N.W.A - WikiHQ

N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California, in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential acts in hip-hop.

Active from 1987 to 1991, The group was subsequently banned from many mainstream American radio stations. In spite of this, they have sold over ten million units in the United States alone. Drawing on its members' own stories of racism and excessive policing, N.W.A made inherently political music. N.W.A's consistent accusations of institutional racism within the American police significantly contributed to the political awareness and involvement of American youth against racism.

The original lineup, formed in early 1987, Arabian Prince left N.W.A. in January 1989, just before the release of Straight Outta Compton, with Ice Cube following suit in December of that year. The group continued on as a four-piece, with no replacements for Arabian Prince and Ice Cube, and disbanded shortly after the release of their second album Niggaz4Life (1991).

Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Dr. Dre later became Platinum-selling solo artists in their own right in the 1990s. Eazy-E died from AIDS on March 26, 1995. The surviving members of N.W.A have continued to occasionally work together since Eazy-E's death, including a reunion of the Straight Outta Compton lineup (sans Eazy-E and Arabian Prince) from 1999 to 2001, during which a third album was in the works but abandoned due to issues with the rights to the N.W.A name. In 2016, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,

History

Formation and "Panic Zone" (1987–1988)

thumb|175px|Poster for one of N.W.A's first concerts at a Compton skating rink, 1988

N.W.A was assembled by Compton-based Eazy-E, who co-founded Ruthless Records with Jerry Heller. Eazy-E sought an introduction to Steve Yano. Although Yano initially rebuffed him, he was impressed by Eazy-E's persistence, and arranged a meeting with Dr. Dre. Initially, N.W.A consisted of Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, fellow producer Arabian Prince and Ice Cube who started out as a rapper for the group C.I.A.

Ruthless released the single "Panic Zone" in 1987 with Macola Records, which was later included on the compilation album N.W.A. and the Posse. N.W.A was still in its developing stages, and is only credited on three of the eleven tracks, notably the uncharacteristic record "Panic Zone", "8-Ball", and "Dopeman", which marked the first collaboration of Eazy E, Arabian Prince, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube. Mexican rapper Krazy-Dee co-wrote "Panic Zone", which was originally called "Hispanic Zone", but the title was later changed when Dr. Dre advised Krazy-Dee that the word "hispanic" would hinder sales. Also included was Eazy-E's solo track "Boyz-n-the-Hood". Dre later brought DJ Yella on board as well. Dre and Yella were both formerly members of the World Class Wreckin' Cru as DJs and producers. Finally, solo rapper MC Ren joined the group.

Eazy-Duz-It and Straight Outta Compton (1988–1989)

N.W.A recorded their official debut, Straight Outta Compton, during the summer and fall of 1988.

Twenty-six years later, member and co-producer of the Straight Outta Compton film, Ice Cube, commented "they were talking about what really led into the style that we ended up doing, which is now called hardcore gangster rap." Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince as HighPowered Productions, composed the beats for each song, with Dre making occasional rapping appearances. The D.O.C., Ice Cube, and MC Ren wrote most of the group's lyrics, including "Fuck tha Police", perhaps the group's most notorious song, which brought them into conflict with various law enforcement agencies. Under pressure from Focus on the Family, Milt Ahlerich, an assistant director of the FBI sent a letter to Ruthless and its distributing company Priority Records, advising the rappers that "advocating violence and assault is wrong and we in the law enforcement community take exception to such action." This letter can still be seen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Policemen refused to provide security for the group's concerts, hurting their plans to tour. Nonetheless, the FBI's letter only served to draw more publicity to the group.

Straight Outta Compton was also one of the first albums to adhere to the new Parental Advisory label scheme, then still in its early stages: the label at the time consisted of "WARNING: Moderate impact coarse language and/or themes" only. However, the taboo nature of N.W.A's music was the most important factor of its mass appeal. Media coverage compensated for the group's lack of airplay, and its album eventually went double platinum. Two months before Straight Outta Compton, Eazy-E's solo debut Eazy-Duz-It was released.

By the time Straight Outta Compton was finished, Arabian Prince increasingly became disillusioned with how Heller managed the group's funds. He gradually skipped studio sessions and photoshoots. N.W.A. accompanied Public Enemy and Ice-T on a short nationwide tour from December 1988 to January 1989. When the short tour concluded, Arabian Prince had left the group. Straight Outta Compton was released in January 1989. having written almost half of the lyrics on Straight Outta Compton himself, he felt he was not getting a fair share of the profits. A lawsuit brought by Ice Cube against band manager Jerry Heller was settled out of court. He wasted little time putting together his solo debut, 1990's AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, but he avoided mentioning his former label mates. N.W.A's title track from their 1990 EP 100 Miles and Runnin, however, included a diss towards Cube:

"We started with five, but yo / One couldn't take it—So now it's four / Cuz the fifth couldn't make it." The video for the song depicted the remaining members of N.W.A together in a jail cell, while an Ice Cube look-alike is released.

Also heard on the EP (which found its way on the Efil4zaggin album) was "Real Niggaz", a full-blown diss to Ice Cube where the remaining members accuse him of cowardice, and question his authenticity, longevity and originality: "How the fuck you think a rapper lasts / With your ass sayin' shit that was said in the past / Yo, be original, your shit is sloppy / Get off the dick, you motherfuckin' carbon-copy", and "We started out with too much cargo / So I'm glad we got rid of Benedict Arnold, yo."

The song "100 Miles and Runnin'" was Dr. Dre's final uptempo recording, which had been a common feature of late 1980s hip-hop. After this, he focused on a midtempo, synthesizer based sound which became known as G-funk, starting with "Alwayz Into Somethin'" from Efil4zaggin in 1991. The G-funk style dominated both the West and East Coast hip-hop music scene for several years to come.

N.W.A is referenced on Ice Cube's 1990 EP, Kill at Will, where he name-checks his former group (likely in a mocking manner) on the song "Jackin' For Beats". On "I Gotta Say What Up!!!", Ice Cube gives shout-outs to his rap peers at the time, among them Public Enemy, Geto Boys, and Sir Jinx. At the end of the track, in what appears to be an on-the-phone interview, Ice Cube is asked, "Since you went solo, what's up with the rest of the crew?" and the phone is abruptly hung up on the interviewer.

The group's second full-length release, 1991's Efil4zaggin ("Niggaz4Life" spelled backwards), re-established the band in the face of Ice Cube's continued solo success. The album is considered by many Dr. Dre's finest production work, and it heralded the beginning of the G-Funk era. It also showed a clear animosity towards their former member, and derogatory references to Ice Cube are found in several songs. The interlude "A Message to B.A." echoes the beginning of his song "Turn Off the Radio" from AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted: Ice Cube is first addressed by the name Benedict Arnold (after the infamous traitor of the American Revolution) but then named outright in a torrent of abuse from both the group and its fans: "When we see yo' ass, we gon' cut yo' hair off and fuck you with a broomstick" spoken by MC Ren.

The N.W.A–Ice Cube feud eventually escalated, both on record and in real life. AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted had avoided direct attacks on N.W.A, but on Death Certificate, Ice Cube's second full-length release, he retaliated. He sampled and mocked the "Message to B.A." skit before embarking on a full-blown tirade, the infamous "No Vaseline". In a series of verses, Ice Cube verbally assaulted the group: "You lookin' like straight bozos / I saw it comin' that's why I went solo / Kept on stompin' / When y'all Muthafuckas moved Straight outta Compton / You got jealous when I got my own company / But I'm a man, and ain't nobody humpin' me." On January 27, 1991, Dr. Dre assaulted Dee Barnes, host of the hip-hop show Pump It Up, after its coverage of the N.W.A/Ice Cube beef. According to Rolling Stone reporter Alan Light: