N.W.A. mp3

N.W.A. ("Niggaz With Attitude") is a hip hop group that was originally formed in Compton, California in 1986, and disbanded in 1991. Over the course of the four years that the original group was together, N.W.A. was the first rapgroup that brought the gangsta rap act to achieve widespread commercial success and mainstream appeal, without radio airplay or many other conventional mainstream promotions. In fact, they were banned from many radio stations, and even touring. Some believe that the group was responsible for what many refer to as the "Golden Age" of West Coast rap.

Their second album, Straight Outta Compton, marked the beginning of the new gangsta rap era as the production and lyrics were revolutionary with respect to the previous early 1980s releases of the genre. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked N.W.A. #83 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Widely understood to be a drug dealer, Eazy-E began Ruthless Records. Ice Cube had already written a song for him named "Boyz-N-The Hood", and when one of the groups on his label rejected it, Eazy-E decided to rap it himself. Eazy-E formed "Niggaz With Attitude" (N.W.A.) with Ice Cube as the MC, Arabian Prince, and former World Class Wreckin' Cru members Dr. Dre and DJ Yella. Eazy-E released the party album N.W.A. and the Posse on Macola Records. Although marketed as N.W.A.'s debut album, half the songs didn't feature N.W.A., but rather a loose connection of artists on Ruthless Records. This was because N.W.A. and the Posse was not a full fledged album but rather a compilation of already released singles. Notable songs include "Boyz-N-The Hood" and "Panic Zone", which introduced the real N.W.A..

The track "Dopeman" also introduced Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, along with Eazy-E to weigh in as the "dopeman". "L.A. Is The Place" and "8-Ball" are also included (which for some reason is not included in the uncensored form of N.W.A. and the Posse CD version). Arabian Prince stayed with N.W.A. until July, 1988 (but he can still be seen on the album picture of Straight Outta Compton, between DJ Yella and Ice Cube). In the same year, the group added MC Ren. One year later, Arabian Prince released Brother Arab, his first LP.

N.W.A. released the groundbreaking Straight Outta Compton in 1988. Many considered it a wake-up call to the problems that were going on in the West Coast, particularly in South Central Los Angeles. "Straight Outta Compton" reflected a rising anger in the city, "Fuck tha Police" talked of police violence, and "Gangsta Gangsta" spoke of gang life. The album has become best-known for these opening three songs.

Both Ice Cube and, to a lesser extent, MC Ren contributed with lyrics, with Eazy-E providing comic relief within his rhymes. Producers Dr. Dre and DJ Yella composed beats for each song, and Dr. Dre occasionally rapped on the album as well.

Some of the lyrics were considered highly controversial, especially those of "Fuck Tha Police", perhaps the group's most notorious song. As a result of the lyrics, Milt Ahlerich, an assistant director of the FBI, sent a letter to Ruthless Records and its parent company Priority, advising the rappers that "advocating violence and assault is wrong and we in the law enforcement community take exception to such action". Policemen refused to provide security to the group's concerts, hurting their plans to tour. The FBI's letter only served to draw more publicity to the group.

This was one of the first albums which prompted the parental advisory label scheme. Yet, reflecting the change in attitudes over time, the parental advisory label then only displayed "WARNING MODERATE impact coarse language and/or themes".

Rolling Stone magazine recently placed it 144th on their list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

Ice Cube left the group in late 1989 because he suspected that Eazy-E and his manager, Jerry Heller, were skimming money off of the group's album profits. He wasted little time putting together his debut solo album, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, which included "A Message to the Oreo Cookie", an interlude in which vehement insults are addressed to an unnamed individual – perhaps the increasingly-gentrified Eazy-E, as the track concludes with a sneering "Think about it... fuckin' sell-out".

In N.W.A.'s next release, some five months later, they merely alluded neutrally to Ice Cube's departure, rapping in the title track of their EP 100 Miles and Runnin' that the group "Started with five, but one couldn't take it/So now it's four, 'cause the fifth couldn't make it".

However, the following year, the group's next full-length release, Efil4zaggin (Niggaz 4 Life spelled backwards) showed a clear animosity towards their former member. Insulting references to Ice Cube are found in several songs, and in the middle of the album the track "A Message to B.A." echoes his "A Message to the Oreo Cookie". In this interlude, Ice Cube is first addressed by the name "Benedict Arnold", after the notorious traitor of the American Revolutionary War, but then named outright in a montage of abuse. "When we see yo' ass, we gon' cut yo' hair off an' fuck you with a broomstick", promises MC Ren.

The insults escalated: AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted had avoided direct attacks on N.W.A., but on Ice Cube’s second album, Death Certificate, he fired back. He sampled and mocked the "Message to B.A." before embarking on a full-length rap, "No Vaseline", accusing N.W.A. and their associates of a variety of failings, including being phonies, fools, and homosexuals. Some considered his call for the murder of Eazy-E excessive, and his references to Jerry Heller's religion prompted accusations of anti-Semitism ("You can't be the nigga for life crew, with a white Jew telling you what to do"), which may have prompted the track’s omission from the U.K. release of the album.

After Eazy-E's death, and the break-up of N.W.A., tensions eased: Ice Cube teamed up with Dr. Dre to record a track for Snoop Dogg's short film and musical project, Murder Was the Case, and both Dr. Dre and MC Ren guested on the track "Hello" on Ice Cube's 2000 album War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc).

Dr. Dre began his solo career, forming Death Row Records with former Bobby Brown bodyguard Suge Knight. His first album was The Chronic. On the single "Fuck Wit Dre Day", Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg (now known as Snoop Dogg) diss Eazy-E on the video for "Dre Day". Eazy-E was a character named Sleazy-E which was running around desperately trying to get money.

Eazy-E responded by releasing the EP It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa. On the songs "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" (or "Real Compton City G's") and "It's On", Eazy-E disses Dr. Dre by calling him a "she thang". On the music video for "Real Muthaphuckkin G's", he shows pictures of Dr. Dre's head digitaly imposed on a female body wearing cosmetics and flashy clothes. The pictures were taken during his days with the World Class Wreckin' Cru.

In 1994, Ice Cube re-teamed with Dr. Dre for the song "Natural Born Killaz" for the soundtrack to the short film Murder Was the Case. They also planned a full length album together, Heltah Skeltah, however this project was declined after The D.O.C. released his Helter Skelter. The reunion was a hit, as it helped propel the soundtrack to number 1. 1998 saw the beginning of a partial N.W.A. reunion when Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were soon re-joined by MC Ren to record some new songs. They first recorded "Hello" for Ice Cube's sixth solo album War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc), featuring the hook "I started this gangsta shit/And this is the motherfuckin' thanks I get?".

Later, the three recorded "Chin Check" for Ice Cube's movie Next Friday with Snoop Dogg in place of the deceased Eazy-E. DJ Yella was not included on either reunion tracks but was supposed to get involved later as he wasn't on the road with "The Up In Smoke Tour" along with the others, who were recording the tracks in a mobile studio. These tracks were planned to be a part of a conceptual comeback album of N.W.A. called Not These Niggaz Again, that was to be produced by Dr. Dre on the part of the beats and Ice Cube on the part of the lyrics.

But due to the artists' fully booked schedules and some label problems, the new album never materialized. The main obstacles were coordinating three different record labels (Priority, No Limit, and Interscope), foreclosing the copyright of the use of the name N.W.A., and endorsing the whole project to gain exclusive rights. Supposedly they did not succeed in realizing these goals, so those two songs were added to N.W.A.'s Greatest Hits album when it was remastered (archives by VH1 from 1999, 2000, and 2002). There is another reunion on The D.O.C.'s album Deuce: "The Shit", on which The D.O.C., MC Ren, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg and Six-Two spit their verses. Dr. Dre and DJ Yella have nothing to do with the song, however they were present in the studio at the time. There is also a remix of the song called "Tha Shit" featuring Eazy E's son Lil Eazy-E.

Capitol and Ruthless Records released The N.W.A. Legacy, Vol. 1: 1988-1998 in 1998, an album that only contained three songs from the actual group, but contained many solo tracks from the five members. The success of the album caused the labels to release a second volume, The N.W.A. Legacy, Vol. 2, two years later. It followed the same format of the first album, containing only three tracks from the actual band and many songs from them as solo artists.