‘Straight Outta Compton’ could quite possibly the most polarizing HOP music album to date. From the idea that music industry standards needed more negative images to sell rap, to pushing the envelope on “freedom of speech,” has been some of the narratives around this album over the years. What it did do without question is create a benchmark in music whether one sees this as good or bad. The roots of this album have sprouted many a career, which in hindsight one has to respect the humble beginnings of a simple twelve track album that was looked at with such skepticism.
Admittedly it was until 2014 that I listened to this whole album. Contrary to popular belief not all “youth” is attracted to the most vile music and imagery of their time. This is simply a narrative to often excuse low brow entertainment for the sake of non-accountability but I digress… Over time I had heard the majority of this album in different situations, so by 2014 ‘Straight Outta Compton’ was the equivalent of a “PG-13” film compared to what had come through the pipeline of rap music. N.W.A. was the next step in a blossoming new genre that challenged the term “rebel music” by the late 1980’s. Eazy-E who’s independent label Ruthless Records, took Dr. Dre, M.C. Ren, Ice Cube and D.J. Yella to the height of stardom with this album that could not have been imagined nor prepared for given the lifespan of the group.
The imagery of this collective overpowered the actual music. For the most part N.W.A. is simply freestyling many of the tracks with the exception of Ice Cube’s excellent storytelling on ‘I Ain’t Tha 1’ or Eazy-E’s ‘Dopeman (remix).’ The same might also be said for ‘8 Ball (remix)’ which sounds much like a track from Ice Cube’s former group C.I.A. The dichotomy of this album can often lie right next to each other which is a further tale in why this album has been so polarizing. On ‘Express Yourself’ Dr. Dre’s claim of not “smoking weed or ces” has a quote within the same song that states rappers being fake by claiming they don’t do drugs but then go “looking for the dopeman.’ A testament to how fast HOP music was evolving as the next big thing Dr. Dre would do is his own album centered around substance use entitled ‘The Chronic,’ just a mere three years later.
‘Straight Outta Compton’ is a “classic” record that I can honestly say is not a favorite of mine but I’m okay with this. I give my younger self credit that my “audio filter” was working just fine and I heard things when I needed to and thus was able to appreciate and understand albums like this with a more mature ear and mind. To this day I’m not a fan of “cursing” in lyrics for the sake of overcompensating for less rhyme writing or simply trying to engage an audience with “shock value.” It helped that when I did finally lock into this album it was a clean version and I could value the fact that N.W.A. were still simply rappers making solid HOP music at the time, just with an extra layer of “sauce” to gain the world’s attention. What did you think of the album?
Singles include:
‘Gangsta Gangsta,’ ‘Express Yourself’ & ‘Straight Outta Compton’
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