Reviews (page 6 of 14)
A West Coast Hip-Hop foundational document, the solidification of "Gangsta Rap" and arguably the album that put Compton on the map. Straight Outta Compton's importance is inarguable. And it's still pretty great. The line-up here is iconic: Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Arabian Prince, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. Everyone is in top form, The beats are amazing, with some proto G-Funk stuff and some stuff that almost reminds me of some earlier New York stuff. And every one brings something unique to their verses. Ice Cube is a highlight, his distinctive, agressive flows and intense delivery made him something of a break-out here. Although, I think Eazy-E may be the best rapper here. His lyrics are clever and playful, and his colorful flows and delivery ooze personality. It's also interesting to hear the little shouts to New York rap here. I particularly noticed some references to The Beastie Boys, and it feels weird hearing a West-Coast Hip-Hop album that's from before The East-West feud. In fact, this is from '88, and considering that, the flows and rhyming styles here are remarkably modern, or at least '90s. And the lyrics on here are really cool, lots of looks at Hip-Hop culture and facts of life from this album's place and time. Also, this *very* bluntly confronts racism in policing, and other forms of institutional racism in a really effective way. I can easily see why this became the progenitor of a whole culture of Hip-Hop. I have a couple of complaints though. Something 2 Dance 2 sounds kind of silly in 2025. And while the lyrics are largely cool, there is some stuff that hasn't aged all that well. I can largely view it as a snapshot of the time, but I Ain't Tha 1 is *rough*. This is Ice Cube's diatribe about not letting women take his money, and there's some *nasty* content. He's kind of sort of trying to play it as a joke, but he sounds so *fucking* mad about the topic at hand that it can't really read as anything but vitriol towards women. Bringing up this sort of thing is always kind of exhausting because it feels like arguments about the misogyny present in Hip-Hop are often co-opted by people who are actively trying to enforce negative stereotypes about black culture, and this ironically means that women still lose by being made into ammunition. Especially because it feels like a lot of people are still willing to hand wave the misogyny present in other forms of music, like rock. But regardless, there is still a culture of misogyny in America, and I really do think something like I Ain't Tha 1 directly contributes to and enforces this culture. But I digress, this is still a really great classic, with prescient lyrics, great beats and lots of personality.
First one I’ve previously listened to end/end and also own the CD. Starts off so hot. Any of the first 3 could be the best on the album, and all have massive significance over future rap. The Dre production and the cube and eazy rhymes are just so good. Fuck tha police has some of the best production that I’ve ever heard in a rap song. And again on gangsta gngsta. Dre/yella were the engines. Lyrics were great too, just another really good song. Starts to slow down with it ain’t ruff good not great song. I really like parental discretion. Piano and bass work so well together. And then the piano solo at the end🔥🔥. Sick sample on 8ball, super similar to boyz n the hood. Ad libs/samples are so ahead of their time. It’s just good song after good song. Something like that is another really good song. Express yourself is another all time classic/all time sample. Another one with massive influence in future rap. No notes on Compton in the house. Great production, great rhymes. I ain’t tha 1 shows exactly why cube had a successful solo career. Dopeman is a classic, no notes needed. Quiet on the set is fine, not life changing. Something 2 dance 2 is a great closer, different from the rest but I think it wraps everything up well. This album is an all time classic and will be played again. Top 100 on Apple for a reason, influential and great music. 4.4 stars, could’ve been 5 with a little more range.
This is better than The Chronic.
Beats are good, wonderful artifact of a time and place, but I have a real difficult time eating around the misogyny and reliance on violence as a storytelling tool.
I think this kinda deflates after the opening cuts but maybe because those opening 3 songs are so enfuego
I liked Express Yourself, I didn’t really care for the other songs.
6/10 This album was obviously massively influential and key to the proliferation of gangsta rap, so it's historic importance is without question. It has aged fairly poorly in quite a few regards though, and some of the lyrical content was dodgy even then. With that being said, it's easy to complain about some of the lyrical content of this album, but much of this can be attributed to the marginalisation and ghettoisation of black America during this time. If you essentially criminalise people’s existence and make their lives very difficult to live, why would they adhere to your standards of decency and morality? Would all of the group stand behind these lyrics today? Probably not, but they were young men lashing out in all directions. That doesn't make the worst offenses any easier to hear, but it does offer some explanation. When it hits its heights, this album is really very good. The grooves are funky, driven and insistent and the rhythmic flow of the rapping is great. The more socially conscious lyrics are also great and tell an important story. But at it's weakest, there are some very poor parts. It's over long and some of the tracks are very thin and uninspired. I think Eazy-E is far and away the weakest rapper of the group and he has some of the most crigeworthy lines and delivery across the album. The rest of the guys have their weak spots, but he seems to be the standout with some of the most heinous offenses. This is not really the kind of hip hop that really floats my boat, so it was never going to be troubling the top of my rankings, but at it's best it's a decent and important reflection of it's time and place. Straight Outta Compton - It’s a reasonable start. Bags of attitude, and a nice bit of drive to the beat and the bass, but it’s a bit too repetitive, with only brief pauses and a bit of scratching to break the monotony of a two-bar loop for over 4 minutes. Fuck Tha Police - There’s more groove and swing to this, with a bit more variety even in the verses, and then we get more of a break into the chorus. It’s angry but justifiably so. As Malcolm X said, "You don't have a peaceful revolution. You don't have a turn-the-cheek revolution. There's no such thing as a nonviolent revolution.” This track is a classic. It bounces, it grooves, and it carries a message about how marginalised groups feel while they are criminalised and oppressed. Gangsta Gangsta - Another great funky groove. There's good flow to the rapping, some nice use of sound effects here and there too. The chorus adds a bit of variety, but it is generally a bit repetitive and could do with a bit more range. Some of the sections they throw in for variety also sound quite disconnected from the rest of the track and don't flow that well. If It Ain't Ruff - Again, the groove is decent here, but it's all a bit one note. It needs a bit more depth and range to it to really hold focus. There are some nice moments here and there and it does get me bobbing my head, but it's not one of the strongest cuts on the album. Parental Discretion Iz Advised - There's a theme going here, another decent groove that's overused. One bar going round and round for 5 minutes just doesn't really do it for me. The rapping doesn't seem quite as good here either. There are moments where things seem a tiny bit forced, others that are decent, but it's a mixed bag from that point of view. Odd flex from Eazy-E to admit he's bad at sex, but you do you fella. 8 Ball (Remix) - This one is not good. The music is stilted and too slow, has aged incredibly badly and the whole thing just doesn't flow very well. It's erratically put together, the lyrics are pretty terrible too. Something Like That - The pace picks back up again here, but other than that, it's still not great. The repetitive nature of it all just doesn't engage and it's very thin on harmonic content, so it doesn't really scratch that musical itch. The beat bounces nicely, but it's too thin otherwise. Express Yourself - And we're back in the game. It's funky, driven and super cool. Obviously a great amount of the credit for this goes to Charles Wright and co, but there's actually a good use of the samples, rather than just a loop of one short section, and the rapping is artfully weaved around the music to actually give a bit more range and variety to the track. Great track. Compton's N The House (Remix) - Musically, this is super thin. It's just a sporadic beat and some scratching. The rapping and lyrics are pretty weak too. It all seems pretty hollow and self congratulatory, but without anything particularly funny or interesting. Meh. I Ain't Tha 1 - Good lord, I'm willing to forgive some of the lyrics on this album, but this is total cringe incel level shit. The music isn't bad, but offers no variety so gets boring very quickly. I bet Andrew Tate has this as his alarm. Sheesh. Dopeman (Remix) - And we're back to something with very limited tonal content. It's all very scattergun and disconnected and feels very undercooked and far too loose. The rapping is not particularly great either. The album is really sliding towards the close. Quiet On Tha Set - Wahey, we're back! Good pace, a solid, funky beat and a bit of range and variety to the production. There's also a decent amount of depth to the vocal delivery. A lot of the samples are fairly repetitive, but they're split up well and augmented with extra bits and pieces to keep things moving. This is solid. Something 2 Dance 2 - This sounds very much it's age, straight off the bat. It's got decent pace though and there's some really nice bouncing of the vocals back and forth between the group. It's all a bit of fun, has a decent groove to it, despite the aged sounds. Plus it's where Squarepusher got 'let the bass kick' from, which is cool. A nice way to end.
What a generational album. Crazy that this is just straight vibes throughout the hour run, it def sat a great groundwork for everything that came after in the hip hop scene. I don’t agree with a lot of lyricism in, made me a lil like… oh. Great album nevertheless
What do they have against Sting?
Such a great influential album! One of the best gangsta rap albums of all time! So many good songs!
I know this album was important and is well thought of, but I couldn't even make it through the whole thing
I was feeling aprehensive about another gangster rap album after the visceral reaction I had to "Ready To Die" but I found this album very interesting to listen to. I enjoyed the samples and interpolations. I didn't get too much lyrical content, because I mostly listen to the music.
I do enjoy the heavy, funky vibe. The album does start to feel like a drag eventually though.
If I don't listen to the lyrics then I have to admit I really enjoy this
Wasn't as into it as I was hoping
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
It's insane to me that this album came out in 1988.
surprised by how quality it was for some reason. production was pretty nuts. the top two songs are gonna be classics until the sun explodes, otherwise i think my favorites are Gangsta Gangsta and I Ain't Tha 1. Something 2 Dance 2 is also just really fun, perfect closer
i dont like those police fellows, i dare say. no others notes
Rating: 5/10 An early blueprint, but one that doesn’t fully hold up as a quality album experience. Express Yourself really is a good song, but even the first few major hits, while great tracks, don’t really age too well compared to the stacked collection of classic 90’s hip hop albums that will follow this and pop up on our list
solid ass piece of HISTORY this is some good shit. the hits are great and the rest of it is decent 7.3/10
9 outta 10 lizard wizards
Groundbreaking and amazing stylistically. The subject matter and language gets overbearing.
Good album, not exactly my type of music, but I can see the passion coming from the members
An all out classic. Groundbreaking album.
Meh. DNF. Too samey.
Well, of course. If we're talking about albums that are the most important to the development of hip-hop as a prevalent genre in music, N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton has got to be near the top of that list, right? I mean, this album practically created gangsta rap! At the very least, they were the ones to popularize it. And you know what? The album could've aged worse! Of course, this album is another case where an early hip-hop album looks bad now because of its focus on the whole "I'm killing bitches" thing, but those other guys wouldn't have done that if N.W.A. did it first! That might not be the flex that some think it is, but whatever. Yeah, the writing has some potentially offensive moments in its writing, but that sorta thing was practically unheard of in 1989. This album was a real trailblazer in that sense. It might seem tame now, but hearing a song called "Fuck Tha Police" in such mainstream music was unfathomable at the time, and the messages pertaining to police conflict in African-American communities ring true to this day. That's one of the things about this album that's actually aged well. The sense of anger regarding the difficulties of "the street life" is one that evokes strong emotions in combination with the beats and it's great. Speaking of beats, this album's produced quite well. You can still kind of tell that this was coming off of 80s acts like Public Enemy, but this is another one of those things that this album made progress in. The title track especially still feels fresh to this day. I also really liked songs such as the aforementioned "Fuck Tha Police," "Gangsta Gangsta," "Parental Discretion Iz Advised," and "Express Yourself." Great songs. The rapping itself is solid. I like the varying personalities across the group. The things that Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and especially Eazy-E bring to the game here are still enjoyable to this day. Overall, while it has been surpassed in quality since its release, I can't think of very many hip-hop albums that are more important than Straight Outta Compton. Despite its lyrical faults, the production, performances, and high-quality of the songs allow the album to serve as a historical piece that will be remembered for many years to come. Low 4/5.
Can't stop thinking about the bassline in Parental Discretion Iz Advised When Express Yourself started I literally went closer to the speaker like :o How had I not heard this before? Had to stop myself adding so many songs to my playlist - most of these albums have 2 or 3 songs on the playlist, and 8 songs into Straight Outta Compton, 4 of those had made it onto the playlist, with two that I was very much considering adding. Howeverrrrr, think the first half of the album was better. Overall still banging. 4.5/5, rounded up Very interesting btw how I've noticed a lot of folk in the reviews denouncing N.W.A.'s misogyny and homophobia - much more than on any other album with similar content. Also a lot of people saying they hate rap and barely gave this a go. Looks a lot like thinly veiled racism to me! Will never for a second stand for misogyny or homophobia, I'm a queer femme person, but I will ALSO not stand for people using outrage as a tool to be racist/colourist. Don't use me as an excuse for your prejudice Anyway, I love funk and this was fun. We love sampling, we love young people being creative
What can I say about this album that hasn't already been said. People don't often categorize rap as an "alternative" genre - it typically gets shoehorned into its own category, and new boundaries get redrawn around it. I think this album exemplifies the best of rap as an alternative genre. It defied the mainstream, caused controversy, and was the best of the genre pre capitalist recuperation. Black art always has had the burden of becoming representative of Black people as a whole. It's refreshing to have art that didn't concern itself with optics, and focused on craft and what it wanted to say. It wasn't worried about how white America would take it, and rather took it to task. You create a society that subjugates a group of people for CENTURIES, then create narratives out of the actions they take having to survive said conditions. N.W.A said all this with style, and the best beats of the era. "Express Yourself" is still one of my favorite tracks off this album, a simple but good use of a sample, and punchy lyrics. DJ Yella really is one of the greatest producers of all time. It's hard to pick a standout track on this whole piece, though. Back-to-back hits that work together well. Obviously some regressive attitudes and mindsets, but as said on "Gangsta, Gangsta" "Do I look like a motherfucking Role Model?"
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?
Fun time all around, enough variety and energy to stay exciting and I can't help but pay attention to the words
Both aggressive and technical. They are for sure historically important and brave for the future of hip hop, with their social criticism.
The lyrics of the song are indeed 'unique'. The n-word is very much present. For me the album isn't that great since I'm not a fan of rap in general
Some great beats!
Maybe hasn’t aged the best but its impact and influence can’t be overstated.
Love it
Never listened to it before. kind feel like a young gangsta in the '90s when i was a little boy.
A little weird, fun, funky, trancy(?)
Goes on a bit.
way too long
Pretty cool album. Almost like these ice cube and Dre guys know what they’re doing.
3.4/5 It is a very important milestone in the world of gangsta rap, yes... But also rather mediocre in terms of raw quality. There's some good beats and some good lines, but it's still not a total banger. Especially since a lot of rhymes don't make sense, if they rhyme at all. On the other hand, songs like Fuck Tha Police carry a message that's still relevant in the US today shows how important music can be to transmit issues to the people, and also how seemingly nobody over there learned from the situation 30-50 years ago.
I think it's underrated how funny they were.
More enjoyable than I would've guessed, with Express Yourself being the standout track.
Total classic. The beats and the samples are incredible. The lyrics maybe haven't aged the best, but it is a time capsule of LA in the 80's and in that lens, it is what it is in my opinion. This was the beginning of a huge music scene and industry from LA and so many of these guys are still household names 30+ years later. Awesome beats, classic hooks and timeless rhymes (if not a little corny in places). 5/5 for sure.
Living up to my shoes josh makes fun of me about
3.0
There's never an excuse for art to stoop to the level of misogyny and sexual deviancy that this album is centered around. I read some lyrics to some of the songs on this album and this album's misogyny and deviancy isn't at all in the bounds of just objective artistic exploration, documentation or raising social awareness of societal ills. Albums like these have produced nothing positive on existence. I won't be listening to this album as the lyrics say enough and gangsta rap is my least favorite music genre anyway.
As a white man I can’t sing along to any of these songs
Un docteur et un cube de glace ça fait un bon combo
Dre et icecube dans le même groupe tu m'étonne que ça groove. Pas de bitches et de voiture, que des bonhomme et leurs gros biceps et c'est ça qu'on aime. Par contre petit problème sur la balance les aigues étaient beaucoup trop fortes et pas équilibrées donc mal au crâne
Gangsta, gangsta. So badass, its become a parody of itself (Straight Outta Compton Dando). Influenced many a non-musical, white bro. If you take the lyrics with a pinch of salt (and not listen to them much), its entertaining enough album.
* no music. Merely noise, vulgar language and rap.
A classic and extremely important album. The first one of this list I’ve heard before! It’s still fuck the police.
What else is there to say...lyrics might be a time piece but the beats are timeless.
Was soll man sagen, habe die cleane Version gehört. Es gefällt mir besser, als mir lieb ist. Der Titeltrack ist super. 3 1/2 und ich runde auf.
The drums on this album are insane! They're big and cavernous, booming like a cannon. The rest of the music is filled out with a mix of hard rock guitars and loose funk. The majority of the album hits hard, but there's a playful streak throughout too. The lyrics are radical and in-your-face (and occasionally reprehensible on the subject of women). "Fuck tha Police" is a classic and an absolute jam. Some of the lyrics are still shocking. They go back and forth from righteous rage to gleeful violence. The title track is incredible too. What an opening statement. "Express Yourself" and "I Ain't Tha 1" are very fun songs -- the more playful side of N.W.A's hard-hitting sound. I'm always amazed by the contrast of how joyful the music is on "I Ain't Tha 1" and how awful the misogynistic lyrics are. This is an entertaining listen front to back. Amazing energy and a unique style that influenced countless other artists in addition to launching the careers of everyone in the group.
Super influential, and one of the best rap / gangsta rap albums ever, and for good reason. Great in-and-out flows as the group trades verses, amazing lyrics that really pull you into this 80s gang milieu, and the production still stands up almost 40 years later. "Straight Outta Compton" "Fuck Tha Police" "Express Yourself" are all certified rap classics; some of the best rap tracks ever. I personally love all of them, and there's been times of my life where I can proudly say that I have had the lyrics memorized of each of them, but maybe not all at once :). Easy (mother fuckin E) 5/5 for me. Probably a top 2 or top 3 favorite rap album of all time.
Ya pas beaucoup d'intro d'albums aussi cool que "You're now about to witness the strength of street knowledge". Et le reste est à l'avenant.
Amb tots els respectes que li tinc al hip hop però amb 3 temes en tinc prou.
5 out of 5 The GOAT of 80's rap albums. Every song is a banger.
Pretty good album. But I think it was waaay too long. I had trouble actively listening on the last two songs
Production is excellent, flows are decent but lyrics haven't aged great.
Helt ok, finnes mye bedre hiphopalbum der ute.
Skjønner at det her er en klassiker ja, hørt i dag så føltes det jo litt upolert ut men fortsatt solid. Gir det en 3/5
Klassiker, massevis av bangers. Dagen derpå var det dog ikke helt det jeg trengte, og kjente et helt album med soundet var litt mye
Good influential album. Awesome first 3 tracks. Fades a bit after that. Didn’t sound dated like I thought it might. Some suspect lyrics in places. Respect the police. 3/4 borderline.
Not really my thing, although i appreciate the genre defining status of the album and like the more headline tracks. The whole album is a step too far for me though
Bit of a mix, some of it points to more rounded solo efforts by Dre n Ice, but a good chunk of it sounds not just unpolished but unfinished.
I enjoyed this, it does sound a bit dated in places, and the misogynistic themes throughout become a bit tiring, overall it’s a really good album, but of course an important social commentary of its times.
crazy follow to cyndi lauper
really liked songs from this album when I was like 16 but now most of it sounds so corny 💔
i like: some of the drums, the fact that they hate the police i dislike: most of it Fav song: Fuck Tha Police probably
I enjoyed this. I already knew and liked the songs Straight Outta Compton, F Tha Police, and Express Yourself. The songs were entertaining.
the classic of american Hip hop culture changing album. not into Rap but you have to appreciate the natural and real sound that belongs to their background. Actual real people doing the things they said.
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.
4/5 genre defining
Genre: Gangsta Rap You are about to witness the strength of street knowledge. NWA’s classic debut album, Straight Outta Compton, is brash, full of attitude, full of humor, and full of some of the most influential sounds in the hip-hop’s history. Gangsta Rap was here, in your face and undeniable. Dr. Dre’s production is the real star here. The verses are hit-or-miss (unless it’s Ice Cube, who was one of the top MCs of his era), but the beats are some of the greatest of all time. Turntablism, plunderphonics, G-funk beginnings, it’s all absolutely stupendous. Great album. 4/5
Classic, great to hear how this genre got started. I like ice cube most. The first songs are the best. Unfortunately a few songs are a bit cheesy nowadays since everybody copied this style, so four stars rather than five
3/5 stars (5.5/10) Favourite song: Something 2 Dance 2 Least favourite: 8 Ball
Some of this is classic. Some of it is dated. Still worth the listen.
Just not something that I like listening to.
Huh, this came out four years before the LA riots. A seminal rap album that captures the era and place. Controversial, and controversy sells. On the gardening to gangster rap scale, this ranks offensively high.
A little rough for my tastes overall, but I can see where this came from and the environment that led to it and there is talent behind this.
catchy
Rap is a genre of music I wouldn’t normally listen to, being far removed from my love of folk singer songwriters. The generator has given me a lot of Hip/Hop and rap and some I thought was ok (Run DMC) others less so (Public Enemy / Fugees). Although it is out of my comfort zone, I really liked this album. Trying work out why this works for me, I’ve decided that it is probably because this is West Coast Rap, more funk based with a softer sound instead of a harder East coast rap vibe. Whatever the reason, this was a pleasure to listen to.
Loved the random Steve Miller Band samples throughout the album. Felt like little Easter eggs.
Classic
Seminal rap record. Unfortunately it hasn’t aged well due to subject matter and it’s a bit misogynistic. Later eclipsed by Dr. Dre and Ice Cube’s solo work. You can definitely see the blueprint for what’s to come from West Coast rap.
Created a whole new genre. Classic.
Seminal rap some good ones but the lyrics aren't really relatable to me
Jag hoppas det inte finns en galen djävel som kallas för iskub, det hade varit väldigt jobbigt... ÅÅÅÅÅÅÅH NEEEJJJJJ!! Jag har en känsla av att de här unga grabbarna hyser en gnutta agg mot konstapelarna.
269/1089 - Not a boy band fan but this gave me an excuse to listen to "Stakes is High" by De La Soul again.
Classicc
I respect this album for its place in the pantheon of gangsta rap. It’s a bit hard to really judge thematically because that feels like invalidating the personal experiences of the group members and the lyrics they chose to write. The usage and mixing of samples is intricate and certainly historic if not notorious. Most of the songs feel about a minute or more too long, which makes the album feel too long overall. Despite much of the content, I’ve always been a fan of Eazy-E’s and Ice Cube’s flows. MC Ren does nothing really for me, The D.O.C. is alright, and Dr. Dre got better later in his career. I do think that Express Yourself is one of the best rap songs ever recorded. The bars are creative, the flow is fresh, the sample usage is perfection, and the message is interesting. It’s by far the best track on an otherwise controversial, somewhat cringe-filled album.
This album isn’t just a cornerstone of hip hop, it’s one of those rare records that shifted the cultural landscape. The production hits hard with its stripped-back beats, sharp samples, and relentless pacing, creating a raw and aggressive backdrop for the group’s uncompromising delivery. From the opening title track, it’s clear this is meant to be loud, confrontational, and impossible to ignore. Tracks like “Straight Outta Compton,” “Gangsta Gangsta,” and “F*** tha Police” are more than just songs, they’re statements, delivered with a mix of fury and precision that defined an entire era. The chemistry between Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and MC Ren gives the record its momentum, while Dre’s production gives it a punch that still holds up today. What makes Straight Outta Compton so powerful is how unapologetically it captures a time and place. It’s blunt, violent, and politically charged, but also incredibly focused. This isn’t background music, it’s a record that demands to be heard, and whether you agree with its message or not, its influence is impossible to deny. Era-defining is exactly the right word.
Not my bag of tea but I know this LP from my old college roommate. It does bang ! Classic.
I grew up in a culture that was horrified by gangsta rap, and I still have trouble reading it as reflecting a different experience because of its aggression and misogyny. I tried to listen to this thru the prism of the imprecatory psalms, poems that lamented and sometimes wished for violence to befall their enemies -- and that actually helped me appreciate the anger as well as the desire to insist upon one's dignity, even in a roundabout way that plays into patriarchal or tribalist logics. I came away from this feeling like it was a force of nature, especially the early tracks. I don't know if I'll ever go back to it -- I don't love what kind of person it asks me to be to really embrace it -- but it certainly to me places and stretched me.
I never really connected with this -- my personal tastes lean towards the subtler, more complex stuff many of the Native Tongues rappers were doing at the time, and rap wouldn't take a real hold on me until Wu Tang and Outkast were joining the fray a few years later -- but for whatever reason this has some kind of hold on one of my sons and so I've spent a ton of time with it the last few years. The first three tracks are a fireball, even all these years later. Ice Cube was a force of nature. Dr. Dre's beats are simpler than many of his contemporaries, but still sound radical. Lyrically this is all gangster rap bravado with almost none of the introspection that Public Enemy demonstrated, or the humor and social consciousness of some of those afformentioned Native Tongues groups (Tribe, De La Soul, Black Sheep, etc) and its easy to understand how this crossed over to appeal to a nation of white (male) teenagers. Because the album has become so monumental in all of music history, it's hard to remember the local and national context this was situated in, and that history is well worth a deep dive to appreciate it on its own merits. After the first three tracks, Straight Outta Compton doesn't hold my attention enough to call this a five-star classic, but certainly it deserves its spot on this list.
già ascoltato e spaccaaaaaa
Had higher hopes going into this. Just not my favorite older rap album I’ve had so far. Beats sounded similar on most songs, but they were generally still good.
Overall pretty fun but not particularly memorable to me. No review because I don't remember it clearly enough
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.
This was really good, not that it surprised me being a classic rap album and all. In the end it felt like it had a positive message behind it, especially supported by "Express Yourself" 8/10
Absolute classic album full of really good songs. I have heard it many times before and I'm happy to listen to it again today.
Angry, somewhat offensive, raw, and completely badass. Some fun old style raps in there too. The social commentary mixed with the dope beats… just great. These guys were the gold standard.
Some iconic tracks, but sameness and lack of melodic backing make it hard to love.
It didn't age too well, but I can appreciate the importance of the album.
How did I just now realize that Dopeman isn’t really about the dopeman, but is just really being mean to dopeman’s gf? Gosh. Anyway, Something 2 Dance 2 remains one of the most underrated songs of all time. Classic E: Man, I think my feet are swollen from dancin’ so damn much.
# 584 : Straight Outta Compton. DID NOT LISTEN - Doesn't sound like I would enjoy that.
Schlimm
This is an incredible album. Everyone should have a copy of this influential album.
Degenerate.
Yikes, these poor kids were so angry and frustrated. How terrible to think that nothing much has changed with regards to the relationship between young urban men and the police. I respect that they turned their emotions into music, but wow, the misogyny is a lot. All that said, there are some iconic tracks that bring you back to the time this album was made.
Amazing. Yes there are problems with misogyny and violence, but it is an amazing album and really speaks to their time and experience and it’s just damn good music
N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton marks the point in hip-hop where the clean Run D.M.C blueprint changes to favor tales of gang violence, police brutality, and gritty street tales of living in California. I appreciate the more complex beats, provided by Dr. Dre, and the various rap styles and personalties of DJ Yella, MC Ren, Ice Cube, Easy-E, and Dre. Unfortunately, there's a fair amount of misogyny and an excessive focus on violence, but that was the reality in late 80's Compton. There's a lot to like here, but I don't know how likely I am to return to this album. I tend to enjoy hip-hop from the 90's onward, and less of the gangsta style.
Good album pleasantly surprised
misogyny :((((( goes hard tho
Classic
For being 36 years old it really holds up to modern times. "Fuck the Police" is as relevant as ever.
Seminal hip hop. Hell of a debut. The anti cop sentiment is still strong all these years later. Loses steam part way through. I Ain't The 1 has aged like milk but if you're looking for moral guidance from gangster rappers you're tapped in the head
Classic
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
Enjoyed this album, and it has some influential tracks.
A turning point in history for rap music and the beginning of some of the most influential artists in the genre.
I really enjoyed a few songs on the album and then unfortunately really didn’t like the others. I found a few a bit too similar, and there were some where I wasn’t a fan of the music itself, but I would have enjoyed the album as a whole more if it wasn’t so awful about women. Fav song: Express Yourself Least fav: 8 Ball - Remix
Really really enjoyed this one. Some absolute all timers on there. Wanted to give it five stars but some of the other songs are just a bit too shit to give. Also unrelated but didn’t know that the lonely island Natalie’s rap parodied part of this. Specific rating - 4.5 Fav song - express yourself Least fav- Compton’s n the house
When asked about the sexism in this album Eazy-E "defended" it by saying that they weren't talking badly about all women, just the bitches. I think it makes it even more jarring knowing Dr. Dre has had allegations of domestic violence against him- they don't just rap about treating women (sorry, not women, just the bitches!) badly, they actually do it. Beyond those lyrics I'm still not a big fan- I think some of the songs get a bit samey. I do think that the times they chose to have multiple people rap in sync are done really well, and Fuck Tha Police and Express Yourself are both iconic. Favourite song: Express Yourself Least: 8 Ball
Len Houmous wrote most of Ice Cubes raps on this album. No credit, no reference! He went for tea at ice’s to smooth things over. Stuff only got worse! Len tried to release a hate album ‘straight outta your arse’ but the record label felt it was a little too ‘Yorkshire’ for the main market. 4.2 4/13 It Ain’t Rough
CLÁSSICO DOS CLÁSSICOS AMOOOOOOO
Overall mixed feelings I'm not a huuuge fan of 80s/ early 90s rap because some of it can sound very clunky when it comes to the flow. Some songs were solid on this, some had that flow issue. It was alright though.
Super iconic album for sure and a great listen, with a few jams most notably Express Yourself. The social commentary was essential at the time but much of it has aged poorly and hard for a white British man to properly understand. Also very long and could have cut some bloat. 7/10
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.
Very old school rap. Hip hop in general is pretty boring. This is no exception. At least it’s not auto tuned
Where this album shines is with the production and sampling. The bass lines hit so hard all across. Gangsta Gangsta's sample hits so good. Lots of these tracks set the way for so much of rap music for the years to come. I've criticised a lot of previous albums from 90s, 80s and before for their misogyny and lack of social awareness. But this is fucking gangsta rap you fucking idiots, of course it's going to be like this you muthafucking bitch.
An album so integral to the foundation of rap that they made a movie about it. Although some of the lyrics are cringy at best with today’s lens it is still a seminal work.
Pretty ok music
C'mon. What can even be said about this album? The way the sampling is cut, the overlay of real-ass sounding dramatic spoken dialog, big-ass bass kicks with tight-ass high end elements. It's so goddamn sparkly and hi-def. The dynamics are all sloted together, each element occupying its own space in the frequency spectrum. It's that magic Dre touch. This album is absolute proof of Dre's prowess, his ear and ability to fill out the whole space and sound big and clean as fuck. Eazy-E is the fuckin' star. Everyone on here is great. Eazy just brings that shit every time. Second-half isn't as crazy as the first half, but still good shit. Tracks are a bit more minimal. Ends on some Freestyle type shit, like you'd be watching some break dancer silhouettes against a golden So Cal sunset backdrop in the hood while the credits for the album roll. Interesting where this album begins and ends. Classic as fuck album.
8,1
Uuu, a je to prvič, da se je pojavil album, ki ga dobr poznam? Album, k sm ga že večkrat poslušala? Pomojem. Kok exciting. Pa kero nasprotje od učer! Ful sm fen hip hopa in rapa iz tega časovnega obdobja. Začetek je itak hud, nasloven komad. Ice Cube je kle delightfully agresiven. Poj pa itak "Fuck Tha Police", k je perfektn in vedno relevanten. Vključno z vmesnimi 'skeči'. "Gangsta Gangsta" je hud. Do zdj je bil večinoma Ice Cube, k mi je sicer ljub s svojim deliveryjem, a pr "If It Ain't Ruff" je MC Ren na vrsti. K poslušaš rap iz tega obdobja je poj zmer fajn, k kr naenkrat slišiš sample iz enga drucga znanga komada (kle je recimo isti k ga Public Enemy uporabijo). "Parental Discretion Iz Advised" je kul. Naslednji komad mam v spominu, da mi ni najljubši, "8 Ball - Remix". Mogoč glih to k je remix. Čeprou Eazy-E besedila so mi zmer hilarious. Pa ful samplov je od Beastie Boys. "Something Like That" je zanimiv k Mc Ren in Dr. Dre skp istočasno rappata. "Express Yourself" je isto amazing. Zj je pa ta del albuma, k mi je manj ljub. Mogoč bi loh po prejšnjem komadu zaključil. Ne vem kva so Ice Cubeu ženske nardile v tem obdobju, ampak tip je komad užaljen. (I guess mu je opravičeno, ker je bil tko ene 18 star?) "Something 2 Dance 2" mi nkol ni bil všeč. Če bi loh sam prvo polovico albuma, oziroma do "Express Yourself", je gladko 4 zvezdice. Tko pa, sm v včerajšnjem precepu.
Setting aside the problematic lyrics—I always choose to see these things contextually—this album is great. It is to rap what Rage Against the Machine's self-titled debut album would be for rock. Anger at the system. I enjoyed the parallels of NWA sampling Beastie Boys and referencing Brass Monkey (a song released two years earlier) to them writing the lyrics "Mix 'em and cook 'em in a pot, like gumbo" being similar to “I’ll stir fry you in my wok” in Intergalactic Planetary. Probably wasn’t an homage back to N.W.A., but still fun. Eazy-E and Ice Cube are the standouts in this album. 4/5
I do see why Ice Cube went solo
This was some very aggressive rap but it was really smooth. Songs were violent, lots of cussing, and I see how rap got its bad rep lol… if rap was my style this would be pretty solidly up there
Straight Outta Compton - 5/5 Fuck Tha Police - 5/5 Gangsta Gangsta - 4/5 If It Ain't Ruff - 3/5 Parental Discretion Iz Advised - 1/5 Express Yourself - 4/5 (+1 star for the sample) Compton's n the House - 3/5 I Ain't tha 1 - 1/5 Dopeman (Remix) - 1/5 Quiet on tha Set - 3/5 Average score: 3/5 the first 2 tracks are the only ones worth hearing say whatever you want about the homophobia/misogyny/violent lyrics (not at all unique to these guys), this shit just had too much of that 90s corn for my liking. most tracks just didn't age all that well in my opinion i guess i can at least recognize the "impact" this had on hip-hop at the time, so i kept my rating a bit generous
Great album that I grew up listening to.
Controversial. Vulgar. Intimidating. Uncompromising And yet, 'Straight Outta Compton' is one of the most important records ever made. Hip Hop being a staple genre in mainstream music and culture has N.W.A.* to thank. Just like the Ramones' debut record was 'Patient Zero' for American Punk, 'Straight Outta Compton' was 'Patient Zero' for West Coast American Hip Hop. Rappers Ice Cube, MC Ren and Eazy-E, backed by the razor-sharp production of Dr Dre, DJ Yella and Arabian Prince, cuss, rhyme and attack all whom have wronged them through an hour of some of the most controversial and confrontational music released since the first wave of punk. And I'd be lying if I said it wasn't enthralling in the slightest. The one-two-three punch of the title track, 'F.T.P.'* and 'Gangsta Gangsta' to start the album sets the tone very quickly, and the intense tales of street violence, 'gangstas', racism, sexism and hood mentality brought gangster rap to the masses in the late 80s, and kept authorities on high alert, with California already experiencing an uneasy period of street violence. Popular music and culture was never the same post-N.W.A. The group burned brightly and quickly. Formed in 1987 and were done by 1991 [with very occasional reunions in between]. Ice Cube became a solo star [in both music and film], and Dr Dre, while commencing his own solo career, took some little known rappers [Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent] under his wing and made them just as big, if not bigger, than himself. Eazy-E sadly never lived to see the legacy he created, dying of AIDS in 1995 at the age of 30. Probably an album where the legacy trumps the music, but the music was a gamechanger. Arguably the most influential album ever released. Best songs: 'Straight Outta Compton', 'F.T.P.'*, 'Gangsta Gangsta', 'Express Yourself' 5/5 *Stating what N.W.A. and F.T.P. stand for will likely get my account banned.
Excellent album though some of the lyrics are a bit cringy and I find the shift in tone with the last two track being more dance/beat inspired not as smooth as I remember.
Quite liked some of the tracks. Didn't totally grab me musically but can understand why the album was influential
just ok i guess
Полбалла добавил только за то, что не особо сильно раздражало фоном, когда готовил. А так, ничего не потерял бы, если бы не слушал вообще.
Yeah the theme is not the best, but still. This started west coast hip hop and gave us dr dre, so there’s nothing to complain about. I dont think it’s close to the strongest record yet, so i think it’s a good 4. A few years later the chronic and doggystyle are 10/10 albums
The rawness can’t be denied. It feels like an immediate and often times problematic as hell product of its time, while also maintaining as a vital & timeless piece of American art. I do firmly believe that Ice Cube or Eazy-E should appear on every track since their voices perfectly embody this sound to almost other worldly proportions. I also believe that Dre shouldn’t be rapping ideally at all, but I get it. It was a group effort after all.
5/10 A different time to be sure. 9-26-2025
Dirty rap over clean beats. Great flow in an impressive debut album that channeled their anger, but there's a lot of toxicity. Music is a shared experience and the lyrics can be cathartic, but sometimes it creates greater division, anger, or harm — this album rides the line too much, in my opinion.
Appreciate the sentiment and attitude (the punk of its day), but musically it's all a bit exhausting for a middle aged white man.
I honestly don't think I'm familiar enough with the genre to rate this.
This was a solid time. The beats are good the rapping is great obviously songs like Fuck Tha Police are great and the title track. It goes on a little longer than I’d like though. It’s like a 3.5 rounded down
Ugg, my ears hurt.
The most important American work on race relations since John Howard Griffin's Black Like Me from 1961. One of very few albums (the only one?) on the 1001 list that will be required listening in all places of higher learning hundreds of years after everyone reading these words is long gone. Besides being a definitive work on race relations it's a striking work of protest art that goes toe to toe with Bob Dylan's very best work (who BTW is a big fan of the album since its initial release) angry as all fuck, soul sobering and sadly more relevant today than when it first came out in 1989. Sure, it's often ugly, misogynistic, explosive and disjointed but given the subject matter how could it not be?
Det är alltså här man ska börja om man ska fatta amerikansk hiphop. Så klart! Samplingarna och grundsvänget är så cool. Rappen rak, begriplig och med flow. Ett litet avdrag för hiphop-faktorn ger en fyra i betyg.
I just wish we could be angry and hate the cops as much as they deserve without also violently hating women
I prefer my ACAB with less hate for women and other marginalized groups. Fuck all police and ice tho
At first I didn’t think it was my thing then I caught myself shakin my ass a little
The first three tracks on this album changed that world and helped a genre take the next leap. The rest of the album has some highs but doesn't quite hold up. NWA started as a much more poppy party group which comes out in tracks like Something 2 Dance 2 but this album, coming mid transformation to the scariest gangster rap group was a sign of things to come and seemed to catch lightning in a bottle. With Ice Cube's departure and move out east, NWA would never be as popular and relevant (and controversial) as they were at this time but rap would continue to push boundaries and scare white people for years.
a classic.
Solid 1. SOC 2. Gangsta Gangsta 3. 8 Ball remix
It’s interesting to note that if you check the other ratings of some of the more vitriolic one star reviews you see that if there’s an album made by black folks you can guarantee it’ll be in their “lowest rated albums” section. You can hide behind pearl clutching outrage and fake virtue all you want but I see through it. That being said I do find the lyrics and delivery to be a bit dated but the beats are pretty solid.
"Ah, why should wrath be mute and fury dumb?" Critics have accused them of macho posturing, but it's like yeah that's kind of the point. This is an angry album, and a funny album; there are plenty of individual lines and fragments that can make me laugh out loud just because of how they're delivered. ICE: Let's run a train. EASY: Man, I wouldn't touch that bitch. ICE: ME NEITHER. And if you're saying hey, anger and humor are defense mechanisms, yes you are correct. This album is self-aware and self-effacing. They switch between verse and prose like characters in Shakespeare. The rappers constantly address the producers, the act of recording, the fact that this is at its core a construct. (See: Dre on the ironic and metafictional ‘Express Yourself’.) It’s a loud, dumb violent album, but it’s an act, a set of charismatic characters in a shared universe, *but* the act came from a place of genuine frustration and alienation. It's good stuff.
Angry energy with a heavy dose of fun. The flow was great throughout, as were the samples. Good variety between the songs, too. Just a really solid album.
Hip Hop. 1/5
bad middle
Still not my genre.
Holds up. Great, catchy beats, bombastic rhymes that tell a story and get you hyped. Foundational.
the social commentary around this album is pretty impressive - the intensity of the lyricism/beats combined with intentional lyrics directly attacking law enforcement and discussing real life situations faced by the members made the sharp and alarming release of the album become more and more prominent as more voices joined in. Overtime, the violence in the lyrics and confrontational nature of the music was progressively overshadowed by new music, and the pain, hurt, distrust, and anger in the lyrics became more clear.
Nmg escuché 800 "n words" y "f*ck de police"
I thought I would dislike it more, but it was not bad
Zzz. Kinda mid
I feel a little stupid listening to this album because I don’t think a teenage girl was their intended audience lmao. I loved this album a lot and I can def see how it belongs on this list, especially considering how influential it was. Ask miller about what he thinks abt this group. Fav song: super hard to choose but maybe fuck tha police or gangsta gangsta
This record is really really good. It lacks a lot of the flatness that other 80s hip hop has gotten with time. The samples and beats are really good, especially Funky Worm on Dopeman. I can def hear the influences on everything that came after this album. Politically, it still feels very relevant and I kinda feel like a trespasser listening to this album. Standout Tracks: Straight Outta Compton, Gangsta Gangsta, Dopeman 5/5 deserves to be on this list
This gets a 4 for being the original even though some is now slightly dated
only for being NWA
Yeah not loving the misogyny or the homophobia..... Like if you're going to put it in, make the rhyme worth it man
NWA, Straight Outta Compton ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Though this and Eazy-E really started L.A. hip-hop/gangsta rap, you could easily argue that these walked so Dre and Cube could run, and it's plain to hear on this record. Yeah, they're busting out a new style but it's very, _very_ 80s-sounding (I'd argue that Public Enemy and the Beastie Boys never _sound 80s_ because nothing in their era sounded remotely like them.) If it makes you nostalgic, go for it. I had way more fun bumping Dre, Snoop, etc. a few years later. They'd taken a tip from _real_ street players by that point and so found a more authentic sound. This era though... Sorry, but rap was still kinda a novelty game and it shows here. Cartoon misogyny. Maybe some genuine anger at the police but hey, at this point in west coast gangsta, you could say Sublime would have more cred.
2.5. Hits you hard with the first two tracks but can't keep it up throughout.
I literally yelled "Yes" when this album came up on queue. Great use of sampling and narriative storytelling with the occasional profanity.
Fuck ya!
one of the most iconic hip-hop albums that seems to have been quite pivotal for the genre. i imagine it was regarded as a great album at the time, but i don't think it has aged well - as seen by the lyrics and the fact there are just way better hip-hop albums out now. i enjoyed the hits and also liked 'if it ain't ruff' but apart from that the tracks didn't really stand out from each other. my main issue with a lot of hip-hop albums is that they're too long - anything exceeding an hour is pushing it a little bit in terms of repetitiveness. an iconic album nonetheless, just not one i'll have on repeat.
For an album that is a deliberate provocation, not at all bad. Not terribly good either, but that goes with this territory.
While much of the content on this album has aged terribly, just as much of it is still as relevant as ever. It's insane how so many of the very detailed social issues they call out on an album that's nearly 40 years old is still so hard hitting even today. But I still find it hard to look past a lot of the parts that haven't aged so well, with the violence and misogyny still being such a huge part of it. Overall, I can't deny how influential this album has been to the entire genre of hip hop, but as is the case with many moments on this album, some things are better left in the past.
This goes hard
This album goes hard. Hard is also about all it goes, so it’s a bit of a repetitive listen. But very enjoyable
Moral panic
This is the gold standard of hardcore gangsta hip hop albums. The shit that had white moms calling their congressman in hysterics, terrified of their innocent teenage son joining the Crips. I don't know what's more impressive, the lyrical skill or the intensity. I'm pretty sure if Stephen Miller listened to 3 tracks on this album, his face would melt like the end of the Lost Ark, fucking nazi.
Groundbreaking
1988 My friends done indy, metal or hip-hop in the late '80s; I done them all. It's been a while since this had a spin... Heard before ✅️ Listened this time ✅️ Revisit ✅️ I'm not the target ★★★★☆ (7/10)
some of the lyrics are certainly outdated as others have mentioned... with that being said, this is one of the most important albums ever. its raw, real, unfiltered, and forced people all over the world to confront raw, unfiltered realities of life in LA at this time. yes, some of the language and perspectives reflect a specific time and mindset, and they can feel uncomfortable today. but to dismiss the album entirely because of that is to ignore its context—and its impact. N.W.A gave a voice to a generation that felt unheard the production is sharp, funky, the delivery itself is still incredible, even by today's standards. its imperfect, but essential, all at the same time. "do I look like... a role model?"
7/10 Favs: Express Yourself; Gangsta Gangsta; Fuck Tha Police
I hadn't listened to this in it's entirety in a long time. It's probably a 5 just for cultural significance but it also deserves it for 1988 Ice Cube and to a slightly lesser degree MC Ren.
tope
I remember when this came out. It created a buzz and felt dangerous. It's wild to think that lyrically this album is reality to a lot of people, where this level of violence towards women or people wearing the wrong clothing or law enforcement as part of daily life. It's some pretty dire shit.
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.
I know the significance, and there’s some classics here but it’s not my cup of tea in general.
A very important piece of hip hop history. No NWA, no or certainly very different versions of Ice Cube, Dr Dre and by extension Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Tupac to name a few. An album I first heard as 12 year old, I don’t question its cultural significance. I do however question its stature. It has 4 or 5 very good songs but songs with Easy E or no Ice Cube suffer. Still a 4 though for its impact
(2.5) i did eventually get into but it also kinda blended into one?
Clearly this is an influential album. Has the absolute Gangsta Rap classics in Express Yourself and Fuck tha Police. And it's not a bad album, I just find it... Dated? The lyrics are very much in the edgy teen zone, too. That said, Express Yourself drags the whole album up on its own.
Woh! Would have never listen to this stuff on my own. Really upbeat fun. Bold lyrics. I somehow liked that re mixing sound in between the songs more. Couldn't listen to complete playlist though (8/14) It's not bad but just not my taste
Classic.
yes
Never liked this Gangsta rap shit. And the rest is misogynistic trash.
Good beats and tight phrasing through most of the album, moving between playfulness and seriousness.
Apparently, I'm more of an "old school" rap appreciator. Good, fun beats. Some tongue-in-cheek lyrics, some serious. And they actually rhyme! 3.5*, rounding up.
I LOVED this album. Obviously the violent misogyny was hard to listen to, but I can’t deny how compelling this was. I loved Dopeman, perfect depiction of the horrors of addiction. 4.5/5
J'ai bien aimé la 1ere minute de la 1ere chanson.
I mean... what? this album has two insanely good songs, two pretty good songs and a lot of mid to excruciatingly painful songs. I have no idea how this happened with such a talented lineup. You're best off just listening to the singles and ignoring the rest of the album. Try to listen to 8 ball remix without crying or laughing.
Classic but some of the less famous tracks feel a little dated
Definitely not for me.
I can't help but wonder what 1988 Ice Cube would think about 2025 Ice Cube, star of War of the Worlds (2025)
Essential
Damn, I can't believe that I've never listened through this album before. I do love old school rap and this is as iconic as it gets, in my opinion. It slaps, it captures rap culture of the time-and some of it hasn't aged well. But overall, the hooks are rock solid, and the rap is good.
Seminal gangster rap album 5/5
I'm conflicted. I was looking forward to this one due to the songs I know almost too well, but the other songs either started to blend together or become almost unlistenable with the levels of misogyny and unnecessarily violent machismo. Still, the bangers were bangers.
I almost got bored during first thee songs. Eventually I continued and after six songs I got bored. I aknowledge value of the album but just can't finish this album.
A foundational work in its genre. To my ears, the album’s opening is still absolutely breathtaking, though as a whole it might be a bit on the dull side. Still, it can’t really be called a bad record.
My youth was spent listening mostly to speed and thrash metal, but also hip hop including gangsta rap and more artsy stuff like Beastie Boys and De La Soul. Ice-T was big for me, especially after seeing the movie Colors for the first time. Listening to this album now feels very nostalgic, but also interesting as it's not nearly as aggressive as I remember it being. It's surprisingly close to the Grandmaster Flash stuff of the old. This is way more smooth and laid back than I remembered! The late 80's Brit stuff is decidedly more aggressive, but in a different manner, like Silver Bullet (aah, "20 Seconds to Comply", have to spin that too!).
Not a bad album but just feels very dated. Lyrics not the best.
First album on this journey that I’ve already heard before. It’s good but honestly it just wasn’t what I wanted to listen to today. Easy E’s voice is so cool.
I enjoyed this the same that I did when I was back in high school. Remember all these songs well. Definitely marks a time and a place and a feeling.
Gangster jamz.
Good stuff
Moro moro, tällästä tällä kertaa :D Vanhaa räppiähän tää ois ja parempaa mitä nykypäivän räppi on. Yllättävän funkyä meininkiä tässä levyssä, hauska kuunneltava levy aikansa vaikutusvaltaisimmalta räppijengiltä. Oma lemppari oli Express Yourself biisi. Ei oo kyl sellasta mitä tulee kuunneltua yleensä mut ihan hyvä!
Asenteelliset tummat miehet iskee yhen kovimmista klassikoista. Legendaarinen levy muutamalla fillerillä varustettuna. Hyvää meininkiä ja menee korkealle kaikkien aikojen Rap levyjen kategoriassa.
Jätkillä ollu aika funky meininki tätä tehdessä. Parempaa räppiä, entä nykyajan mumble räpit sun muut. Albumihan on aika legendaarinen räppilevy, mutta ei tästä kolmosta enempää multa irtoa.
Yksi merkittävimpiä ja vaikutusvaltaisimpia gangsta rap lättyjä, jota ei musakriitikot 80-luvun lopulla osannut arvostaa yhtään :D Biisit kuulostaa kivan yhtenäisiltä, mutta ei liian itseään toistavilta, kiitos pienien tempo erojen biiseissä. Dre kyllä tuottanu kovan lätyn vaikka ei ollut vielä kauheasti kokemusta tuottajan penkiltä. Vaikka west coast hipitihoppi on lähellä sydäntä, niin tämä ei silti ikinä ole niin kovaa kolahtanut. Helppo kolkki tämäkin.
Mukavan funkahtavat taustabiitit ja pilke silmäkulmassa kun tummat miehet lausuvat sydänverellä rustattuja riimejä. Huomasi kyllä, että vaikutteita tästä otetaan runsaasti vielä tänäkin päivänä ja hyvin on tämäkin teos kestänyt aikaa. Saa myös hyvän perjantai-illalle hyvän juomapelin kun ottaa shotin jokaisesta "nigasta" tai "bitchistä". Legendaarista meininkiä!
Rumpukomppikone päälle ja runoja lausumaan. Mieluummin luen Eino Leinoa.
Damn, that shit was dope.
Kerrankin räppiä jonka sanoista saa jotain selvää. Nyt voi valita tarttuuko melodiaan vai sanoihin. Levyä yhteen putkeen kuunnellessa kappaleet alkavat kuitenkin toistaa itseään ja asennetta alkaa olla jo liikaakin. Tosin viimeinen dance2 biisi oli virkistävä.
No en kyllä tiiä. Paljon parempaa, kuin nykyinen räpätys kuitenkin.
Klassikko! Miten toimiikin niin hyvin edelleen.
Tavallaan vähän hankala arvioida, kun en oikeastaan tunne lainkaan tätä haaraa kulttuurista, (siis tottakai tiedän N.W.A.:n ja tämä levykin entuudestaan tuttu päällisin puolin) niin tosi vaikea sanoa että onko nää tosissaan vai ei. Mitä vähän googlettelin, niin ilmeisesti kuitenkin ovat? Jotenkin tuommoinen Fuck the Police -uho on aina omaan korvaan kuulostanut vähän naurettavalta, niin siksi vaikea itse ottaa tosissaan. Ja tosiaan kun ei oikeasti tiedä minkälaista se meno on ollut 80-luvun Comptonissa, niin sikälikin vaikea asettua poikien asemaan. Mutta siis biitithän on omaan korvaan ihan kovia. Jos minä kuuntelen hiphoppia, niin paljon mieluummin tämmöistä biittiä kun sitä ihan sietämätöntä säksätystä ja rumpuluuppia joka on jokaisessa nykyisessä hiphop-biisissä. Itse räbäytyskin kuulostaa omaan korvaan hyvältä, sanoista saa selvää. Vähän ehkä turhan pitkä levy, kyllähän nää biisit rupeaa aika nopeasti toistamaan itseään. Ei varmaan toiste tule kyllä kokonaista levyä kuunneltua tätä, mutta ei tässä sinällään mitään perustavanlaatuista vikaakaan ole.
Svängig och cool
⭐️Express Yourself
I’ve never listened to this album from start to finish. Definitely some hip hop classics that were on repeat in my teen years. As an album, this has fantastic production and genre defining lyrics. Love it.
Shite
Sure to send all the "everything except rap and country" people in your life into absolute conniptions, but a bit uneven. The first half has great production and a whole lot of memorable moments, but it all starts to feel really corny after Express Yourself.
One of the albums that influenced the proliferation of Mutha Fuckas & Niggas - I generally don’t like the rap genre but I enjoyed this more than most
Gangsta Rap ist nicht meine Musikrichtung 1/5
Not for me
Бэнга, фо рил мэн, ноу мазафакин кэп. Клёвый олдскульный рэпчик, канеш первые треки прям мясо особенно тот самый F the police, остальные прикольные но не так ебашут. Дре тут нормальных битов завёз в отличие от такой хуегорды что он с эминемем делал, но эт другая история 8/10 Highlights: Straight Outta Compton; _ _ _ _ Tha Police (Fill In The Blanks)
Definitivamente no es el álbum para escuchar en el gym ya que su potencial está precisamente en las letras, y eso es algo a lo que no presto mucha atención cuando estoy levantando pesas. Sin embargo, puedo comprender que este sea un disco clásico de hip-hop, aunque no sea mi estilo preferido. He reconocido la popularísima “F**k tha police” pero me han llamado más la atención “If It Ain’t Ruff”, “I Ain’t Tha 1” y la que abre el disco “Straight Outta Compton”. Para ser un disco de un estilo que nunca escucho no se me ha hecho pesado. Sorpresa final con “Something 2 Dance 2”, que me ha dado muy buenas vibras para lo que dice el titulo.
Klassiker
Groovy sound o produktionen är snygg, men flera texter är töntiga så pallar ej med detta tyvärr.
Vilken mästerverk av Hiphop!
Urlöjligt.
I princip rasism att rösta annat än 5
Not for me. Pure rap/hip hop. Not bad just not what I enjoy. I didn't listen to any song all the way through.
Every song overstays its welcome. The flow is the same throughout, but the beats are great and there are some fun energetic moments.
Мне надо что-то говорить?
u ALREADY know this album was a big thing for me in high school so naturally
Was not looking forward to this but wow this is great music! Lyrics are ‘challenging’ but rhythmically and groove wise this is great to listen too ( especially the first side).
Kinda catchy, and there are some iconic songs but I Ain't tha 1 is offputting. 3 stars
Banger and classic.
Legendary!
классический бумбэп с кучей фанка и рофлов. звучит сыро пиздец и очень наивно, но это даже добавляет антуража
Not my thing but man does this deserve its spot on the list. Anything that keeps me moving around the kitchen like this. And it's amazing to hear these big names before they were big solo artists.
Absolutely seminal. Would come to change the landscape of rap and music as a whole. A lot of interesting social commentary and novel aesthetics. A decent amount of it feels quite dated nowadays. Lyrics and melodies that come off as a bit quaint and silly in today's landscape.
Still the most punk rock album of all hip hop 🤜🏼
Sick Beats, Sick rhymes.. From a different time though. Funny to picture a Boomer popping this one on after listening to some psychedelic rubbish.
I get why this is an important album, and I remember the influence of this, and what was going on in that time period, when I was a teenager. It’s not my favorite music to listen to though.
While the music, and production outdated, the issues discussed in the album are not. This is a very influential Hip-Hop album to this day. Favorite Track: "Express Yourself".
The music is good, the rappers are skilled, but the lyrics are very problematic which stops me from enjoying this.
Старый чернокожий рэп. Много звуков микшера, Ice cube. В целом интересно, но не моя музыка.
Yass
Unlike AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, this one is still solidly in Old School and sounds a bit dated. The beats are simple and sometimes inventive, but the drum pad is tiring. Also unlike AMW, the sexism/misogyny is not casual, it's the running theme. I get it's groundbreaking, but it's also super cringe now. Would be a 2.5 for me, but bumping for relevance.
4/8
I don't like the production value as much as Dr Dre but I like the fuller picture of police treatment in this. More "hoes and bitches" though. Apparently, it was necessary.
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.
Anytime I'm in the mood for NWA, I end up listening to Public Enemy.
Very important albums gor rap but there are a lot of misses here, but also some all-time classics.
Break through album of one of the top 5 greatest rap groups of all time? Of course. N.W.A. is as great and influential as the Beatles.
Admittedly, this was hard to get through. A lot of aged lyrics and beats. Only 3 stars for the culture.
I love golden age hip-hop. This one starts out with three stone-cold classics. Of course, some of the lyrical content has not aged well and is just kinda noxious, the misogynistic and homophobic stuff. There are better albums from this era too, I admit that I prefer Public Enemy for political lyrics and A Tribe Called Quest for social/cultural songs. And honestly other groups had better production/beats. And Snoop Dogg easily surpassed this for Southern California rap with Doggystyle. But this is still a must-listen (#199) even if it's not perfect just because of the influence and effect on the culture.
Never been a huge fan of the track Straight Outta Compton but on this listen it hit. Its a banger. The same is kinda true of Fuck That Police. The energy carries. However after that I think its pretty downhill. The tracks have aged to be fairly generic. The beats are somtimes good, but they never go anywhere, and on these tracks the energy is not enough to carry. Fave Tracks: Straight Outta Compton, Fuck Tha Police 3/5
Good album Fav tracks Straight Outta Compton Fuk Da Police Something Like That Express Yourself Quiet On Tha Set 4/5
Great Friday night album
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.
Cover 7 Two of the most known songs are indeed the best of this album (Straight Outta Compton and Fuck the Police). Not all of this album is political but if you've been indoctrinated against inclusion and education, this probably isn't for you. Other highlights: Gangsta Gangsta, 8 Ball, Express Yourself, and Dopeman.
Fine. The first few tracks are great.
Original Gangsta Rap. Lyrics were more violent than political like Public Enemy. Never my genre but not too bad.
i’ve been enjoying a lot of the classic hip hop / rap on here as a complete newcomer but this one didn’t really do it for me.
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!
Fun, iconic - not my top pick when choosing old school rap but considering what else was being released in 1988 this was cutting edge and blowing people away. A 5 even if only in virtue of its importance to the scene, the great music and lyricism are the cherry on top.
Wild how Ice Cube went from F**** the Police to the cuddly softboi he is now.
I can't deny that this was a hugely influential album - it basically birthed the gangsta rap genre. Also, it had both Ice Cube and Dr Dre, each of which were very influential on hip hop. Having said that, I'm not into the whole gangsta rap thing, or the shock value of this album. Also, while Eazy E gets credit for forming this group, I don't think he's as good as a rapper. The sound has one foot in the older sound (like Public Enemy / Beastie Boys / etc) and one foot hinting at the 90's gangsta rap sound.
For an album that had such an influence on the next decades rap music, it's surprising how much this sounds like an 80s rap album. The "hard" stuff frequently sounds... quaint, and there's a lot that comes off as fun party music more than something hardcore. Still, it would be hard to argue that this doesn't deserve a place on this list (unlike a lot of stuff on this list).
Trail blazing. Even if specific beats and cadences feel familiar, the perspective is so specific and iconoclastic that this feels hard to judge without considering all the artists and groups NWA influenced. While there are songs that don’t feel that far off of Beastie Boys in terms of samples and rhymes, instead of rapping about girls or parties or Paul Revere, we get Dopeman and Fuck The Police. Then you add in the songs that have more contemporary flow and energy (Straight Oughta Compton, Gangsta Gangsta, Express Yourself) and (even with the misogynoir and homophobia), it’s hard to rate this the same as Country Joe & the Fish.
Alright