Straight Outta Compton

Not really my thing.

Too much cussing but I did appreciate that I could understand all the lyrics.

The commentary about the police vs. the Black community is great. It’s still very relevant. It’s the misogynistic and homophobic lines I can’t deal with.

Not the worst old school rap I've heard 3 It's just really not me 2

That language! This would be better without all the N's and F's.... I'll actually give it 2/5 and not 1/5 like I thought because it has merits. 2/5

This sounded quite revolutionary to me when it came out. Listening again was a nostalgia trip, and Express Yourself is still a certified classic. But I don’t feel that this has aged that well, production-wise, musically or lyrically. I get that it was meant to be offensive to everyone at the time, but the casual misogny and homophobia just feels a bit ick, to put it mildly.

Another 3-in-1 hip hop review, this time tracing the thread from N.W.A.’s “Straight Outta Compton” through Ice T’s “OG Original Gangster” to Dr. Dre’s “The Chronic.” There are a lot of albums that “changed” hip hop, and “Straight Outta Compton” may be peak among them. Peak for impact, not peak for quality. They may not have created gangsta rap, but N.W.A. took it mainstream with their platinum hit album, forcing America to come to terms with life in inner city minority neighborhoods like Compton and popularizing the use of the n-word in hip hop. Incredibly impactful, but musically it’s stuck in 80s hip hop without signs of evolving. That evolution wasn’t necessarily needed though - by far the best part of the album is when Dr. Dre emerges with “Express Yourself.” It’s old school, it’s not violent or profane, and it shows that style can work in a timeless way. As for the rest, Ice Cube’s rapping is pretty solid, whereas MC Ren makes no real impact and Easy E’s nasally rapping is the worst part of the album. On the other hand, Ice T is a better rapper than anyone in N.W.A. (except maybe Dr. Dre, who was mostly limited to small features outside of “Express Yourself”). Ice T is such an OG, he had to tell the rest of America what OG means. He didn’t create the term, any more than he created gangsta rap, but helped bring it to the masses. “OG Original Gangster” is at once a coda for the early days of hip hop and a declaration that gangsta rap would dominate the next decade. The production and musicality is much better than “Straight Outta Compton” (though in a style that was firmly on its way out), and T’s rapping also stood above other MCs. Ice T may be the OG, but as an OG, he’s older and wiser and better able to reflect on where they’ve been and where they’re going. While those who followed in his footsteps often succumbed to the gangsta life, Ice T emerged on the other side with a career in film and TV, and is today probably more known for his role on Law & Order SVU than for his rap music. After Ice T and N.W.A. opened the door, Dr. Dre left N.W.A. and began a solo and rapping career that would fully establish West Coast gangsta rap as -the- rap genre of the 90s. “The Chronic” presented a serious evolution in sound from “Straight Outta Compton” or “OG Original Gangsta.” The themes remained the same, but the edge got even harder and the early trappings and influences of hip hop faded away. My group member pretentious-ass wrote (4 years ago, when I was supposed to review this) that “The Chronic killed hip-hop.” And I think in a lot of ways he’s right. Something different emerged from it, but it was something far removed from Ice T, N.W.A., and everything before it. West Coast gangsta rap after “The Chronic” did seem to become all-consuming, sucking the oxygen away from alternative hip hop and any other style.

I get that this album is important. I also get that you grew up hard and you are a bad-ass motherf***er. I get it. But damn it is hard to listen to these sexist and derogatory lyrics now (ever?). I often wonder if the most popular female rap/hip-hop artists today listen to early gansta rap and what they think about it.

Bits of it were OK (If it ain't ruff for example) but on the whole not really doing anything for me and I think probably aged quite badly in terms of the misogyny etc.

Largely repetitive. In general not the biggest fan of 80s rap. 2/5

very boring after a while, way too long

okay, a lot of crude lyrics, but genre defining

Cute beats, express yourself is fun, a lot of it is "cringe" (they're children trying to look like big boys!). I'm sure this would have been important to me if I was born 10 years earlier.

Don't like rap :c

This didn't age well. Although I can't say I ever listened all the way through. This is way more old school than I thought it would be. Like, corny old school. But with cussing and misogyny. Did this start gangster rap? I've vague on the history but it seems right. Something 2 Dance 2 was cool though.

N.W.A. has always been one of the rap groups that I've always wanted to check out. There are not many rap-duo/group albums that I've heard, so this being one of the first in gangsta-rap just added more to the excitement. But man, I was super disappointed by this album. So before I get my complaints out, I'll just say that there are some good stuff about the album. This album has probably the two most iconic opening tracks to a rap album. "Straight Outta Compton" and "Fuck Da Police" are easily their biggest tracks ever, so getting to hear those bangers was just an amazing opening. Production on this album is fine, but I feel like Dr. Dre became a better producer in the 90s. So the first complaint is really about the rappers. I think that Ice Cube has a great voice but I think that I would prefer him in his own stuff. I can barely remember anything that Yella said, and Dre doesn't write most of his own shit anyway. But the most overrated rapper of all time has to be Eazy-E. Now I'm not trying to act disrespectful, but the dude just sucks. Favourite track would have to be "Fuck Da Police". It slaps, it's iconic, what more can you say? Least favourite track would have to be "Express Yourself". Why the fuck did they think that people would buy into this shit? The message is good, but they can't even stick to it. 3/10

I was too old and narrow minded to embrace this sort of music. The fact that white kids 10 years younger than me thought it was great made it seem even more ridiculous in my book. Now I can look back and appreciate it for what it was, groundbreaking and revolutionary, it still never graces my turntable.

Too long and too samey.

Not terrible. Quite Juvenile. Not likely to ever roll it with my homies ever again

Wasn't bad musically, but lyrics toggled between cheesy and incredibly offensive.

3/25/2022 Today's Album: "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A. - This album is just really boring. I think that the production on it is pretty stellar. Each track is warm and features a pretty solid beat, groovy bass, and sometimes even a nice vocal, but the rapping is absolute dogshit. Not only do the beats just kind of sit in one place and not do anything, but the rapping and verse structures are just so boring and stagnant throughout the track list. You get each member of the group just ending each line with rhymes like frozen and chosen, effect and select, and even more similarly predictable matchings. I think there is a lot of potential coming from the hooks and choruses of each song, but the verses are just so tedious to listen to and just sound like a kid listing off everything they did today but in the style of Dr.Seuss. Like I said, it's a pretty nice set of beats to listen to because the production is pretty excellent, but it just doesn't have enough experimentation or variety within the rhythm or beat structure to illicit any reactions from me. The subject matter of a lot of these tracks are also just really dated, littered with misogynistic and edgy ideas. Overall, if you like old rap like this, listen to Biggie or Snoop. There's more charisma and charm from them and the subject matter is a little less played out. Even the album I reviewed 2 days ago from Jeru the Damaja was better than this. Score: 4/10 Highlights: If It Ain't Ruff, Express Yourself (carried by it's sample)

Between this and The Chronic I feel like I've given gangsta rap a fair shake and it just does nothing for me. Dull music, unpleasant lyrics, what's the point? Express Yourself has a good tune though.

I know a tiny bit about gangsta rap, primarily from the late 90s and early 2000s, and almost all of those artists, if you dig in, were found by, launched by, or are somehow tied to Dr. Dre, an original NWA member. These guys are the definition of "O.G."; they are the reason (like it or not) that gangsta rap is so prolific in mainstream music today. Their rough life experiences in Compton are what birthed this music scene. I can see why this album is monumental, but the lyrics have not aged well. Gangsta rap is notorious for its very vivid (and sometimes over-exaggerated) descriptions of violent behaviors, but exaggeration or not, I really can't get behind the excessive misogyny and domestic violence. The "black community versus the cops" message from 1988 still feels relevant today, though.

by track 8 i had a mid-80's headache. but this album holds up pretty well and there was more variety on it than i expected. a lot of it, however, is tedious, misogynistic and juvenile.

Done good tracks. Rest patchy.

Listening to this in 2022, it's so clear to me now that music must be understood in the context of the time it is made. This music is so aggressive, explosive, angry and the messages don't resonate now, but it seems they did in 1988. Not really a fan of this album and wouldn't put it on regular rotation, but I'm glad I was exposed to it, to better understand the period of time. Interesting to see Ice Cube and Dr. Dre from back in the day.

Juvenile hip-hop, Some nice beats makes it a 2

Hiphop ochentero. No es un género de mi predileccion

I can definitely acknowledge their cultural impact and the musical influence that they have, however, it doesn't make it any less of a chore to listen to these songs that are so full of profanity. This genre is not what I look for in my music.

“ If ya fuck wit me I'll put a foot in ya ass” is such a great line. A lot of lines throughout disparaging women which I don’t love to listen to. But I also can’t help but notice the anger in this album about police treatment towards black men and how 30+ years later not much has changed. I also have to recognize the influence this album has on so much musically today- not sure Hamilton would exist without NWA! I have to give this 2 stars mainly because I wouldn’t choose to listen to this again but I do appreciate it too

Ich finde es leider nicht so cool wie die Herren selbst

I don't really mind hip-pop but the lyrics are way too offensive and hardcore for me lol Can't really finish even the first track.

Must hear in het genre, maar vanaf de helft begon het voor mij te vervelen en in herhaling te vallen. Niet mijn ding

Hip hip. Coñazo

Rap just really isn't my style. But I have to say, in terms of rap this really isn't the worst. Or rather, I still don't like it, but I do think it sounds better than 95%+ of rap I've heard. The lyrics are absolutely ridiculous of course.

This album is a classic, and I do see the appeal, but it dragged on too long and most of the songs I didn't like at all. Did like Straight Outta Compton, Fuck Tha Police and Express Yourself but not that much. I can't give this album anymore than 2/5 stars.

This was a bit of a weird one; I know it's a very highly rated album, but the gangster rap where everyone's verses are about how hard they are and how they'll shot whoever don't generally appeal. Express Yourself stood out as not fitting in with the rest of the album at all, with Dre rapping about how he doesn't smoke weed because it messes with your head, and how wannabe gangsters rap about stuff they've never experienced before. It all felt a bit surreal and in complete contrast to everything else.

Not my thing.

Not my favorite era of hip hop, Eazy-E brought down many of the tracks by reusing lines or phrases.

Not my cup of tea

It's impossible to overstate the enduring impact of Straight Outta Compton; as polarizing as its outlook may be, it remains an essential landmark, one of hip-hop's all-time greatest.

Chunky sound but lyrically off

Again, not really my jam, but hey, I'll listen.

Ei minun kuppi teetä, vaikka ainakin nimibiisin tahtiin nyökyttelinkin.

Attitude gefällt mir am besten bei der wütenden Gang, aber musikalisch komme ich selten in den Genuss einer weiteren Dimension wie bei “Parental discretion…“ 2.4

No me hago con el hip-hop. Mal disco (por mi parte) para empezar esta aventura

Hip-hop ochentero. No me gusta...

Not into hiphop

Mucho más pasable de lo que pensaria

Al menos no es Nick Drake

I’m sure this album has a crucial place in hip-hop history, but it is difficult for me to enjoy.

I respect that this is a good album with a handful of great songs, but all in all, it's never really been my cuppa tea

Ihan asiallista rähinää ja varmasti merkittävä teos omassa genressään, mutta ei tätä kyllä oikein jaksa. Saman biisin looppausta alusta loppuun.

not my cup of tea

an hour btw

Pure Unadulterated Garbage

not for me

Vähä liian törkeitä sanotuksia

I deeply fucking regret including the hip-hop genre in my *1001 Albums* list. To be honest, I didn't realise it could be this motherfucking bad. I figured there had to be *something* I was missing, but nope—the so-called greatest fucking albums in the genre have done nothing but confirm, reinforce, and somehow even exceed every goddamn preconception I ever had about rap music. "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A. is constantly hailed as one of the most influential motherfucking albums ever made, especially in gangsta rap. Fair enough—it was hugely fucking influential. But influence alone doesn't make something enjoyable. To my ears, it's a relentless barrage of motherfucking profanity, shouted threats, and endless fucking aggression, as though a room full of extremely angry guys decided that every third word had to be "motherfucker" and every second sentence had to end in someone getting told to fuck off. The energy is undeniable, but so is the monotony. Listening to it feels less like hearing music and more like being trapped inside an endless, adrenaline-fuelled screaming match where the volume keeps rising and every other word is "fucking" something or someone. If that's the appeal, then this motherfucker simply isn't for me. Completely, utterly, absolutely fucking unlistenable.

1.25 - I thought we had this album already, but maybe it's because I have similar thoughts on it as I do for other rap albums of this time. The style doesn't hold up and the casual gay slurs/etc in the lyrics make it an uncomfortable listen.

Too misogynistic for me to enjoy this at all.

Considered a classic, but I’m not a fan.

Beats are nice, bad language is over used.

No va

I didn’t like it

Music, beat, and all is good but the lyrics. F this and F that... I agree with all the other reviews that slam the Explicit lyrics. Not an album that I would think should be preserved and appreciated. It's bad. 1/5

jol jol jestem kurwa gangster jestem tuff?😈

The sound of the LA riots, police brutality and the birth of Gangster Rap. As a historial artifact this is fascinating, but to actually listen to over breakfast today as a white man in Yorkshire... not really feeling OK with the hate, sexism and homophobia. Pass.

Its alright, but rap/hip-hop just isnt for me however much of a classic it is. The constant use of slurs got really tedious, really quick.

You lost me at fuck the police.

Fuck

Violentos

Most of them actually got out of Compton. Good for them.

Hard-hitting gangsta rap built on funk samples, punchy drum machines, minimal melodic loops, and aggressive, confrontational vocals hits with raw force. Listening feels like being dropped into a tense street confrontation where every line lands like a direct challenge. Seeing this from far away it's boring to see so many people argue.

Here’s another debut album, and another rap album. I listened to the original release. As usual not much music and lots of talking. The internet says this album was highly influential because it brought West Coast rap to the mainstream and started the East Coast vs. West Coast rap rivalry. Still too much violence here to be enjoyable.

Cool but not my type of vibe

I gave this celebrated rap record a listen and found it as stupid and juvenile as expected.

I won't even waste my time reviewing this, other than to say, I recognize it's significance in the history of music.

N.W.1Star

N.W.A. are among the most important pioneers of gangsta rap and certainly deserve respect as such. However, their debut album *Straight Outta Compton* is so raw and unvarying that I find it hard to write anything positive about it. I now have a reasonable understanding of what rap must have meant to people of color in its early days. For me, though, rap tracks remain largely songs for people who don’t like music. But I do like music.

couldn't finish it

This album made me very uncomfortable, it is everything I dislike about rap. A far cry from the lyrical genius of people like Eminem the songs are expletive ridden with heavy racial and misogynistic overtones. It sounds very dated too in terms of the music used. One star

bunch of guys sucking each others dicks for an hour straight is crazy work

This was not for me, however much I endorse some of the sentiments. Did not seem very respectful to women.

I understand how this album is impactful to the overall history of rap and hiphop - it just really was not for me. Some of the lines and aspects of the songs really really slapped but the overall album was a struggle for me to get through. I had to really try and stomach it. It is possible that within the context that this album was released, I would have a completely different mindset and I can acknowledge that. Today however, it feels dated, regressive and there's just so much better rap out there currently.

Big feelings. Rated E does not mean for everyone

Explicitly bad, I understand the cultural significance of the album but it’s not for me

Nope. Typical rap filled with foul language. Not for me.

1 - TERRIBLE

Not for me

Lo alejado culturalmente que estoy del gansta rap, no puedo ser objetivo

Oh dear. For some reason a gang of foul-mouthed yobs were let loose in a studio. I had Ice Cube's Predator on this list two days ago, and that was an order of magnitude better than this.

Public enemy ran so they could summersault backwards

my fav is parental discretion iz advised rating 1.5/5

2/10

Girllll I’m way too sensitive for this

Just No!!!

The good: The samples, the flow, the general feel. Top quality. The ugly: The lyrics. The misogyny, the violence, the homophobia. Unacceptable. I don't care if this was autobiographical or whatever, I fucking hate this shit. And yes, my opinion would be the same if they were white before you condescendingly call me racist.

Wasn’t a fan of the language used.. not for me

This isn’t even close to what can be call “music” 🤬

Very repetitive and lyrically uninteresting; not surprisingly extremely misogynistic

Not my thing.

Pour 88 ce devait être quelque chose, mais je me suis fait.e chier sur presque tous les morceaux. Leur rythme est plus lent que les rappeurs modernes et les paroles se répètent tellement que je n'y trouve aucun intérêt, sauf peut-être pour les violences policières. Vu la manière dont il se comportent dans leurs chansons et la fierté qu'ils en retirent, j'ai du mal à les trouver cool alors que c'est bien là dessus que se base toute leur esthétique.

Tem Dr. Dre, então estou surpresa de não ter gostado de nada desse álbum. É importante e tal mas é chato pra caralho. Se ao menos os instrumentais fossem interessantes, eu poderia dar uma nota média. Não ouviria de novo. É possível dar 0? 1/5

Rap is not my favourite genre of Music, especially american, or english in general. I just don't see the art of music in it. The art of words, yes. But the pure sound of music is not given in my eyes in rap-songs.

I was done with this hip-hop crap after just a few moments. What a bunch of pussies. Every time I hear messed-up albums from other genres on this list, I think maybe hip-hop isn't so bad after all. And then I get an album like this that confirms, yes, hip-hop really is shit. 1/5

Didnt even finish the album, music like this set our people back 70 years single handedly. Unnecessarily violent and sexist. IMHO public enemy did a much better job touching this topic. The non-political songs are complete skips. Think they’re all weridos now as well.

Vreselijk.

not my style

No! Rap ist keine Musik!

1/5 Look, I expected to like this a lot, given it's almost mythical status. After listening, I was confused, bored and tired. I guess it is not for me, huh. Fav: Straight Outta Compton Least Fav: Parental Discretion Iz Advised, Gangsta Gangsta, If It Ain't Ruff, Compton's in the House - Remix, I Aint' Tha 1, Dopeman - Remix

Stupid gangsta rap

Uh, influential it may be but not in a good way. Preaching violence and misogyny hardly the way forward.

Definitely not.

eh

Straight outta Compton and right into the trash bin.

This is awful.

1 song added to my favorites. Woul listen again if asked to.

Пошкодувала, що розумію англійську. Яким би важливим цей альбом не вважали, але він надто мізогінний та "показушний". Я розумію, чому для чорного населення Америки такі тексти та музика мають цінність, але точок дотику з українським контекстом gangsta rap майже не має, мені здається. Музично трохи качає, але швидко скочується в монотонність та перестає інтригувати. Ну але я все ж змогла дослухати цілий альбом до кінця, хоча й без задоволення.

Ah, my least favourite sub-genre in one of my least favourite genres. So no surprise, it’s a 1 star. Any worthwhile message is lost on me by the aggression throughout.

Not for mee

I know this album was important and is well thought of, but I couldn't even make it through the whole thing

Still can’t wrap my head around this kind of music. I don’t get why people like it. So vulgar, every other word is either the n-word, or some sort of swearing. Not for me

Fuck this shit

I don’t need this much anger and violence in my life. Next album, please!

Why are you sending me this stuff?

* no music. Merely noise, vulgar language and rap.

Horrible. Anything with ‘n%gger’ in it it f%ck the police in it is a massive turn off for me. Can’t listen to it.

don't like the rhymes, don't like the rythm, don't like the melodies, don't like the content. and it's a looooooong album.

# 584 : Straight Outta Compton. DID NOT LISTEN - Doesn't sound like I would enjoy that.

Schlimm

I gave this album a fair shot, but it goes against everything I believe in. The themes, language, and message don't align with my values. There's a reason I avoided it before, and after listening, I still strongly dislike it

En beat som er etablert etter 5-20 sekunder og forblir uendret er kjedelig. Det samme er tekst innholdet som virker identisk på alle låtene. Selv om en låt starter tøft, blir det fort uinteressant.

Полбалла добавил только за то, что не особо сильно раздражало фоном, когда готовил. А так, ничего не потерял бы, если бы не слушал вообще.

Ugg, my ears hurt.

Hip Hop. 1/5

Nmg escuché 800 "n words" y "f*ck de police"

God this was terrible. Really didn't enjoy this. I generally have an open mind to all music, and that includes rap - I appreciate quite a few rap artists. But listening to this felt like meaningless drivel and I think its one of the few times where I was actively counting down to the end of the album. Just unpleasant. Thought it was fine a few songs in - good listening for the genre(to me) perhaps. Then it just dragged and dragged, nothing felt new and it just wouldn't end. I don't whether this is a particularly influential or appreciated album or not, but it means nothing to me.

Never liked this Gangsta rap shit. And the rest is misogynistic trash.

Definitely not for me.

Shite

Gangsta Rap ist nicht meine Musikrichtung 1/5

Not for me

Urlöjligt.

I cannot deny that this album had a MASSIVE impact on hip hop and still does to this day however the lyrics are fucking disgusting. Wasn’t acceptable then and isn’t now.

Absolutely not for me. Tried to listen to at least 30 seconds - a minute of each track and that was difficult.

I don't like the promotion of violence.

I can’t stand anything about this so-called "music". The language, the ridiculous rhymes, the misogynistic messages, and the endless barrage of expletives. It’s like auditory torture, and I’d rather listen to nails on a chalkboard!

Now I know who to thank for all of the crappy music today. It's like they just learned how to say "Fuck" and couldn't say it enough. Couldn't even get through two songs. Not my thing.

Could not get into it.

This album is... horrible. I don't know how I've listened this entire collection of stupid, repetitive and boring stuff. I hate hip-hop, and that's the perfect example of why. There are nice hip-hop songs, but most of them are the same garbage, and that album is even worse... Almost an hour of... this!!?? Really? I feel like I've lost my time today.

That was a rough listen

Not my thing. I do like some rap, but maybe more refined over the years. Felt too shock for shocks take for my taste

Not for everyone

So my final album is this shit. Thanks for the journey 1001 songs. Far too much Britpop, British electronica and unknown British bands. I've discovered that gangsta rap is stunningly boring and viciously nasty. I've also found that Bjork is brilliant and PJ Harvey is breathtaking. Now I'm off to journey through the albums of my Australian homeland.

There is absolutely nothing to recommend about this, the lyrics are awful, the music (I can barely use that word in this context) is monotonous. Its just obnoxious attitude. Fuck this release.

There is nothing about this album that I liked - just bad in every way possible.

stopped listening.

The lyrics were easier to understand with this group compared to other rap singers. I just don’t enjoy rap.

I HAD to listen to this before I die? Really?

No love for the police, but even less love for graphic descriptions of rape.

no

hell na

I don't know. I'm not really sure how I am suppose to relate to a group that calls themselves 'Niggaz Wit Atitudes' being a white Welshman from sunny Cardiff. My Bampy used to have a saying which I won't repeat here. I'm not saying he was right but sometimes I don't think he was wrong either. Ultimately though, regardless of race I just can't abide music that glorifies being a complete dickhead. As Sgt Harper once said in Sharpe, it's no sin to be born in the gutter but it's a terrible thing to want to stay there.

No.

This album is basically everything I hate about hip hop - misogyny, violence, intolerance, homophobia, self-aggrandizing toxicity. And I suppose this album is where a lot of that originated in the genre. It's juvenile and dumb. But like most of the hip hop albums that followed, I really sympathize with the social commentary on this record. I just hate this kind of music and can hardly stand to make it through the whole album. 1/5

Buh Iih Bäh Aua Aua Bum Bum - dieser Schrott ist Dum Dum

Not my cup of tea. Boring, with a predictable overuse of 'fuck'. Sigh

I cannot listen to any more gangsta rap albums. There's no way I can rate them objectively because I hate them so much.

Bunch of dumb-ass racists and misogynists.

Has not aged well (in 2025) at all. I 'get' the commentry on the police racism but many of the tracks are seriously misogynistic and immature (bravado or insecurity?). MC Ren seems like the only rapper with flow.

Nope. 1* for FtP

I feel dirty (¬_¬)ﾉ

The one bad thing about going through this list is having crap (not music) like this served up on an alarmingly regular basis. Stuff like this brings out the worse in me and makes me angry which is the exact opposite of what music is supposed to do. Yes by all means it should create a reaction but when it is done by glorying all what’s wrong in this world, there is no justification at all in subjecting those outside your grimy little world to it. As if to reinforce my point, there is a report in the UK press today about a gangster who was convicted of killing a young boy in 2009 and released in 2023 (yes I checked my figures - less than 14 years) He’s now making a living and been played on the BBC as a gangster rapper. Some of the lyrics refer to his slaughtering of that innocent child. The rage I feel must be nothing to that of the victim’s parents. This has everything to do with N.W.A who are responsible for promoting violence and not caring one iota for the rule of law. Worse still they are ‘role models’ and big influencers to the brainless moron’s who feel that the world owes them for the poverty and hardship they were born into. Should not appear on this list/5 16/1/25

Embodiment of everything wrong with gangsta rap and why I can never appreciate it as an art form. Completely negative and misogynistic drivel that maligns even the groups it attempts to represent. Offensive in every way. Deficient in musicianship and talent, it substitutes electronics and attitude in their place. I don’t care how “important” anyone thinks it is. I will never be a fan.

All ex

Nope!

2/17 - 4/17 - 23/100

If you need me I'll be over here in the corner clutching my pearls.

This album is a perfect showcase of just about everything wrong with 80s and 90s hip-hop. Listen, I get the main message – the police are racist – but though it still holds true to this day, it's overshadowed by the rampant sexism in nearly every track, including the opener/title track: "I find a good piece o' pussy, I go up in it So if you're at a show in the front row I'ma call you a bitch or dirty-ass ho You'll probably get mad like a bitch is supposed to But that shows me, slut, you're composed to A crazy motherfucker from the street" ...and later in the same song: "So what about the bitch who got shot? Fuck her / You think I give a damn about a bitch? I ain't a sucker" ...Yeah. Pretty disgusting. The following track, Fuck Tha Police, has a near identical percussion section, tempo, and monotonous rapping style to the first track, albeit with a slightly more palatable subject matter. But the sound is bland, unmelodic, and repetitive. Like nearly all hip-hop music of the time, the lyrics here are littered with nods to the same small circle of other hip-hop artists, including Dre, Ice Cube, Ren, and so on. It's just... not enjoyable at all. Do people like listening to this? Track number 3, Gangsta Gangsta, shows that they're committed to being genuinely horrible people: "So we started lookin' for the bitches with the big butts Like her, but she keep cryin' "I got a boyfriend" bitch, stop lyin' Dumb-ass hooker ain't nothin' but a dyke" And just when you thought they were done: "We didn't get no play from the ladies With six nerds in a car are you crazy? She was scared, and it was showin' We all said "Fuck you, bitch!" and kept goin'" The rest of the album is very similar. There are some hip-hop albums on this list I've given 3s, 4s, and 5s to. This isn't one of them. N.W.A.'s Spotify description introduces the group as the "unapologetically violent and sexist pioneers of gangsta rap". If you're violent and sexist, and show it off like it's anywhere near a positive trait, nobody's going to take you seriously. 1/5 Key tracks: Express Yourself

Actually better than I expected but still a 1 - a high 1 possibly for the sound which feels more authentic than some of the later hip hop I’ve listened to for the project, but the lyrics are just too mysogynistic.

Groupe inconnu. Mais dès les premières mesures j'ai su que je n'accrocherais pas ... Comme d'habitude pour ce style de musique (Hip Hop) les morceaux sont terriblement répétitifs et musicalement inintéressants. Après 3 morceaux j'ai arrêté. Et je pense que je vais arrêter d'attendre une révélation ... Après 14 albums découverts dans ce style et détestés, il va rejoindre mes pires styles avec la folk et la country. =>1/5

Yo modafuka yo hip hop

Can’t listen to this!

No

Not a fan of hip hop

I like the beats but I can't with the lyrics.

No

Not a genre I have any familiarity with. I see some of the appeal here but the lyrics are really tough, and that's driving the 1-star rating from me. I'll stay vigilant against dope man but I doubt I'll ever listen to this again.

We face here something of a German Tank Problem with respect to early West Coast gangsta rap: conditional on there being 1001 albums on this list, and having gotten now 3 in the first 111, how many should I expect to be on the list as a whole? If it's really 30 (as one might expect), I've half a mind to stop now, because they've all sucked so far. Mr. Dre (I refuse to employ his honorific, clearly undeserved) has himself appeared on two of these. Oddly, he doesn't appear to be one of the three best rappers in this group, which brings up the question of how he got to be such a big star. Relative to later hip hop (especially East Coast) this CD is pretty basic and raw. The rhymes are slower and more stilted, with less rhythmic variability in the delivery. The beats are extremely repetitive. And it's very, very crude (that's clearly part of their appeal). So the obvious conclusion is that this was chosen because it's influential, because later rappers took it as a template. But my general impression (not an expert) is that the good hip hop is from guys who left this kind of stuff in the dust, and that all the guys who went on to copy this style also kind of suck. I could not listen to "If It Ain't Ruff", there's some sub-sonic bass note they're getting on it that hurt my ears. Aside from this song, the first 1/3 of the CD is actually OK, if extremely crude. Starting with "8 Ball" the wheels just completely fall off. "Express Yourself" is OK, but solely on the basis of music that NWA did not themselves record. "Something 2 Dance 2" isn't unpleasant, but it's also largely just a beat. This isn't the worst thing I've ever heard, but I'm gonna give it a 1 anyway.

Definitivamente não é meu estilo. Álbum de rap e hip-hop dos anos 80. Me lembrou um pouco a música de abertura de "Um Maluco no Pedaço". Duas músicas achei OK: "Something 2 Dance 2" e "Dopeman - Remix", o resto não gostei.

I can't...

Extreme anger and other antisocial rhymes set to a beat. I suppose if I was angry with the deck stacked against me I'd be all in. But as "music," this is DNQ.

Infantile lyrics, too bad talent is used like this.

Why are all rap albums so long? Maybe my rate would be different if this lasted haft its time

Mehhhhh

Their Spotify description quote literally begins with, ‘NWA, the unapologetically violent and sexist pioneers of gangsta rap’. … … … … I finally understand what ‘dated’ production is. And every ‘song’ (out of the three half-things I listened to) has the SAME background. babs. omg shut the fuck up what am i even listening to 0/10

I don’t like rap

Albums get 1 star per song on the album i liked. so an unrated album i didn't like any songs on

Could not get through two songs. Absolutely awful.

Archetypal screaming gangster rap. There is some political content about racism, but it's delivered with the subtlety of a power drill. The rest is repetitive and irritating self-praise and threats of violence, mostly against the police, women. There's not much interesting going in the instrumentation either - just a lot of heavy 808 kick drum and some scratching, gun sounds, police sirens etc. I normally listen to all albums all the way through even if I don't like them, but the first four tracks are enough to tell me this is my first 1 on this site.

HORRIBLE

Album 399 of 1001 N.W.A. - Straight Outta Compton Rating : 1 / 5 A bunch of clowns contributing to the ruination of a large swath of society. Hate to sound like an old man yelling at clouds, but there is nothing redeemable about this crap. Any bit of talent or production is overshadowed by the overall end product. Their so-called "message" could have been delivered without encouraging so much of the youth to be total trash.

This is the stuff that ruined hip-hop/rap for years. There is no justifying this, and definitely no justifying this being on this list. It's just violence, misogyny, and drugs. All this album does is glorify the depravity of humanity. There is nothing redeemable about this album. Stuff like this is the reason I stayed away from rap for so long. Gangsta rap is up there for me as a contender for one of the worst genres of music of all time.

was really surprised at the number of Beastie Boys samples on this album. lot of anger and frustration toward police, very low opinion of women.

So inapropro

Inaguantable, envejeció mal o no me gusta el hip hop, duré 2 temas

Not my kind of music

Didn't get into it. 1/5

really couldnt care less not necessarily bad, just boring out of my mind

Vulgar plus promotes racial and sexual violence

Doesn't sound revolutionary to me. Sounds like a rip off of a Bomb Squad production at the start, then by the end it's just 808 beats and rambling rapping. Over the top of that there's the desperate attempt to outrage everyone by doing lots of naughty swear words. I just hope their mummies don't find out. See also horrible misogyny and ridiculous boastful violence. Oooooh I'm scared. This is the album equivalent of one of those video games that the media have a moral panic about every 10 years, oh it's so violent and it's making our kids kill each other. Net result, a lot of people rush out to buy the game to see what the fuss is about and then are disappointed by the lack of gameplay or substance. The absolute towering cynicism of adding the totally harmless and radio-friendly 'Express yourself' deserves an award for sheer bullshittery.

A million words, not a single moment of origin musical cleverness. Feels for me as taken for a ride by loudmouths. What a waste of time.

Crappy people bragging about how crappy they are. The beats were good though.

A few notes: This album was not a pleasant listen to me, musically or lyrically. Lyrics do tackle some important race and political issues that we are unfortunately still dealing with in 2023. I would not enjoy listening to racist lyrics just as I don’t enjoy listening to misogynistic and homophonic lyrics. Some of the lyrics come off as very corny today. Some songs had a beastie boys vibe. The strong language looses all effect if it’s used regularly because it can offer no emphasis. This album began the east coast west coast rivalry that I was very much aware of growing up. And I do think it’s impact was huge, however from a strictly musical standpoint for me, I just don’t enjoy listening.

If you enjoy ever other word being f**ker, motherf**ker, or nigger, then this album is for you. Not me.

a little-known fact: eazy-e would inhale helium gas to create the distinctive vocals for this album and others. this constant abuse of helium led to his untimely demise.

Gangster Rap, 1988 -> 1

Waste of bandwidth

Rap-Kram

No bothering to listen

Ein Klassiker, aber einfach nicht meine Musik. 2.4/10

Lyrics: awful

no

Such a plethora of swearing, and violent images. Again, rap not for me.

Started to listen, liked t he beat. Do not care for cussing in my music

No es mi estilo

I don't like the "explicit content."

Explicit

./

demasiado rockera en plan pumba pumba, no es mi tipo, cargante

Don't care for this - the music, the message, the language. Complete bust.

I have a a few words to say about this. Rap / hip-hop isn't something I've ever been into but part of the reason I went into this project was to gain exposure to the best artists of these genres I'd normally avoid. I've had an album by Nas already, which I thought was half-decent, and I'd heard that N.W.A. were the real deal, so I was kinda pumped to spin Straight Outta Compton. I set out on a 12km walk around town with AirPods in ear and openness in my mind, but it was barely a kilometre and three songs before I audibly laughed at its thematic ridiculousness: "Dumb-ass hooker ain't nuttin' but a dyke Suddenly I see, some n****s that I don't like Walked over to em, and said, "Whassup?" The first n**** that I saw, hit em in the jaw" Another laugh came later on in the record: "I think with my ding-a-ling, but I won't bring no Flowers to your doorstep, when we goin' out 'Cause you'll take it for granted, no doubt And after the date, I'ma want to do the wild thing You want lobster, huh? I'm thinking Burger King" I need to make it clear that my laughter was not out of humour, rather at just how foreign, incelious and absurd these concepts are to me. I get that this album tells the story of a lifestyle completely alien to that of my own; it holds historical and cultural significance with this in mind. But honestly, to my ears, N.W.A. sound like wannabe gangsters masquerading as a comedy sextet.

Fürchterlich

Mierda de RAP

complete waste of time

Não estou com sorte na sequência, outro disco de hip hop.

Wasn’t my vibe. I don’t know, but this raw kind of hip hop doesn’t even sound like “music” to me. I’m really not into hip-hop at all.

i... don't like this... it sounds like a free rapping sesh

Imagine a Senior Citizen working on this list of 1,001 albums to listen to before you die. This album might give them a heart attack! I listened to some rap music when I was a teenager 25ish years ago. But I could not make it through this album. It was a bit shocking to see how many people gave this 5 stars, but hey to each their own! I’m ready to move on!

better than expected 1.5

Not my cup of tea!

Not my type of music

Very personal but I don’t like old school rap.

In the early 90s I had a techno CD named The Difference Between Noise and Music. I love the question. Here, we have no human beings playing instruments. No singing. No melodies. No harmonic structure. It is, in fact, all but atonal. We have rhythm and we have poetry. Everything else that defines music is, in reality, missing. And yet it somehow grips people emotionally in the same way that music does. This particular combination of rhythm and poetry didn't grip me when I was 18 and it doesn't now. Dre's beats are the only redeeming aspect of the album. But they're a bit one-note; like a robot army's drums of war. And the lyrics...you gotta give me more than threats of indiscriminate violence and gratuitous mysogeny. "So what about the bitch who got shot? Fuck her! You think I give a damn about a bitch? I ain't a sucker!" Not for me.

Couldn't handle all the misogyny, despite some funky beats. Wouldn't listen again

Hated it. 11/100

29/100

Not my cup of tea, terrible

I enjoyed a few of the songs, but goddamn is this album just incredibly sexist. I cannot get behind it for that reason.

pretty cringe to listen to. elementary and corny rhymes. full of misogyny that should have never been accepted. other aspects of rebel lyrics are understandably appealing to a younger crow, but it no longer holds up.

I cannot listen to, nor rate, this album. I bought it a while ago, cheap on CD because I felt it was one of those records you needed to own and managed to listen to it all the way through once since then. This is not for me, it wasn't made for me, it is not for me to understand. I'm sure we've all blasted a bit of 'Fuck Tha Police' and sung along with abandon, claiming that we are 'Straight Outta Compton', but after that it gets, for me, very uncomfortable. I don't like it, I don't like the themes, I don't like the language, I don't like the attitudes. But then, I'm not supposed to. Did not listen / rate. Oh, and I hate Easy E's voice.

Just not for me

Not my style

just not my taste

Chu pas capable d’écouter ça, sa sonne trop comme d’la bioune fâchée

Being white, middle-class, and British, I guess that I'm not really part of the target audience which is fine with me because all sound the same to me.

no

Not for me

No thanks

This just isn’t my jam. I mean, I can understand some of the frustration behind the lyrics, but it’s just so angry and misogynistic…

Look, I get the context is came out of and why that was important. These guys really cut through to a generation that are looking for a voice. Teenage boys of multicultural backgrounds all check this, Biggie and Tupac, those records speak to them, ours is not to reason why. Every now and then I get a laugh in class when I drop a "Ahmed is his name and he's coming straight out of Lakemba", gets them everytime... So does that make it worthy, no. It's a hard listen, ruthless, motherfucker, I don't give a fuck etc and having listened to so many of these drecky Dimery hip hop records I don't ever want to hear the sound of a machine gun again. I love the PE, same era, different coast and context I know, but those records have the universality we look for in all art, that does not apply here.

Around 1989, Triple J, the Australian public 'yoof' radio network, just recently expanded to a national network, decided that it could establish its cred by putting "Fuck Tha Police" into rotation. It was a national scandal, mentioned in parliament, that the government-funded national broadcaster would play such an 'evil' piece of music. A Triple J journalist was suspended for playing it, which led to industrial action (including a whole day of playing Express Yourself, and nothing else, on repeat). You can read the details here: https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/flashback-triple-j-challenge-authority-nwa-marathon-12171/ As a result of all the attention, NWA became a cause celebre and a way of signaling your rebellious nature, and this album sold a ton of copies in Australia. And a lot of people who bought the album based on "Fuck Tha Police", listened to it, and then decided that this was definitely not for them, and offloaded the CD. At the time I was working at Scratches Records, an alternative record store , that bought and sold second hand CDs. All second hand CDs were test played to make sure they were OK before they hit the shelves, and so I listened to this album a bunch of times in 1990-91. People were constantly coming in to sell their CDs of Straight Outta Compton. So I listened to this album all the way through a number of times when it was a relatively new release. Now, I liked hip hop. But this I couldn't hack. I understood the rebellion and rage of Fuck Tha Police and Straight Outta Compton. Express Yourself is a fair enough song. But the most of it.... violent, misogynist, homophobic, and deeply unpleasant. This is an important album and massively influential. Cube is a charismatic MC with pretty good flow, and Dre's production was the blueprint for West Coast hip hop. But I find this hard to handle, and am still upset that the success of this set the tone for much of hip hop ever since. It's influential, sure, but its influence is largely negative, and, frankly, I wish this album never existed. I do not want to listen to it ever again..

Express yourself

Jag blir förbannad när jag hör så jävla dålig musik.

no

Still not a rap fan

Historically important if you are in the USA, but I'm not and this album doesn't speak to me culturally at all. And it sounds like crass juvenile noise. Express yourself is the only thing slightly decent.

Ugh, I hate this kind of thing. Sampled a few songs to at least give it a chance, but there's no way I'm gonna put myself through a whole album of this.

Sattuu päähän kun vocals nii kaukana mixissä saa pistää volyymiä. Rummut iskoistuu päähän… Kyllä tuottaa korkeita taajuuksia kuullokkeeni… MATALIA MYÖS.. ekstra sub bassot jätkät pistäny…… Heh.. Paskaa kuunnella kuulokkeilla jotka harman + sub bass boost… Oon nyt näitä hip hoppeja kuunnellu ei paljoo hätkäyttäny enää tämä..

Pfff....saai....Muzikaal zal het best prima zijn. Maar ik krijg mijn aandacht hier niet op gevestigd.

For me the Rap is not a interesting music.

A friend I shared a house with listened to this a lot when it came out. Still bobbins.

A collection of lots of things I can't stand about music

Ik ben geen liefhebber van rap en dit album met zijn schreeuwerig gepraat en break-beats bevestigd dit. Ik mis muziek, zoals iets met melodie of zo., of desnoods geinige geluidjes in de beat. Misschien dat de tekst goed is, maar als ik een goed verhaal wil kijk ik de film wel. *

Nope. Zero appeal to me.

Uff. No.

A lot of cussing and things I can't relate to.

Pants

0/5. I can’t put into words how disgusting and irresponsible this “music” is.

Actively disliked this

Odio el rap

Danke, aber nein danke.

rap is boring

sucks

Rock music means you put out in music what you feel...this group have made it clear. it's an experience to listen.

One of those albums that I totally see how important it is for the rap/hiphop genre and the messaging. While I respect it, it's just not for me.

No.

1/5.

Why would I listen to this? (I tried, but no).

F12 ACAB. Are we supposed to forgive the misogyny?

Nope

Uh... not my thing. Old rap and hip-hop always sounds kinda funny to me though.

Nah bruh

Unlistenable

Nah. 3/10

Not as enjoyable as other albums. Songs felt similar and lyrics were not very interesting.

Rap, intragável para mim, apesar de que melhor do que a média de Rap.

no