Product Description

You can't accuse N.W.A. of being subtle. The original gansta-rap group was unabashedly angry, with controversial songs that reflected the troubled streets from which it came. N.W.A.'s unpleasant style touched a nerve; critics called it offensive at least, dangerous at worst. But to simply dismiss N.W.A. as a group of violent, misogynist troublemakers is to completely miss the point. N.W.A. made an indelible mark on the world of rap music with its funk-infused, slow-grind style of rap (created by producers Dr. Dre and Yella) and its frank depiction of life in the inner city. Ice Cube's sublimelyrical timing and delivery complemented MC Ren's self-assured, off-tempo rhyming and Easy E's straightforward style. N.W.A. launched the gansta-rap genre, not to mention the careers of several major rap stars, while exercising (and defending) its rights of self-expression.
GREATEST HITS includes such rap classics as "Fuck Tha Police" and "Gangsta Gangsta" along with a few previously-unreleased mixes and 12-inch tracks, all proof of N.W.A.'s considerable impact on both pop music and pop culture.

Track Listing

1. Live Intro
2. Arrested
3. Gangsta Gangsta
4. Fuck The Police
5. Fuck The Police
6. Compton's In The House
7. Break Out
8. Straight Outta Compton
9. If It Ain't Ruff
10. Real Niggaz
11. I Ain't Tha 1
12. Always Into Somethin'
13. Don't Drink That Wine
14. Just Don't Bite It
15. Cash Money
16. Express Yourself
17. 100 Miles And Runnin'
18. Bitch Is A Bitch
19. Real Niggaz Don't Die
20. Chin Check
21. Hello

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67278 in Music
• Released on: 2003-03-24
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Explicit Lyrics

Amazon.co.uk Review
NWA. came straight outta Compton and changed the world. Led by the diminutive jheri-curled foul-mouth Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and given musical impetus by the fully rounded production skills of Andre "Dr Dre" Young, Niggaz With Attitudes may not, with the benefit of hindsight, have actually been all they claimed but as Greatest Hits shows, they made records that still reverberate today. Five angry blokes in black t-shirts and Raiders baseball caps, NWA's incendiary debut shocked a complacent music business, introduced the Beirut-like war zone of Los Angeles' crack-ravaged ghettos to a worldwide audience and, by selling bucket loads, transformed not only the nascent rap music business but indelibly changed the course of hip-hop history. Put simply, it's impossible to conceive of a world in which Eminem is a star that hadn't first been touched by these five Angelenos. From the sick humour of the morally reprehensible "A Bitch Is A Bitch" and the blank nihilism and titillating reportage of "Straight Outta Compton" to "100 Miles And Running"'s self-referential cheek, NWA rewrote all the rules. There is art and import in here too, much of both from the poison pen and unsurpassable vocal skills of Ice Cube whose decision to quit the group spelled the end. Overall, the dispiriting tendency for contemporary rappers to out-sick one another means that much of what is contained here sounds almost quaint and, as a coherent statement, it's "Straight Outta Compton" that remains essential. But Greatest Hits tells enough of the story and as a starting point is hard to fault. --Angus Batey

Customer Reviews

Gangsta started here.
For the vast majority of artists, a greatest hits or best of collection is the ideal entry point into their catalogue. For NWA, that's not the case. As influential as they were, if you're a casual fan, it's not the greatest hits you want, it's Straight Outta Compton, the rap landmark that basically brought gangsta to the mainstream. Somewhat uniquely, This Greatest Hits collection is really much more for the fans than the passers by, featuring as it does a number of skits, songs and mixes that were previously unavailable.

The cuts from Compton are all classics, although some would have enjoyed the inclusion of, for example, 'Parental Discretion Iz Advised,' or even pre-album single 'Boyz N The Hood,' written for Eazy-E by Ice Cube. What's more, somewhat annoyingly, Compton's title track and 'Express Yourself' are both present as remixes rather than their original mixes. 'Compton' in particular has all its momentum ruined by random inserts that add nothing to the song and don't actually give an impression of the impact of its big drumbeat and squalling brass. 'Gangsta, Gangsta' is mercifully intact and shows just how playful NWA were at the time, spinning off into a totally different direct three and a half minutes in - something modern rap artists are mostly afraid to do.

From that point on, it was mostly downhill for NWA. Most importantly, Ice Cube quit and things were never quite the same. However almost all of NWA's best post-Cube moments are collected on this hits collection - although notably absent is 'Appetite For Destruction,' a single, showing this is not in fact a greatest hits - with the two most important being '100 Miles And Runnin'' and 'Real N****z Don't Die.' The latter is the opener to the band's second and final album 'Efil4Zaggin,' and its spiralling, apocalyptic beat shows just how ahead of his time Dr. Dre was even as early as 1991. The former is arguably NWA's greatest song, the sound of NWA doing a James Bond theme with a random Motown sample thrown in for good measure.

Also included are two NWA 'reunion' tracks, with Eazy-E obviously being absent having passed away in the 1990s. Snoop Dogg's inclusion seems a bit off-colour considering what he was saying about Eazy after the break-up, and in truth, neither track lives up to anything NWA did before and they aren't worth including.

Indeed, this compilation isn't really worth including in your record collection if you aren't already a hardcore fan - if you only want one NWA record, then make it Straight Outta Compton instead.

Legends
Love this so much. All of NWA's greatest hits and most insirational tracks are here(Straight outta compton, F The police) and it is essential for any hip hop fan. My uncle gave me this to introduce me to the old skool gangsta rap style, and he certainly has made me see just how good the old political rap is. Of course i'd heard Dre and Cube before, but i was very impressed with Eazy and Ren, it only just hit me that both of them are two of the best lyricists that the game has ever seen. The thing about NWA are that they can do political tracks(F The police) and tghen great, funny tracks like Don't matter just don't bite it, which is laugh out loud rhymes.
A great hits collection from a great band, you have to get this.

one of the best gangster rar groups
What can i say. This album really is big! The tunes are classics and with dre, ice cube etc this group is unstoppable.
Buy this album you wont regret it.