Straight Outta Compton is the debut studio album by American hip-hop group N.W.A, released on January 25, 1989, through Priority and Ruthless Records.David Diallo, ch. 10 "From electro-rap to G-funk: A social history of rap music in Los Angeles and Compton, California", in Mickey Hess, ed., Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide, Volume 1: East Coast and West Coast (Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2010), pp 234–238. It was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, with lyrics written by Eazy-E, Ice Cube and MC Ren, alongside contributions from Ruthless rapper and N.W.A affiliate the D.O.C.Kory Grow, "N.W.A's 'Straight Outta Compton': 12 things you didn't know" , Rolling Stone website, Penske Business Media, LLC, 8 Aug 2018. The album's lyrics depict the conditions of life in Compton, California, while also expressing hostility toward rival groups and law enforcement. The song "Fuck tha Police" prompted a warning letter from an FBI agent, which contributed to N.W.A's notoriety and the group's self-description as "the world's most dangerous group."Musician (Amordian Press), 1991, volume 147, p 59 .McDermott, Terry (April 14, 2002). "NWA:Straight Outta Compton pt 1" . Los Angeles Times. Reprinted at Hip Hop News. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
In July 1989, despite receiving limited radio airplay outside of the Los Angeles area, Straight Outta Compton became the first gangsta rap album to earn platinum certification, signifying over one million copies sold. The album reached number nine on Billboards Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 37 on the Billboard 200 that same year."Tenth Ruthless anniversary: For the record" , Billboard, 1997 Aug 9;109(32):R-16. It attracted extensive media attention and is widely credited with accelerating the rise of hardcore gangsta rap in mainstream hip-hop.Jeff Chang, Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2005), pp. 327–328 . Although initial critical reception was mixed, the album has since been recognized as one of the most influential and acclaimed works in hip-hop history.
The album was reissued in September 2002 with four bonus tracks, and again in December 2007—shortly before its 20th anniversary—with several "tribute remixes" and a live recording of "Compton's n the House."Omar Burgess (October 10, 2007). "HHDX News Bits: NWA and Eazy-E" . HipHopDX. Retrieved October 10, 2007. In 2015, a red cassette reissueUniversal Music Group announced that Straight Outta Compton would be reissued as a limited-edition red cassette on April 15 as part of Universal's Respect the Classics series [Pietro Fililpponi, "Universal announces more N.W.A re-releases, 'Straight Outta Compton' cassette tape, Friday 20th anniversary vinyl", Gotham News website, Gotham News LLC, 2 Apr 2015]. and the release of the biographical film Straight Outta Compton led to renewed commercial success, with the album later certified triple platinum. In 2016, it became the first rap album inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and in 2017, it was added to the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry, for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Background During most of the 1980s, New York City—the birthplace of hip-hop—remained the genre's primary creative and commercial center,Loren Kajikawa, "Compton via New York", Sounding Race in Rap Songs (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015), pp 91–96.Wayne Marshall, "Kool Herc," in Mickey Hess, ed., Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture, Volume 1 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007), pp 6–7 . while Los Angeles County played a secondary role.David Diallo, ch. 10 "From electro-rap to G-funk: A social history of rap music in Los Angeles and Compton, California", in Mickey Hess, ed., Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide, Volume 1: East Coast and West Coast (Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Press, 2010). Up until 1988, the Los Angeles hip-hop scene largely reflected hip-hop's dance-oriented and party-based origins, emphasizing DJs and DJ crews as its central figures. The dominant local style was electro rap or “funk hop,”David Diallo, "Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg", in Mickey Hess, ed., Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture (Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2007), pp 319–321 . influenced by tracks such as the New York-based 1982 hit "Planet Rock". In contrast, East Coast hip-hop had begun prioritizing lyricism following the commercial and cultural success of Run-DMC's self-titled 1984 album.
As the decade progressed, recording vocal performances over electro rap instrumentals became increasingly common. The World Class Wreckin' Cru, featuring Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, released one of the first West Coast rap albums issued by a major record label. Another prominent figure to emerge was Ice-T, whose 1986 single "6 in the Mornin'" drew inspiration from Philadelphia rapper Schoolly D's 1985 track "P.S.K. What Does It Mean?"Tom Moon, "The first great gangsta rap record: Straight Outta Compton: N.W.A", 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die: A Listener's Life List (New York: Workman Publishing, 2008), p 557. Ice-T's song shifted attention in Los Angeles away from electro rap, achieved gold sales, and is widely considered an early example of "gangsta rap".
In 1987, Eric Wright, a Compton resident and member of the Kelly Park Crips, founded the independent label Ruthless Records. Through his prior activities, Wright had established connections with Dr. Dre and Arabian Prince, two Los Angeles producers with the latter specifically seeking greater financial control over his work.Vlad Lyubovny, interviewer, "Arabian Prince on being founding member of NWA w/ Dre & Eazy-E", VladTV–DJVlad @ YouTube, 11 Sep 2015. Wright enlisted South Central rapper Ice Cube—then a member of the group C.I.A.—as a ghostwriter and tasked him with writing material for the new label alongside Dr. Dre. The collaboration produced the track "Boyz-n-the-Hood".Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "N.W.A: Biography", AllMusic, Netaktion LLC, visited 26 Apr 2020. Originally intended for a New York group signed to Ruthless Records, the song was instead recorded by Wright himself under the name Eazy-E after the original performers declined it. Although the song was released solely under Eazy’s name, "Boyz-n-the-Hood" became a regional success, though some critics noted similarities to Schoolly D's "P.S.K." and found its tempo unsuitable for dancing. The success of the single lead Eazy to call for an EP titled N.W.A. The EP's five songs included Eazy and Cube on "Dopeman", Eazy on "8 Ball", and Arabian's production "Panic Zone.". The EP officially branded the group N.W.A.
Building on Ice-T's precedent, N.W.A developed a distinct approach to gangsta rap characterized by detailed depictions of street life, hostility toward authority, and references to violence.Robin D. G. Kelley, "Kickin' reality, kickin' ballistics: Gangsta rap and postindustrial Los Angeles", in William Eric Perkins, ed., Droppin' Science: Critical Essays on Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996), p 128 . The group attempted to broaden its audience by providing radio edits to local stations such as KDAY, but received minimal radio play. Despite this, the album achieved significant commercial success, selling over one million copies and becoming the first gangsta rap album to earn platinum certification.Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "N.W.A: Biography", AllMusic, Netaktion LLC, visited 25 Apr 2020. As interest in the Los Angeles rap scene grew, artists such as MC Eiht of Compton's Most Wanted emerged in response,Jason Birchmeier, "Compton's Most Wanted", in Chris Woodstra, John Bush & Stephen Thomas Erlewine, eds., All Music Guide: Required Listening, Volume 2: Old School Rap and Hip-Hop (New York, NY: Backbeat Books, 2008), p 15. marking a broader regional shift from dance-oriented to hardcore rap styles.
Internationally, N.W.A became a leading representative of gangsta rap. The group's explicit and confrontational lyrics prompted opposition from law enforcement agencies and media outlets; the FBI issued a warning letter to Ruthless Records, MTV banned the "Straight Outta Compton" music video, several venues refused to host N.W.A concerts, and some police officers declined to provide security for their shows.Eazy-E Timeline . Eazy-E.com. Retrieved October 4, 2007 These controversies reinforced N.W.A's anti-establishment image, which the members would later emphasize in subsequent recordings.[MetroLyrics, "N.W.A—100 Miles And Running lyrics", CBS Interactive Inc., 2020].[MetroLyrics, "Ice Cube—Amerikkka's Most Wanted lyrics", CBS Interactive Inc., 2020].
According to Slant Magazine, Straight Outta Compton played a pivotal role in shaping the East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry, with the publication describing the album as "the West Coast firing on New York’s Fort Sumter in what would become '90s culture's biggest Uncivil War."
Record production Recording for Straight Outta Compton began not long after Eazy-E completed his first solo album Eazy-Duz-It. The album was recorded and produced at Audio Achievements Studio in Torrance, California, for $12,000, during the summer and fall of 1988. Dr. Dre, in a 1993 interview, recalls, "I threw that thing together in six weeks so we could have something to sell out of the trunk."
In an incident recalled in Jerry Heller's book, police approached the group while they were standing outside the studio in 1988 and demanded them to get on their knees and show ID without explanation. Outraged by the experience, Cube began writing the lyrics that would become "Fuck tha Police". Initially, still spending weekends in jail over traffic violations, Dre was reluctant to do "Fuck tha Police", a reluctance that dissolved once that sentence concluded.
Synthesis The album's producers were Dr. Dre with DJ Yella and Arabian Prince. Its production was mostly sampled horn blasts, some funk guitar riffs, sampled vocals, and turntable scratches atop a drum machine. Their drum machine, used for kick, was the Roland TR-808.George Ciccariello-Maher, "The 808", in Mickey Hess, ed., Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture, Volume 1 (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2007), p 75 .
Vocals N.W.A's Ice Cube and MC Ren, along with Ruthless Records rapper The D.O.C. wrote the lyrics, including those rapped by Eazy-E and by Dr. Dre. Arabian Prince's only rapping contribution on Straight Outta Compton is the closing track "Something 2 Dance 2". "Parental Discretion Iz Advised" features vocals by The D.O.C., making him the only non-official member of N.W.A to rap on the album.
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