NWA
Straight Outta Compton (Ruthless 57102)

During the late stages of my high school life, I went through a phase that was, in retrospect, a wholehearted effort to disassociate myself from as many of my classmates as humanly possible, since I either despised or was apathetic about nearly all of them.

Whether or not I succeeded is debateable, and probably irrelevant, but I tried nonetheless. And the way I tried, in my small-town way, was through listening to rap music.

Now, it's not like hip-hop was all that underground in the late-80s – DJ Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince, Tone Loc, and Young MC had crossed over big by then– but my friends and I shunned that stuff for the most part, seeking out the acts which were labeled "gangsta rap" or "hardcore," such as NWA, Ice-T, and The 2 Live Crew.

I forget now who was the first to buy NWA's Straight Outta Compton, but since I'm writing the review, I'll say it was me. The impetus to actually buy the CD (actually, when I bought it initially, it was on cassette) was because of the controversy surrounding "Fuck Tha Police". That, and MTV's repeated playing of the video for "Express Yourself" were the only exposure any of us had had to NWA, so we were only sort of sure what to expect … but whatever it wa,, we got it, and a whole lot more.

NWA, in the beginning, consisted of Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren, and Yella, all of them teenagers (or thereabouts) when this CD was recorded. Ice Cube, Dre, Eazy, and Ren all handled rapping and songwriting chores, while the unheard but oft acknowledged Yella worked the turntables.

Even at such a seemingly young age, life in South Central Los Angeles had hardened them far beyond their years, and the music showed it – hard, loud, angry, laden with profanity – much like their everyday lives must have been. The copious use of profanity, coupled with the glorification of violence and gang warfare, immediately caused a backlash amongst the whitebread community, which of course guaranteed that the album was going to start flying off the shelves and into the hands of Young Americans of all races.

At the peak of its notoriety, I'd bet dollars to donuts that just as many white kids were cranking NWA as black kids.

It becomes clear after a few listens where the talent was in NWA, and the subsequent years have backed it up. Ice Cube penned the lyrics to the strongest tracks, and was already a polished rapper; while Dre was no doubt the musical heart of the act, even if his rapping skills were still underdeveloped.

Eazy-E (who died of AIDS in 1995) was an immensely talented rapper, with one of the most distinctive voices ever to hit the business (Or is it bizness? Curse this damn white skin!), but his songwriting skills weren't up to Cube's standards. Ren should have avoided songwriting altogether, but could hold his own on the mic.

The CD leads off with the title track, and it is one of the strongest on the disc. From the opening line, "Straight outta Compton/Crazy motherfucker named Ice Cube/From a gang called Niggers With Attitudes", it's clear that this was to be no "Parents Just Don't Understand."

Cube, Ren, Eazy, and Dre all take their turns on the mic, and this is the style on most of the tracks. Track two is the infamous "Fuck Tha Police." You might expect it to be bombastic, crude, harsh, and fantastical … and you'd be right. Not that any of those qualities cause it to be a crappy song, far from it. It's just as solid as the first two sonically, if not lyrically. It is broken nicely in the middle with the still hilarious theatrical sequence in which the white cop (voiced in a black "white" voice) is brought in front of the black court to face the music.

Track three, "Gangsta Gangsta," completes the opening hat trick of excellent songs. After the first three extra-solid tracks, though, the album gets pretty spotty. Track four is MC Ren written filler, "If It Ain't Ruff." Not enough to cause a mandatory skip, but not enough to demand a listen, either.

Track six is another high spot. Written by Ice Cube and with Eazy-E solely handling the mic duties, "8 Ball" is an anthem for the violence-prone, sloppy drunk in all of us.

Track eight is the single, "Express Yourself", which has as much business on this disc as Pat Boone would doing a CD of heavy metal songs … what do you mean he already did? Anyway, this is the only song on the album that is completely lacking profanity, and it isn't bad, it just lends an unnecessary "One of these songs is not like the other, one of these songs just doesn't belong" vibe to the CD, especially stuck smack in the middle.

It's also notable for Dr. Dre telling us that he "doesn't smoke weed". Suuuuuuuuuuuuuure.

"I Ain't The 1" is solely Ice Cube on the mic, ripping the money-hungry "gold-diggin" black woman. This song contains the great line: "Why you gotta be so damn material/And try to milk Ice Cube like cereal".

Track 11 is the last real standout, "Dopeman," penned solely by Ice Cube. A song with a more or less anti-drug message (anti-hard drugs, maybe), back before that sort of thing was really in vogue.

The disc goes out with "Quiet On Tha Set", the best of MC Ren's tracks, and another misplaced song, "Something 2 Dance 2", a big ensemble number featuring everyone, including Arabian Prince, who must have been in NWA for about as long as it took to record this song. Not bad, but at the end of the disc, it just doesn't work.

The years have been mostly kind to this record, but not to all members of NWA. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre became huge stars, and eventually patched things up after Ice Cube bitterly left the group shortly after this album was released. Eazy-E enjoyed modest solo success, and stayed around for the following two NWA projects, before his death. MC Ren released a couple insignificant solo albums, and as for Yella, I gots no idea.

Looking back, I suppose it's not much a stretch to call this CD a landmark in the history of rap, as it touched off the hugely successful and controversial 'gangsta rap' age, which only recently has faded.

It's not one of those CD's I find myself compulsively listening to, but when I do, it's enjoyable, and it's going to stay part of my collection until I'm gunned down standing outside the Trenton CC Food Mart for drinking the wrong color Slush Puppie.

Loud Bassoon rating scale

Review by Mario Speedwagon