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.
G-funk, short for gangsta funk, is a sub-genre of gangsta rap that emerged from the West Coast scene in the early 1990s. The genre is heavily influenced by the synthesizer-heavy 1970s funk sound of Parliament-Funkadelic, often incorporated through samples or re-recordings. It is represented by commercially successful albums such as Dr. Dre's The Chronic (1992), Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle (1993), and 2Pac's All Eyez on Me (1996).
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."
Antoine Carraby, known professionally as DJ Yella, is an American DJ, record producer, and film director from Compton, California.
100 Miles and Runnin' is the only EP from the American gangsta rap group N.W.A. Released on August 14, 1990, this EP of five tracks reflects an evolution of N.W.A's sound and centers on the single "100 Miles and Runnin'". Two tracks, "100 Miles" and "Real Niggaz", incidentally incited N.W.A's feud with Ice Cube, who had left to start a solo rap career. The porno rap track "Just Don't Bite It" also drew notice. Pushing lyrical boundaries in its day, the EP went gold in November 1990 and platinum in September 1992.
Eazy-Duz-It is the debut studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released on November 22, 1988, by Ruthless Records and Priority Records. The album charted on two different charts and went 2× Platinum in the United States despite very little promotion by radio and television. Three singles were released from the album, each charting in the US. The remastered version contains tracks from the extended play (EP), 5150: Home 4 tha Sick (1992). The 25th anniversary (2013) contains two bonus tracks which are 12" remixes of "We Want Eazy" and "Still Talkin.'"
"Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" is a song by American rapper Dr. Dre, featuring fellow American rapper Snoop Dogg, on Dre's debut solo album, The Chronic (1992). As the album's first single it reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on March 20, 1993, behind "Informer" by Snow, outperforming The Chronic's other singles, "Fuck wit Dre Day ", which peaked at number 8, and "Let Me Ride", which peaked at number 34. The single also reached number 1 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and was a number 31 hit in the UK. Its music video was directed by Dr. Dre himself.
Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by American hip hop group N.W.A, released on July 2, 1996, via Priority Records. Composed of nineteen tracks, the compilation contains several poplular singles and songs from the group's 1988 debut album Straight Outta Compton, 1990 extended play 100 Miles and Runnin' and their second and final studio album 1991 Niggaz4Life. It includes "Gangsta Gangsta", "Fuck tha Police", previously unavailable remix of "Straight Outta Compton", "Alwayz into Somethin'", remixed "Express Yourself", and "100 Miles and Runnin'", as well as inserts from live concerts. Production was handled by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella with Eazy-E serving as executive producer.
"Hail Mary" is a song by American rapper Tupac Shakur from his fifth studio album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996). It was released after his September 1996 murder under the Makaveli stage name as the album's third single. Hail Mary features rap verses by Kastro, Young Noble and Yaki Kadafi of the Outlawz rap group and vocals from reggae musician Prince Ital Joe. A music video was shot for the song and can be found on the DualDisc of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.
The discography of American record producer, sound engineer, and rapper Dr. Dre consists of three studio albums, forty-two singles,, two compilation albums, one soundtrack album, and twenty-one music videos.
Based on a True Story is the second solo studio album by American rapper Mack 10. It was released on September 16, 1997, through Priority Records. The album was produced by Ant Banks, Binky Mack, DJ Bobcat, Young Tre, Ice Cube, Soopafly, and Mack 10. It features guest appearances from Ice Cube, Allfrumtha I, E-40, Snoop Dogg, the Comrads, and Too $hort. The album debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200, number 5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on October 21, 1997.
"Express Yourself" is a song recorded by American hip hop group N.W.A, performed solo by Dr. Dre. The song, off their 1988 album Straight Outta Compton, samples Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band's song of the same name. Unlike most songs on the album and by N.W.A, the song is devoid of profanity and violence. "Express Yourself" was released in 1989 as the album's last single, the album version of the track features rap vocals from Dr. Dre only whereas the extended single version features small verses from MC Ren and Ice Cube, the writer of the song. The song reached number 50 in the UK in September 1989, before reaching number 26 on reissue in June 1990.
"Straight Outta Compton" is a song by American hip hop group N.W.A. It was released on July 10, 1988 as the lead single from their debut album of the same name. It also appears on N.W.A's Greatest Hits with an extended mix and The Best of N.W.A: The Strength of Street Knowledge. The song samples "You'll Like It Too" by Funkadelic, "West Coast Poplock" by Ronnie Hudson and the Street People, "Get Me Back on Time, Engine No. 9" by Wilson Pickett, and most famously, "Amen, Brother" by The Winstons. It was voted number 19 on About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs, and is ranked number 6 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.
The discography of American hip hop group N.W.A, consists of two studio albums, six compilation albums, one extended play (EP), eight singles, one video album and five music videos. N.W.A was formed in Compton, California in 1986 by Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, Arabian Prince and Ice Cube, with The D.O.C. and MC Ren joining later. The group's first release was the compilation album N.W.A. and the Posse in 1987, which also featured songs by The Fila Fresh Crew, Rappinstine and Ron-De-Vu. Their debut album Straight Outta Compton followed the next year, which initially reached number 37 on the US Billboard 200; it has since reached number four, and has sold over 1.5 million copies in the US alone. "Straight Outta Compton", "Gangsta Gangsta" and "Express Yourself" were released as singles from the album, all of which registered on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Allfrumtha I was an American rap duo from Inglewood, California: Binky Mack and Squeak Ru. They first appeared together on Westside Connection's 1996 debut album, Bow Down. Before dropping their self-titled debut album on Priority Records in 1998, they appeared together on several Priority Records soundtracks and compilations, including: The Substitute, West Coast Bad Boyz II, Big Thangs, Gang Related, Straight Outta Compton: N.W.A 10th Anniversary Tribute, and Thicker Than Water.
Straight Outta Compton is a 2015 American epic biographical drama film that depicts the rise and fall of the hip hop group N.W.A under the management of Jerry Heller. It was directed by F. Gary Gray from a screenplay written by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff based on a story written by Berloff and executive producers S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus. Co-produced by Gray, former members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, Eazy-E's widow Tomica Woods-Wright, Matt Alvarez and Scott Bernstein, with MC Ren and DJ Yella serving as creative consultants, the film stars O'Shea Jackson Jr. as his father Ice Cube, alongside Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr. and Aldis Hodge as Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren and DJ Yella, respectively, and Paul Giamatti as Heller. Rounding out the rest of the ensemble cast include Marlon Yates Jr, R. Marcos Taylor, LaKeith Stanfield, Alexandra Shipp and Keith Powers.
Compton is the third studio album by American rapper and producer Dr. Dre. It was released on August 7, 2015, on Apple Music and the iTunes Store, with the physical editions released on August 21, 2015. It is the follow-up to his second album, 2001 (1999), after the cancellation of the premeditated album Detox.
Straight Outta Compton: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the 2015 film of the same name. The album was released by Universal Music Enterprises on January 8, 2016 in digital formats. The soundtrack features songs that were mainly performed by N.W.A but also includes solo performances from N.W.A members Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and Dr. Dre.
