a heterogeneous musical genre that covers all hip hop music as recorded and produced by artists of Asian origin.
The discography of Eazy-E, an American rapper from Compton, California, consists of two studio albums, three extended plays, two compilation albums, and ten singles. Eazy was also featured on the single "Game Wreck-Oniz-Iz Game" by Above the Law and "Foe tha Love of $" by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. His music has been released through record labels Ruthless Records, Priority Records, Relativity Records, and Epic Records. Five of his albums have been awarded a certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). This discography includes music videos and collaborations as well as albums.
Straight Outta Compton: N.W.A 10th Anniversary Tribute is a tribute album to the American Compton-based hip hop group N.W.A, released through Priority Records in 1998 on the tenth anniversary of the group's debut studio album Straight Outta Compton. It is composed of twelve of the thirteen songs in the order identical to the original, covered by N.W.A. members' affiliates, such as Ice Cube's Westside Connection groupmates WC and Mack 10 along with Hoo-Bangin' Records labelmates Allfrumtha I, Boo Kapone, MC Eiht and The Comrads, Eazy-E's protégés Gangsta Dresta and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, and Dr. Dre's long time partner Snoop Dogg with Snoop's allies C-Murder and Silkk the Shocker, and Aftermath Ent. signee King Tee, as well as several other fellow rappers, including Ant Banks, Jayo Felony, J Dubb, Mr. Mike, Big Pun, Cuban Link and Fat Joe. Production was mostly handled by Ant Banks, as well as Craig B. of Beats by the Pound, Krayzie Bone, Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, with Andrew M. Shack and Marvin Watkins served as executive producers. The album peaked at number 142 on the Billboard 200 and 31 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States. Music video was shot for the title track.
Bloods & Crips was an American gangsta rap group from Los Angeles County mostly known for their record-selling song "Piru Love".
The influence and impact of hip hop was originally shaped from African American and Latino communities in the South Bronx. In the last several decades, the movement has become a worldwide phenomenon which transcends different cultural boundaries as it reaches several ethnic groups, including Asian Americans. Asian American hip-hop practitioners include: MC Jin, Lyrics Born, Dumbfoundead, Tokimonsta, and DJ Q-Bert.
