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Not many artists can claim to have drawn the ire of the F.B.I. like N.W.A. Their gritty tales about everyday life on the streets of Compton, Watts, and South Central defied rap critics who banned their music from being played on the radio.
Eventually, N.W.A. became featured in a biographical film about their undeniable impact on hip-hop culture, which was also the name of their debut studio album – Straight Outta Compton. This is the story of the self-proclaimed ‘Word’s Most Dangerous Group’; this is the story of some Niggaz Wit Attitudes (N.W.A.)
As someone who grew up on the West Coast and, more specifically, in Inglewood, it didn’t take long to become acquainted with N.W.A lyrics like: “Big wad of money, nothing less than a twenty. Yo, you want a 5-0, the Dopeman got plenty,” and see their influence of snapback caps, gold chains, and Dickies pants all around me.
What was far less obvious was how five inner-city teenagers went from high school students and neighborhood dope dealers to one of the most influential music groups of all time, but this is what we’re here to find out.
Eazy Duz It – The Early Years
In 1986, Eric ‘Eazy-E’ Wright and his cousin were still selling weed to help support themselves, but after his cousin, Butler, was tragically gunned down, Eric knew he needed another outlet.
After briefly trying his hand at moving the crack cocaine that his cousin had left stashed at his apartment and reaping the not-so-insignificant profits, Eric grew increasingly attuned to hip hop’s rising popularity among the other youth in his neighborhood. In particular, the so-called gangsta rap sub-genre that was still in its infancy at the time..
Ruthless Records
In 1986 at 22, Eric purchased studio equipment consisting of a mic, a mic stand, and some sound dampening panels and set them up in his parent’s garage.
Now that Eric could make music, he needed a way to distribute it to the masses. Armed with $7,000 of his own money as per Ruthless’ revamped official website, 5,000 twelve-inch singles of his first record, “Boyz-N-The-Hood,” were pressed. This was the official start of what would become the Ruthless Records label, that the as-yet unformed N.W.A would call home.
Not long after this, Andre’ Dr. Dre’ Young would be formally introduced to Eazy-E by mutual friend DJ Steve Yano, who sold some of E’s very first pressed cassettes at his table at the Roadium Swap Meet.
Formation
When Dre and Eazy-E initially sat down, Andre and D.J. Yella were still part of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru electro-funk group, whose musical direction they grew increasingly frustrated.
Eager to apply their craft to something they were more passionate about, linking with Eazy-E, who also hailed from Compton, and making the kind of music they desperately wanted to make seemed as natural a fit as sliding on a pair of Nike Cortez.
Legend has it that what ultimately ended up sealing the deal was Eazy-E posting Dre’s bail when he was jailed for some missed court appearances stemming from multiple traffic violations in 1986. In return, Dre agreed to produce for E’s brand new record label – Ruthless Records.
Thus the original N.W.A was born, consisting of founding members Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and Arabian Prince, who was already producing for the fledgling label.
Panic Zone – The First Single
The torch was lit in 1987 with the release of “Panic Zone” by Ruthless Records in partnership with local hip hop distribution company Macola Records. This marked the first time Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and Arabian Prince were all featured together on a track, and it also notably featured up-and-coming rapper Ice Cube, who would later join N.W.A.
Although moderately successful, selling 1,000 units independently. The track’s sound was noticeably different from the group’s later “reality raps,” proving that it was still early days for the youthful group, and they were still searching to find their signature sound.
Straight Outta Compton
After two more tracks in “8-Ball” and “Dopeman,” featured on the compilation album N.W.A. and the Posse, which is regarded as the group’s first independent album, the quintet now made up of Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, D.J. Yella, and MC Ren following Arabian Prince’s departure over a contract disagreement, was finally ready to introduce the world to a new brand of reality rap.
Their album was groundbreaking in several respects; for one, it was one of the first albums to feature a Parental Advisory sticker, which was introduced by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1985 to identify audio recordings that may not be suitable for children.
Secondly, although it was far from the first record to feature lyrics depicting violence and crime, with Schoolly D, Ice-T’s “6 in the Mornin”, and various Boogie Down Productions singles such as “9mm Goes Bang” all being released before Straight Outta Compton.
The album’s second track, “Fuck Tha Police,” was the first to garner an official response from a federal law enforcement agency when the F.B.I. issued a formal letter to Ruthless Records condemning the song’s lyrics as “advocating violence.”
Despite such inauspicious milestones, or perhaps partly because of them, the album, which was a portrait of life on the streets of Compton, California, in the late ’80s, went double platinum, peaking at #37 on the Billboard 200 popular albums chart.
Eventually, the album would go on to be named one of Rolling Stone’s 100 greatest albums of all time, and in November 2016, it also became the first rap album ever to be inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Not bad for a first effort recorded in Torrance, California, on a budget of only $8,000.
Now it’s Four – The End of N.W.A.
Success can breed all kinds of things, complacency, jealousy, and in the music business, royalty disputes — this is why Ice Cube, who, along with MC Ren penned most of the group’s lyrics on their debut studio album, decided to leave the group in December of 1989.
Things got, well, in a word, ugly. With Cube accusing N.W.A. manager and Ruthless label head Jerry Heller of siphoning off profits attributable to the group. Barbs were traded back and forth, treating us to a pair of classic diss tracks in “No Vaseline” and “Real Niggaz” by Cube and N.W.A., respectively.
In the midst of all this, the group, now a quartet, released a five-track E.P. titled 100 Miles and Runnin’ in August 1990. It was their first effort without Ice Cube and Arabian Prince. The E.P. would also notably be their last recording to feature fast, uptempo, electronic music instrumentals on their tracks, with the gangsta funk sound now beginning to take over hip hop.
Overall, the E.P. was well received and went gold in November 1990 before being certified platinum in September 1992. This assured that fans still supported the new-look crew and gave impetus for a second full-length release.
Efil4zaggin – The Second And Final Album
The name is an acronym for “Niggaz4Life” and has Dr. Dre’s fingerprints. From producing the entire album along with D.J. Yella to performing on ten of its eighteen tracks, ‘The Doctor’ also introduced us to what would become the signature West Coast G-funk sound.
Following in the footsteps of another controversial hip hop group – 2 Live Crew. Whose 1989 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be set the gold standard for sexually explicit content, Efil4zaggin featured raunchier lyrics and sexual references than any of its predecessors, stirring up critics yet again.
It would also go on to make history by becoming the first album by a rap group to top the Billboard 200 chart.
Dr. Dre Departs for Death Row
Riding high off the success of their second and final album, producer Dr. Dre expressed his displeasure with how Ruthless Jerry Heller was handling the label’s accounting and distribution of artist royalty payments.
While Dre has stated in the past that “he doesn’t let money lead him,” the maker of some of the group’s biggest hits nonetheless decided to branch out and “bet on himself.” Co-founding the Death Row Records label with the notorious Suge Knight, who allegedly helped strong-arm his contractual release from Ruthless Records.
This effectively marked the end of one of music’s most original and impactful groups. One that would be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
The Strength of Street Knowledge – Legacy
If asked to sum up N.W.A. in just one word, “controversial” is the first one that comes to mind. The very origins and backing of the group are perhaps even more conflicting than the lyrics that initially thrust it into the spotlight.
While unconfirmable, it should be noted that retired C.I.A. agent John Homeston once admitted that his former employer helped push gangster rap to the forefront in the late 80s and 90’s to quote “glamorize criminal behavior” among inner-city youth and “fill private prisons.”
Whether there is some truth in this or it is a complete and utter fabrication, there is no denying that N.W.A. was right at the forefront of a shift in hip hop from the more conscious stylings of Public Enemy and the Natives Tongues groups of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest to the “hardcore rap” of N.W.A. and Eric B & Rakim.
In the end, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and D.J. Yella’s legacies will forever be intertwined with bringing us the reality of life in an inner-city during this period, replete with poverty, high unemployment, and rising gang-related violence.
This realism captivated audiences, including white Americans who had seldom been exposed to life in the hood before. It helped broaden hip hop’s audience and popularity, a legacy in its own respect.
FAQs
Answer: N.W.A. was started by Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and Arabian Prince in Compton, California, in 1987. Other members were added in short order, such as producer D.J. Yella, MC Ren, and rapper/songwriter Ice Cube.
Answer: Philadelphia-based MC Schoolly D is widely considered the first “gangsta rapper,” with the release of his self-titled debut album Schoolly D in 1985 heavily influencing Ice-T’s “6 in the Mornin”, which was released a year later in 1986.
East Coast-based hip hop group Boogie Down Productions would also influence N.W.A.’s style, with their debut album Criminal Minded in 1987 being the first rap album to feature firearms on its cover, which N.W.A. would imitate the cover of Straight Outta Compton. The Beastie Boys‘ 1986 album Licensed to Ill would inspire later N.W.A. records.
Answer: The rebel anthem “Fuck tha Police” produced by Dr. Dre and D.J. Yella from 1988’s Straight Outta Compton album, is N.W.A.’s most notorious and well-known track.
Even now, after more than 30 years since its initial release, the record continues to influence pop culture, and the slogan has been repeated in film, tv, and protests worldwide.