N.W.A called it reality rap and took hardcore hip-hop to number one
Banned from much of mainstream radio and shadowed by an FBI letter, a Compton group still sold over ten million units in the United States. N.W.A lasted only from 1987 to 1991, yet its songs about racism and heavy-handed policing reshaped hip-hop and helped carry rap to white American listeners.
Eazy-E, who had co-founded Ruthless Records with Jerry Heller, assembled the group after persistently seeking an introduction that led him to Dr. Dre. The first lineup in early 1987 was Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Arabian Prince and Ice Cube; DJ Yella joined soon after, and MC Ren became the sixth member in mid-1988. An early single, Panic Zone, was co-written by the Mexican rapper Krazy-Dee and first titled Hispanic Zone until Dre warned that the word would hurt sales.
Straight Outta Compton appeared in January 1989, peaked at No. 37 on the Billboard 200 and eventually went triple platinum. Its opening run of three tracks voiced the anger of urban youth, and one song protesting police brutality and racial profiling put the group at odds with law enforcement. An assistant FBI director, Milt Ahlerich, wrote to Ruthless and its distributor objecting to the lyrics; that letter is now displayed at a rock museum in Cleveland. Police refused to guard their concerts, yet the controversy, along with an early Parental Advisory sticker, fed the album's appeal.
The group frayed quickly. Arabian Prince, unhappy with how Heller handled money, left in January 1989, and Ice Cube followed late that year, feeling underpaid for writing almost half the debut's lyrics. The remaining four aimed barbed songs at him, calling him Benedict Arnold. Their 1991 album Niggaz4Life became the first hardcore rap record to top the Billboard 200 and launched the G-funk sound Dre would soon make dominant.
Several members went on to platinum solo careers in the 1990s. Eazy-E died of AIDS on March 26, 1995. Rolling Stone placed N.W.A at 83 among its greatest artists, a fourth nomination finally brought Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2016, and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award followed in 2024.
Source: N.W.A
