Reviews (page 8 of 13)
7/05/2021 I heard about this album for the first time from Chetan Harithas. We were discussing RATM and their Fuck the police, when Chetan told me about the song of the same name by NWA. Of course we ended up listening to it on our way back from the Bodhi room that night, and I loved the song. The album is quite interesting. I can see how it was considered one of the most influential albums of its time. Looking at the current scenario, the music is still very relevant.
Classic album from start to finish
The album was released in 1988 and I recall very distinctly the outrage it generated amongst the white man. To quote Dr. Kane in "Evolution", "He's a very sensitive man, the white man. He doesn't like to be yelled at." The track "Fuck Tha Police" caused an especially focused amount of anger and anxiety in the white man. The racism came hard and fast in their critiques of that one. Anyway, I bought the album and to demonstrate how white privilege works, the lyrics spelled out very clearly the mistreatment of black people at the hands of authorities and the general plight of black people in society. Me and my white friends clearly *heard* this, but we clearly did not *get* this. As I matured and experienced more of the world I finally got it and understood the entire album through a much different lens. A distressing number of my friends still don't get it or understand it to this day. In fact, rather than continuing to enjoy the album as they did when they were young, they have turned their noses up at it. I can only imagine this is because to listen to it forces them to confront some hard truths about the world and themselves that they are clearly not comfortable facing. Anyway, it is a great album through and through and I am happy it was my recommended album for today. It is absolutely worth a listen if you have never heard it. It is especially recommended if you have only ever heard "Fuck Tha Police".
Good and nostalgic. Old school. Not a great work album.
This iconic album started the golden age of hip-hop and blasted the genre to the mainstream. Even if you put aside the album's popularity, the songs are just so damn good too!
Changed the rap game
Cornerstone hip-hop album. Many of the lyrics are still very relevant (and very clever) to this day.
An explosive, breathtaking and game changing album. The opening title track is as good as it gets but the album suffers from the weight of expectation created by those early tracks. It’s a lengthy record and each track seems a little worse than the one before it and by about the halfway more the songs are starting to feel a little bit tired, as if they have run out of ideas or things to say. For that reason it doesn’t get full marks for me, but still an incredible album that out gangsta rap on the map.
Not perfect, there's some filler but still an amazing album. I could feel the California sun on my face at times, Fuck da Police!
4.5/5 amazing album, amazing movie.
Far better than expected!
OG gangster rap album. Definitely an important album, maybe drags on a tad long.
Fucking classic. A bit too long but absolutely essential.
Tää on best ja kova! kyllä vierähti lautasella vaikka ekaa kertaa taisin kuunnella. Jääpalakin joskus osannut räpäytellä!
Better than i expected, specially since it's really not my type of music.
Laden with the N word and tales from the hood, you can see how this album became the inspiration for bands like Coldplay and Glasvegas. NWA walked so Elbow could fly. . I could have said 'so Doves could fly', which would be better, but I don't mind Doves and Elbow can go suck a dick.
Ennakolta arvosana luokkaa 6/5 ja edellisestä kuuntelukerrasta iäisyys. Nyt tuntuu puuduttavalta. Onko tämä spotifyn soittolistojen tulosta, että 76min gängstää on liikaa. Tai no sama tyylistä riippumatta kun näitä on kuunnellut. Musiikkilaji uppoaa, mutta onhan gangsa rap alalajina jossain määrin menneisyyden tuote .
Wow! Brings back the college days! Right up there with Public Enemy.
Kovaa räpäytystä ameriikan maalta. Siellä heiluu aseet ja elimet. Oman osansa tykityksestä saa sekä poliisit että bitchit.
Liked it a lot even though i am not a big fan of rap.
Probablemente el mejor disco de su género
Great album
Great album. Only 2 years after Run DMC but has aged much better I think
Ah, das West-Coast-Pendant zu Public Enemy. Hätte man denken können, so vom Sound-Design der Single her. Ist natürlich falsch, weil: da politisch radikale Consciousness-Typen mit Militär-Fetisch aus Brooklyn und Qeens, hier hedonistische Gangsta-Typen aus Compton, natürlich mit Guns. Und auch der Sound bleibt nach dem starken Einstieg mit Straight Outta Compton so gar nicht beim Bomb-Squad-Design von PE, sondern hier zeigt der junge Dre mal, wo er eigentlich hin will. Und da klingen die Raps dann klar nach 80ern (man nehme nur mal den Freestyle-Style in Compton's N The House oder, da klingt es wirklich dated, I Ain't Tha 1) und pumpen die Beats schon Dres reduziert bis sonnigen, aber immer superbassstarken Dicke-Boxen-Funk. Für Deutschrapfans von heute ist das vermutlich gar nichts, für nen alten Mann aber immer noch eines der stärksten HipHop-Alben die wir hier bisher hatten, und sei es nur als Zeitdokument.
Classic album from a supergroup
Nice Lyrics. Powerful style. Not my cup of tea but still
It’s really good except for the misogyny
From angry white punks of The Fall to the other extreme, angry black gangstas from the 'hood. Again, if we could rate half stars I'd give this a 3.5 but given that this is the OG Grandaddy of gangsta rap I'll round it up to 4
3.5?
Schöner alte Schule
This is a real tough one to only give a 4 to. It is without a doubt one of the most important rap albums of all time and essential listening for anybody who cares to understand the golden age of rap. The best tracks on the album (the title track, "Fuck tha Police", "Express Yourself") sound as good today as they ever could have. But I can't give a 5 to an album this packed with forgettable filler. The tracks that you don't remember on this album? There's a reason why you don't remember them. They are just not good or enjoyable to listen to. Outside of the big tracks, there is very little here to listen to today.
there is so much history and culture surrounding this album, it's hard to ignore it's place in music history. i mean, this caused fear, anger, hope, and a dialogue about systematic abuse and inequality in the black communities. this became a damn near rallying cry and scared the fuck out of the people this was for. the lyrics are poignant, music very well composed. and i know i may be off on my comments, but this album inspired a whole generation and multiple genres of music, which is fucking hard to ignore.
Certainly straight outta compton and f* the police are all time classics. the rest of the album doesn't quite age as well... lots of horns, percussion, record scratching that reminds me of Run DMC. I'm not the 1 is awesome too, though predictably non-PC, like the whole album.
damn, son.
Gangster rap gone mainstream, and much of it still lands despite being something of a bridge between heritage acts of the late 70’s and Biggie, Tupac, etc... of the 90’s. I could do without the misogyny.
Original but the simplistic flows don't stand the test of time without nostalgia
Hot fire.
shit fuego also social commentary is nice
Heard the album for the first time when I was 10 and loved listening to it again at 34
Another classic. Some monstrous outlaw and ruthless hip hop collected paving the way for folks to come. From contemporary perspective lyrics here are pretty discouraging demonstrating complete escapism and will of freedom mixed with will to domination. However it doesn't exclude splendid production and killing flows esp Ice Cube's. track picks- Fuck the police, S/T, Gangsta Gangsta, Express yourself, if i ain't ruff, dopeman
Great album, doesn't hit me quite like it used to though.
A Classic. Changed the landscape of music and inspired my more favoured hip hop albums. Really good album, I just don't get as much out of it as my top hip hop albums so just misses out on 5*
From the Amen Break that kicks off the record, this is a tour de force. Been a while since I heard it, and there are so many more recognizable samples than I remember. Even sampling Public Enemy from the previous year. You can definitely hear how rap started out sing-songy but by the time we get to Jay-Z and Eminem, flow becomes more central than working the rhythm of the song. Obviously the problematic issues of misogyny, language and homophobia cannot be avoided. I wonder how this album will play in, say, 2030. You can hear Dre's whole career here in his samples and beats, which is interesting. Raw but definitely his style was formed. Shave a couple of filler tracks off its 60-minute CD bloat and it's a 5.
Urgent, provocative, menacing, violent, confrontational, funky. Of its time, but just shows how good old time rap was. Sparse production, basically 808 drums, samples and voice, but beats and rhythms to die for.
Wish I knew this at the time
FTP. ACAB. HOOD.
You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge...
Another classic hip hop album. Ice cube, Dr. Dre, Easy-E, Mc Ren. Only knew the title track and "Fuck Tha Police", but also other good tracks including "Express Yourself".
The good tracks here are so goddamn good and frequent that they offset the repetitive or dated songs heavily.
A powerful and important album but maybe a few too many swears for me. Production was funkier than I remember. Not a fan of Easy-E’s voice but Dre and Ice Cube are dope.
Historisk hiphop album, gangster, racekultur, sampling,
Ooh, I like these beats! Nice to also hear the entirety of this album instead of just the hits. This kept me going at the end of my work shift.
Highly poetically technical lyrics over a funky, detailed, masterfully produced session. Didn't love the misogyny and homophobia, which the record failed to say anything interesting with/about. Fave tracks: Straight Outa Compton, Fuck Tha Police, Gangsta Gangsta, Parental Discretion Iz Advised, Something 2 Dance 2 Least Favorite Track: Dopeman
Lively and in your face, classic record. Standout Tracks: Parental Discretion Iz Advised, Compton’s N The House (Remix), Quiet On Tha Set, Something 2 Dance 2
Good stuff. I've seen this album around and never got around to listening to it. I enjoyed this, I would pick it up if I saw it at a record store.
Test
Ei tää nyt kauheen hyvin oo sanoituksiltaan ikääntynyt. Mutta ihan hauskoja biittejä ja sampleja, vaikka ne alkoikin käydä vähän ykstoikkoisiksi jossain vaiheessa (kertoo varmaan vaan siitä, etten oo rapin suurkuluttaja). Gangsta Gangsta oli funky.
Merkittävä levy, joka on edelleen tosi kova ja monilta osin tosi ajankohtanen. Biitit on mintissä ja koko köörin flow on todella kova. Misogyniasta oli pakko vähän verottaa pisteitä vaikka aikansa kuva ja mitä näitä on… 🥲
No ohan tää nyt kovvaaaa. Yks tähti pois koska naisvihamieliset sanat.
At its best it's the best hip hop album ever. Definitely one of the most important ones in any case; this is the record that solidified rap as the new punk and the breakthrough of seminal artists in Ice Cube and Dr. Dre specifically. At its worst it's skippable filler that feels like a product of the transition from vinyl to CDs, when artists and labels were still figuring out what to do with the newfound freedom of longer and more versatile runtimes. Still an important listen, but be prepared for the disparity between the quality of the singles you know about, and the other stuff. PS. the day before I got this record here I was looking it up, listening to some songs from it and even having a slight discussion about this with my friend; very freaky it actually popped up in my project literally a day later.
i liked it less than i thought i would, favorite track is "gangsta gangsta" because its more... it has more texture i guess and its more chaotic, i like that
It's tough to get past the basic '80s beats (some exceptions eg, Parental Discretion iz Advized). But Ice Cube's flow always hits.
Several songs haven't aged well, and the misogyny littered throughout doesn't do wonders for my opinion. I know on some levels that it's dramatised and supposed to add to their confrontational personas, but it's not something I can easily look past. However, that doesn't erase the necessary political messaging throughout the album either, and a lot of the songs are still straight bangers (aided by the great production). I don't want to sit atop my high horse too much, and I'm able to respect what an influential album this is to the history of hip hop (and popular culture in general). Fuck the police!
Not my preferred brand of hip-hop but I respect it
at first it seemed like a fun, strong record. but the longer it goes, the more nasty and misogynistic the lyrics become, some of the beat become too repetitive and i guess it just gets a little boring. though i gotta say, i do enjoy the production on the record quite a bit, the drumkit, the turntable scratches, the samples are all put together very well.
Fantastic album, three of the brightest stars. 😍😍😍 Tom.
Die Banger landen, der rest ist leider sehr vergesslich 3/5
I don't normally like rap, but I always had a bit of a soft spot for this album.
I can appreciate the sound, but once the lyrics veer into misogyny, sexism, and the like, it's hard to appreciate the music, no matter how good it sounds.
I did not enjoy this as much as The Chronic, but my boyfriend was super hyped about it so that was fun.
Some good hip hop in there, lot of sexism
Quinticential listening experience to know where so much of west coast hip hop culture came from, possibly the best example of early west coast, because most of the Run DMC, LL Cool J, Furious Five are all east coast. You can tell Dr. Dre had experience producing, there's great sampling ideas ahead of its time, other songs more akin to your basic 80s 808 sound. Lyrics sound very inexperienced but hungry to prove their worth. Ice Cube is the obvious standout. I wish i liked this better, there's great deep cuts, but at least a quarter is not up to par with the rest.
Lyrics are really crude, but I like the sound of it way better than more current rap. Wouldn't listen to it again, but don't hate it.
amazing album has aged like a fine wine definitely not spoiled milk. I think you can hear the hunger in every one of their verses and it must be the purest form of gangster rap. Saved 5/13 tracks
Great beats, nice flow. But what to do with the misogynic lyrics?
The beats are a bit middle of the road and consequently it’s hard not to drift off. Still a worthwhile lp though.
N.W.A. make a game of it on this album- seeing how many times they could say ‘fuck’ in a song, and then trying to break that record. Early tracks of course had emotional power in their articulating of the frustrations of police power in Compton, but were too abrasive for me to appreciate that much (alongside a dollop of misogyny, as is the case with most rap in this period). However, this was a rare album that improved as it went on as tracks became much more tuneful. Express Yourself, an ironically clean cut condemnation of black musical cautiousness, was a highlight that showed a much more deft touch. Good enough for 3 by the end.
Just like the Ice Cube solo album I had recently, this was often musically pretty good while being lyrically offputting, not so much for the frankly cartoonish depictions of violence, but for the misogyny. ‘I Ain’t Tha 1’ is literally just five minutes of complaining about women. No thanks. There are some undeniable bangers here though, the title track, ‘Fuck tha Police’ and ‘Express Yourself’, being the three best tracks for having a more interesting message, but lots of tracks essentially just consist of bravado and boasting, which gets old rather quickly. A low 3 stars (for the classic tracks).
i enjoyed it for what it was...plus the movie was decent
Vibey, enjoyed the anti-establishment and anti racism themes and social commentary. Did not enjoy the misogyny and characterization of women. 5/10
I feel like I have been sleeping under a rock when I first listened to “Straight Outta Compton.” like how did I not know about this collaboration of iconic rap artists?! these songs made my head bop and hear their battle cries, especially during “F**k Tha Police.” anyways, as my first album for this website, I’d say I’m pretty satisfied and would recommend this album :)
A classic, so I have to treat it with respect. The rap I listen to sounds so futuristic, which I think affected my review. It’s timeless and one of, if not the most, iconic rap albums of all time. Although I don’t listen to a ton of 80s and 90s rap, I understand the influence and how important this album is. My rating for this album is a 3. (Don’t hate me rap fans)
When to listen: When you feel like punching something but probably shouldn't. I found the beginning a bit repetitive and tough to listen to but loved the sampling near the end. I think it's more a testament to my love of funk and Motown than this album in particular though. Rap is just not my genre, but I appreciate it nonetheless.
Falling a bit behind. Forced myself to listen to NWA - Straight Outta Compton Being 56 year old white guy i am clearly the target demographic. ( being 19 when this came out). Pretty good. First three tracks and the final one stood out. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Kon er ni doorheenkomen, vond t ni per se slecht want ik herken hoe iconisch t is. My name is Ice Cube
Straight Outta Compton 4 Fuck tha Police 4.1 Gansta Gangsta 3.3 If It Ain't Ruff 3.5 Parental Discreetion lz Advised 3.4 8 Ball (Remix) 3.2 Something Like That 3.5 Express Yourself 3.4 Compton's N the House (Remix) 3.3 I Ain't Tha 1 3 Dopeman (Remix) 3.3 Quiet on tha Set 3.4 Something 2 Dance 2 3.4 Score: 3.446153846
El género me encanta, se me hace medio largo
This was strong. At times, I could hear its age, but the influence it would have is so clear. Really fun
Some pioneering songs but also some clear fillers
Cultural and musical landmark that stands the test of time. Favorite track: Straight Outta Compton
De første 3 numre er en af de stærkeste åbningsruns nogensinde, resten af albummet er noget op og ned
What a sick opener.. what a boring ending.
These guys really are experts at swearing. Each swear is cooler than the last. Great album, clear what it's influences are, and I prefer those. Still undoubtably great tho.
funky ass beats tengo el vago recuerdo de haber escuchado este album (o al menos parte de este), no se si fue por un documental o si tuve que analizar los videoclips para un tp.
Sounds a bit old school even if the message is still relevant. Lots of anger dressed up in some good rhythm. Good to walk to.
its aight I guess a bit too old school for me but I feel the vibe, could only really get 3 tracks into it before it muddled together and I got bored. It's good but just not my style maybe once I'm back in the trad rap mood I'll enjoy it more
Such a powerful album, but the misogyny kind of ruins it for me.
I listened to a few songs. Not really into rap, so not my favorite.
314/1089 even on the first song this sounds pretty ahead of it’s time, it sounds more like mid-90s than 88 imo that hold true for most of the album tbh it was decent, again albums like this are why i’m doing this challenge, even if i don’t LOVE it faves: Express Yourself, Something 2 Dance 2 59/100
RATING: 6.5/10 HIGHLIGHT: Express Yourself LOWLIGHT: I Ain’t Tha 1
Better than Coldplay
Strange album. Aggro lyrics over dated beats. It's obvious how this album was influential but to a modern listener I'm not sure it holds up on its own beyond being a time capsule of an era.
Nice!
actually a baller random pick for the first album in my project, long overdue foray into hiphop for me solid 3 since about half the album hit well but some tracks got boring fast and the work goes on a bit longer than it needs to. also not a fan of the multiple tracks that just disparage women lmfao
Has 4 classic tracks, the rest are mid or plain trash. Overrated as an album, but I get its classic status. 5/10
This is an important, powerful, iconic album. Woke this white man up. The misogyny, violence and racism turns the message ugly. This album needed to happen. It was important. But, the down side only allows me to give it a 3.
Falls off pretty quickly after first two
Ihan kivan kuuloista aikakauden hip hop biittejä. Riimeissä omaan makuun likaa uhoamista ja niggamuthafuckaa. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
starts off quite strongly, but fades after the first few tracks. the beats are high energy but get a lot simpler, the vocal performances aren't quite the same, and the production is only fine by the end. the lyrics are well performed but the content is highly variable, fuck tha police is a classic for a reason but some of the rest are...questionable.
Iconic west-coast album. Never has been my favourite though, they all rap with the same cadence and the basic rhyme schemes get repetitive. The beats are hit or miss and so are the lyrics. I think everyone went on to make much better music after NWA, but there's still so much more passion, energy and creativity in these songs than you'll find in today's rap.
It’s funny (and expected) with the absolute earth shattering influence this album had how old fashioned it sounds. I would have thought there’d be less obvious run DMC influence but here we are. Also went about twenty minutes too long
There's a lot here to appreciate, but it's just a little too hard to look past all the misogyny in order to do so. There's just soooo much of it. And at a full hour, it gets tiring after a while. I'm still going with 2.51 stars, rounding up to three.
It is more a socio cultural achievement than a great album. Most of the songs are very similar to each other, and the rappers have a very boring flow. 3/5.
Obviously super important, should be on this list. Not my personal fave but I understand its place in history. Great production.
Un début solide avec de bonnes prods et un impact historique indéniable. Le flow devient vite répétitif et l'album s'étire péniblement en longueur. Un classique essentiel pour la culture, mais lassant et difficile à finir.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that these gentlemen do not "Back the Blue". Plus marks for being a pioneering rap album, and for the kick ass beats. Minus marks for the misogyny, anti-gay jokes, and for being a half hour longer than it needed to be.
The instrumental tracks are cool and well-crafted, and they sound incredible musically, but it's not the style of music I usually listen to, so it took me a little while to get into it. Also, some of the songs seemed a bit long, but it's not a bad album at all.
I definitely get how this was groundbreaking for the time, and the use of samples and remixes is pretty cool. I liked the Charles Wright and Beastie Boys incorporations specifically. And yet, between the different rappers coming in and out on the songs, they all have the same flow and lyrical style. The lyrics themselves were a product of their time, at least accounting for the "edgy" "humor" surrounding women and the LGBT community. Nothing I wouldn't expect from an album of this era, though. The messages of the first few songs still hit hard. Favorite track: Gangsta Gangsta (this fucking hook has been stuck in my head for days)
3,5
I owned this tape way back when it came out so matbe that's why it hits different than the Snoop and Biggie albums I reviewed earlier. A level of misogyny and glorification of viloence but somehow it feels more like a story than promotion. More depth and good flow. Still though
I guess one of the first proper rap albums.
Some great songs like Express Yourself. Still, the album is about 45 minutes too long.
This record is culturally significant for sure. I don't think a lot of it holds up today, though. Either way, it's pretty good. Favourite Track(s): Straight Outta Compton Least Favourite Track(s): Compton's N The House
“Let 'em understand perfection. Let knowledge be the tool for suckers to stop guessing. Cause I don't give a fuck about radio play. Observe the English I display.” -‘Parental Discretion Iz Advised’
I liked the first two songs, the rest were alright
It's one of the great totems of hip hop (by which I mean that even I, indie kid to the core, have heard it before). And in some ways it's really good - crystal clear delivery, hugely memorable lines, bouncy instrumentation. It's also dated thematically, which is to say, horrible. And, of course, it's too long by a mile. I love Express Yourself. Once is enough though.
Silly enough I started liking the album a lot more once I started listening to all of the lyrics. At first I would just be listening to instrumentals that sound like they could pretty easily come of a sound board (they actually deconstruct the beat on the last song and it doesn’t make it sound much more complicated), rhyme patterns that aren’t super complex that I can tell, and themes that seemed to all be about beating somebody up, shooting somebody, or disrespecting women. But the storytelling is really what makes it interesting, I particularly thought a lot about I ain’t the one. It has the theme of disrespecting women but really truthful about hey if you’re going out with ice cube this is what you should expect. Made me think about the parasocial celebrity relationships and how it must be hard to trust either party in them. Overall the thing I kept thinking about was how I wouldn’t really consider this to be “cool” music. It reminded me of the bestie boys which I’m not sure if that predates or was inspired by this sound. This album has a lot of horns and generally felt incredibly upbeat for the themes. There wasn’t a song that felt particularly dark despite having a lot of violence and some darker drug themes. I suppose it feels like more of a celebration of the culture they came from which the stories of which they used to become successful even if the upbringing had darkness in it.
cool B) not melodic enough for my personal taste "sometimes i used to wonder, how an ugly dude would get a fine girl's number" 🔥
Some tunes are great - some lyrics are not!
Fuck tha police
guess fuck da police somehow aged really well /j but still, 3:5!
Some classics!
Solid album.
Decent but not as good as Wu-Tang
I realize this is a monumental hip hop album. I’m a huge fan of Ice Cube’s style, Dre is one of my favorite producers, Eazy E was a TERRIBLE rapper. First three tracks are straight fire, but you just kind of lose interest after that
I can see why it is well liked but it got a bit repetitive for me.
Seminal hip hop but not my thing!
Definitely not my usual style of music, but I surprisingly enjoyed this. I like a lot of others that I've reviewed lately, this was interesting. It had energy, something to say, passion.
Some songs were bangers, some felt childish and sulky. They didn't quite land. The funky samples made up for it.
Classic, absoluut. Maaar ook beetje whacky en gedateerd. Had er meer van verwacht, zeker na zo'n sterk begin en cultstatus
Un clásico del hip hop, pero no me gustó tanto como el de Public Enemy
I get that this is culturally important. And I also get how freaking angry young black men must have been (and still are) at the built-in racism in the American system. However, I do (like many) find the glorification of violence and the misogyny harsh and not appropriate to this era. The anger? Fuck hell yes. As for the music and flow... absolutely tight. Also, I was delighted to learn how much these guys gave back to the community over the years.
My very first experience with this album was showing my mom "fuck tha police" hoping she thought I was tough and gangster. We were in the parking lot of disney world. I might be whiter than mayonaise. Best: Straight Outta Compton Worst: I ain't tha 1 Liked songs: 8/13, 62% Light 3
Every time I’ve Cube isn’t rapping the audience should ask “Where’s Ice Cube?” A real transition. Fuck the Police and Express Yourself are on opposite sides of the gangster rap inflection point. It’s good but inconsistent. And too long. And Eazy E isn’t very good.
Boring beats, repetitive funk guitars. Straight outta Compton, the track is a banger though. Ice Cube best rhymes by far of the lot
Está chulo. Traslada perfectamente a la época cani de EE.UU. y seguramente fue precursor de mucha de esa música. Me cuesta destacar alguna canción en concreto. Nueno I ain't that 1 me ha molado
Streetwise gangsta rap that started a movement. Album dips but quality first half.
Good. My hot take is it’s 3⭐️s but still solid
More of a 3.5 for me. Obviously influential album, but the album was too long for my personal preferences.
Listened to this the way Dre intended: while writing code, sitting in the teen literature section of the Woodford County Library.
It’s a classic but it’s still not for me.
tough 😤
I've heard a lot about this album: it's inescapable! I'm glad that I finally sat down and listened to it! I didn't want to skip as often as I expected to want to skip in the first half. There were a few songs where the misogyny was extreme and awful. The bears were like a musical time capsule.
Yeah, I can see why this was so influential. This album doesn't pull any punches and has some really great production in addition to its intense lyrics. I can't say this is my favorite thing, but there is no way I can argue with its place on this list. Favorite track(s): "Straight Outta Compton," "Express Yourself"
Ok
album #34 hugely influential album!! biggest issue is that the second half of the album drags a bit, barring "express yourself". criticism of violent misogyny within the second half is understandable, but if you only criticise black men for this then you are simply racist. keep that energy up for bob dylan and other white men with guitars, okay? ꩜ average track rating: 2.6/5 ꩜ favourite track(s): express yourself, fuck da police ꩜ least favourite track(s): i ain't tha 1, dopeman ꩜ album rating: ★★★☆☆ ꩜ number of albums left to review: 1,055 ꩜ number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 21 (+1 Straight Outta Compton) ꩜ albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 8 ꩜ albums from the list I won't include on my list: 26
Surprised to have enjoyed this, but found it an engaging listen
Hard charging rap but pretty repetitive to my ear.
It was good. Kind of repetitive? Like in the songs themselves. Idk
Still sounds innovative to me but not something I would revisit.
Yeah, I was afraid of this. I really don’t approve of excessive use of foul language in music. And this is far beyond excessive. It’s a shame, too, because the rapping and the beats are astonishingly good. If the lyrics weren’t so extreme, this would be a solid 5 stars. But it’s too much for me. 3 stars from me.
못여는데
if i was here 10 years, i would had given it 5 stars, but im not in that phase anymore :))
West Coast rap isn't my favorite, so bear that in mind. Ice Cube melting down for 5 minutes cause a girl asked for money to do her hair is just funny to me.
i can imagine how it shook the world when it came out, but if youre a regular hip-hop listener, it's noticeable how it has aged the flows are somewhat repetitive, and the rhyme schemes aren't very elaborate, although it doesn't seem to emphasize these aspects as much as the message, which may seem angry and over-the-top, but was necessary and the basis of the cultural language for a large part of the following generations on the other hand the beats are still fresh af
Ok, should this be in the list of “Albums you /need/ to listen to before you die”? Yes, of course! This basically brought hip-hop to the (white) mainstream in America and allowed it to be taken seriously, both through controversy and actual quality (compared to where hip-hop was at the time, where even worse-aged nonsense from the likes of Kurtis Blow & the Fat Boys was still what a lot of people genuinely thought it was all like). That being said, this has aged pretty poorly in a lot of regards. Most obviously, the misogyny and homophobia, as was very typical of hip-hop at the time, but this also applies to a lot of the musical elements too. The flows come off as being stilted and even a bit awkward compared to stuff released just a few years later, and the beats, while obviously revolutionary for the g-funk genre, have been outdated even by Dre’s later work like “The Chronic” & “Doggystyle”. Funny enough, this came up on my generator a day after reviewing Kendrick’s “good kid, m.A.A.d. city”, another classic from a Compton rapper; while Kendrick’s career obviously wouldn’t really happen without “Straight Outta Compton”, looking between the two, I can only really compare this unfavorably to GKMC. Nevertheless, there are still some true blue classics on here, like the title track, “Fuck tha Police”, “Gangsta Gangsta” & “Express Yourself” that do warrant listening, and some underrated tracks like “If It Ain’t Tuff” and “Quiet on tha Set” that deserve appreciation too. All in all, if you can just take it for what was at the time, and not what it is now, you’d probably have a pretty good time; but for me, that’s just not as easy said than done.
Legendariskt album som jag knappast har lyssnat på från pärm till pärm. Många låtar som man hört i olika sammanhang. Otroligt funky git genomgående. Attityd är ordet.
6/10
I thought it’d be homophobic but not THAT homophobic - some bangers some less so (not related to homophobia)
Not for me
There are three great songs on this album in Straight Outta Compton, Fuck Tha Police, and Express Yourself. Besides that, most everything kinda blends together and sounds the same. NWA’s influence and place in music history is undeniable, but this album is slowly losing its battle against the test of time.
Few good tracks, mostly a good listen, few random weaker tracks.
It's alright I guess. Some lyrics are straight up misogynistic and just make a song lame, but otherwise it perfectly conveys the chaotic and frustrated atmosphere of a social class that's still blamed for even existing.
This album was great, I rock with their disdain for the police system. The first three songs, Straight Outta Compton, Fuck Tha Police, and Gangsta Gangsta were my favorites. I give this album a 6.7/10. However, there was a lot of misogyny in this album that through me off, didn't expect they would go there.
Très stylé et énergique, plein de chouettes choses mais les paroles n’ont pas très bien vieilli
this is cooool, dr dre is such a great producer. like the political themes. it's quite fun as well, the songs sound quite different from each other. admittedly does just become homophobic or misogynistic at times which is weird.
yeah, i tried listening to this one when it first came out. not a big fan of the genre. i can appreciate why this is in the top 1001, but just not for me.
Surprisingly not bad.
I guess it's a fun album to listen to, as long as nobody else is around. Definitely shifted hiphop to gangsta rap. Some of these lyrics are pretty rough to listen to. But, 1 extra star because Fuck The Police.
This is clearly important and set the template for hip hop, and there’s lots to like. All the rappers have deeply individual voices and the rhymes are inventive. However the beats and the samples lack variety and some of the tracks are overlong
for me the problem with the most hiphop albums are that they are just too long and kind of tiring. I just have to be in a mood to listen to this and that happens rarely. but however I understand why some people absolutely vibe with these type of albums
Interesante
70
Me gustó, no es algo que suelo escuchar a diario, el ritmo y las vibes que dan están piolas, pero no lo escucharía tanto la verdad
Heard some of it before. Solid album. With rap albums on this list I usually just get bored after a couple of songs but here the beats and the rapping were actually engaging and fun 3/5
Technically a 3.5 but can’t give that rating
Started out strong but faded
Classic …and long.
3.0 - Ok
3-4
I’m a poser
If it want for motherfucker and motherfuckin' there would only be beats
A couple of really good songs
aw yeaaahhh
Not my style, but pretty good; you can definitely see where it influenced many.
Bueno. Es que es la misma temática, historias, exceso de peleas y violencia. No sé si envejeció bien, aunque sonoramente mucho más tolerable que otros, así que sí sirve de música de fondo. Dopeman remix me gustó el bajo, sus voces son pasables también la mayor parte. No es horrible ni me desesperó por eso les daré 3.
This album paints a pretty wild picture of what Compton culture is all about. There have been quite a few early gangster rap albums on this list and I do feel a bit lost trying to rank and compare them. This feels like one of the more quintessential on the list.
Niet mijn ding
important historically, grew out of it though
My rating 3.4
I’d never listened to the whole album. It was decent old school rap.
Not for me
2,5/5
Set the tone for a decade of rap!
The blueprint for all Gangsta Rap to follow, for better or worse. For better, because it produced some classic hip-hop records and moved the genre away from its novelty party song origins into something more artistically sound. For worse, because it gloryfied a lifestyle of violence and debauchery that ended up pigeonholing a lot of black artists into an aesthetic and persona they probably would have otherwise. The fascination with this lifestyle may have set the African American community back a couples of decades, and the music is definitely not good enough to outweigh that. So I say, for worse. Key tracks: Straight Outta Compton Fuck Tha Police
Surprisingly good for the genre
Partially known. I liked a lot of the stuff I hadn't heard before - especially the MC Ren stuff.
good album for a weekend of america being the absolute worst. so pretty much any weekend. this west coast scene approached the reagan years with nihilistic violence and it shows. everyone is pissed off, that much is sure. pissed off at everything. Fuck Tha Police is iconic and one of the greatest songs of the 80s, obviously. and while a lot of the rest can be a bit primitive by today's standards for hip hop, it strikes me as more punk than amateur. pretty good. deserves to be one of the 1001? very much yes
I am very very far from the target audience for this album. The title track is still fucking dope though, and the rest of it is way more palatable than most other rap from this era.
klasik, al odslusao sam ga davno i malo se ne secam, koliok se secam ima rick rubin produkcije malo ima rok delova, gitarica i to, ali nisam bio nesto odusevljen, vrv je do mene, nisam se fokusirao isk
Not for me.
The sheer influence this album had on the genre is undeniable but is definitely a product of its time. I have a lot of thoughts about this album that I just can't express in a review
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ Not really something that I would listen to, but it's good. Wouldn't mind if it was playing in the background or something. Could be pretty cool in the right setting.
Second best NWA album.
You either love it or you hate it. I’m neither of those - I don’t really care. I suppose it’s fun to blast it out of your car - it’s loud, it’s vulgar, it’s honest to the bone.
Asbra men kan inte relatera
How much of this was reality in 1980s Compton and how much is young bloke's chest thumping, peacocking boast is not for this 69yo White, middle class Australian to say. But it does seem to be the sort of record you might expect from a minority that's had enough of being discriminated against, profiled, disenfranchised and scapegoated. "TIME TO PUT COMPTON ON THE MAP" and they're going to make you listen until you know the truth. (Or at least, their version of it) And if the level of violence, misogyny and drug use is pretty confronting, perhaps life in Compton was just as confrontational. Public Enemy is probably more sophisticated in their ideas, but this is pretty raw and angry. Obviously important, if problematic.
I enjoyed this despite the sometimes infantile lyrics
1. Express yourself 2. Fuck tha Police
A delightful pre-Valentine's Day treat.
Sounded really good, great beats and overall flow was very good (a few songs missed but can't all be bangers), but very questionable lyrical content brings it down.
Some good tracks. Not a big big fan of 80s hip-hop (with some exceptions). But there are a couple stand out ones on this one that moved me to a 3
Before: I have to admit I've never listened to this album. I have heard some of the songs though. I'm not really a fan of this genre. During: It's Ok but I can't relate to the lyrics. After : I don't like it much but I suppose it's an important album and deserves to be on this list.
This is a hard rate. I understand how important this album was culturally for West Coast / Los Angeles during a charged and violent period. Several of the songs are familiar because of that. But the profanity and vulgarity can be tough to take. What once seemed tough now feels irresponsible. 3/5
California?
Express Yourself - this is probably my fav track, fun sampling, less "I hate everyone (especially cops and women), I'm gonna fuck you up" and more "Music is fun! Let's have a good time, boys.", Dre let's it flow. Fun beats and sampling throughout - If It Ain't Ruff, Express Yourself, Dopeman (remix), Quiet On Tha Set, Something 2 Dance 2 Musically speaking, this isn't really my cup of tea. Big props for speaking their minds and resonating with so many people. Ice Cube's overly angry/harsh delivery is off-putting to me. Some of the lyrics might not have aged well, but others are still right on the money.
Enjoyed this more than most west coast stuff I check out. Some funny lines
Gut zum breaken🪩🗣️
2.5/5 - Tää albumi tuntu tosi pitkäveteiseltä ja harva biisi jäi kunnolla mieleen. Tälläne räppi, missä aikalailla on vaa räppiä ja sit beatti, nii ei oo ihan mun juttu. Kuuntelen ite enemmän melodiaa kuin sanoja, joten en ite saanu tästä albumista paljoo irti. Jotkut biisit oli kuitenkin hyviä ja niiden fiilis oli tarttuva, tää albumi on myös tosi merkittävä, joten kyl tässä albumissa oli paljon hyviäkin puolia.
some lyrics did not age well, however there are still relevant themes in how over policed the black community is
Goeie toeie
A classic. I always like a few songs from this album but listening to the whole thing was a lot.
Classic album. Solid beats and vibes.
Ok, not as great as it sounded at age 13
I don't really like it. I don't think it's bad, but I don't think it's something I'd ever choose to listen to apart from maybe I couple of songs. Some of the other songs though are surprisingly ...boring.
I am not going to pretend I am a middle aged white guy who has any of the necessary context to properly understand this album. I recognize it as significant even from my limited exposure (mostly through GTA) but would be insincere if I rated it higher than the "3--belongs on the list" that I am giving it.
3.5⭐️/5 02.02.2026
as almost everyone says, the misogyny and homophobia were always a problem. but even more so today. the weirdest thing though is how disappointing the second half is. first half is good. second… not so much.
Posturing.
My rap tastes are more fuck bitches get money but I appreciate the pioneers
This album literally changed the game. Before NWA, it seemed like all hip-hop seemed to come only from New York. Hearing this from dudes who lived merely a half-hour from me was a revelation. As a kid who listened to pop music and hair metal, it blew my mind. Listening to it again 30+ years later, there's some reappraisement. They really front-loaded the album. The first half is so much better. "I Ain't The 1" trying to be radio-friendly just makes it the cheesiest Cube song I've ever hard.
I would have given this album a 4 because I like 80s rap and it’s obviously so iconic and culturally significant, but I’m giving it a 3 because some of the lyrics are so woman-hating and sexually violent it’s genuinely upsetting and hard to listen to as a woman. I’m not judging anyone who likes it, that’s just my own personal experience of it :/
This is what I'm talking about !!!!
cool but some songs...no
The first songs on this record are beyond iconic and good. The rest of the album, not as memorable.
classic
A bunch of just really sexist and homophobic lyrics, but the beats were good along with the songs that weren't about that
I remember how exciting this was when if first came out. Still is. The casual misoginy though...
ok
Relevant and outdated all in one. Some hypocritical lyrics from Dre about weed smoke and the misogynistic lyrics are tough to hear. On the flip side, the album is powerful in its voice to call out a police state we’re seeing in the streets today.
I can see so much of the influence in future hip hop in this album. Even if it’s not my taste, it’s undeniable the impact and importance
Je sais que l'album marque un tournant majeur pour le rap, avnèenement du gangsta rap, messages politiques ultra fort pour l'époque et débuts de légendes mais je trouve que musicalement ça a pas si bien vieilli. Malgré des classiques de fou, (Straight outta campton, Fuck tha police), je trouve l'album long à écouter, avec vraiment des sons qui ont pris un peu trop de rides.
Classic rap album from the late 80s. The beats and rhythms are great and the production doesn't sound too dated. The message is still there today, though the lyrics are violent, mysogynistic, etc. I can feel the frustration of life in Compton from every song. I also find the profanity just too much. Because of the violence and profanity it's 3 stars, otherwise I would give it more.
fave: express yourself ahead of its time for sure! i think it really paved the way for the future of hiphop and did some things that hadn't been done before in the genre at that time. very violent and aggressive but also silly at times. i can see where future groups, such as jvb, have taken inspiration from the group. some serious classics on this one
I'll listen closely more but it's a 3 at minimum
bro all of my listening notes didn’t save… very influential bunch!!! my dad deffo listened to this. i really like express yourself!! crazy to hear from a completely different walk of life not a fan of the misogyny and homophobia + toxic masculinity…. not particularly my style of music, but i can appreciate the artistry behind it, i might listen to a few of these songs on my own, but it’s very hit or miss for me something 2 dance 2 is nice, run dmc-ish also kind of i wanna dance with somebody
Awwww yeeeah Influential gangsta rap record. This is front-loaded with 3 classic memorable tracks - Gangsta Gangsta, Straight Outta Compton, and Fuck Tha Police. These tracks and Express Yourself showcase the production and raps that dominated hip hop in the late 80s and early 90s. The rest of the album is mostly filler and not as good. Was it a trailblazer or a calculated cash-in created by savvy posers? Probably some of both. Ice Cube makes movies and TV now, just like Snoop and Ice-T. Would Eazy-E be doing the same if he was alive today? Would rap be as big as it is without NWA and Public Enemy?
Sorprendentemente sí me gustó. Me gusta el ritmo y se porque es ta reconocido. No voy a decir que entiendo al 100% la temática pero entiendo la forma en la que lo abordaron y porque fue un bum. Me gusta el ritmo pero no mucho las letras, pero así es el género. Pero está cool.
strong start but got pretty samey pretty quick. was funnily motivating to listen to on my morning run as a white woman
Two things can be true: A) This album contains a few iconic tracks that speak to power and discuss race relations in America, just as relevant today as when it was released. B) Lin Manuel Miranda was directly and heavily inspired by this album while writing his smash musical production, "Hamilton". That's my truth and I'm sticking to it. Favorite song: Fuck Tha Police.
I'm glad I listened to this - I'd never listened to the whole thing! I can hear so maybe elements of music that I love that came after this. It was cool to experience, but there's not a ton that I'm likely to come back to again and again.
Fuck da police.
My initial impression: the lyrics are kinda goofy/cheesy. I like the music and beats though. As the album progressed it started growing on me.
I get that it's an album with great importance, and the rithms of the songs are catchy, but the lyrics are definitely not for me. I couldn't really connect to it, but it didn't hurt to listen either.
some crazy homophobia and misogyny in the lyrics but it’s a fun album!! sounds slightly corny now just with how the genre has progressed since, but you can understand the tensions in compton in the 90s through this album and it’s still relevant today. maybe not a personally relevant album to me but enjoyed none the less - 3.5
An absolute classic in the hip-hop genre. I've never to N.W.A. myself, but I instantly recognized so many classic tracks. "Express Yourself" was a really fun surprise!
Some strong lyrics, funky beats and real attitude. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed this.
Pretty solid as fun as gangsta rap goes. The first 3 tracks are solid, lots of energy and a fun listen.
I found some cool songs for my playlist.
good songs but really repetitive
It’s a solid album. Not my taste, but it has good lyrics, fun instrumentals and good subjects. I think I will not be listening to it again, though.
13пісень боже перша пісня це хіпхоп фак поліс ну це жоска капіц чесна навіть не слухаючи до кінця альбом це буквальна альтернативна музика як злий рєпєр зєнік але для омерікі
Big beats, big attitude and not much else. The pulsing rhythms initially sound really funky but the sparse, simple mixes lack variety and get repetitive by the end of each track. There's no denying the huge impact of this record but it's later followers put a sinister spin on the sampling that suits the subjects of the rap: however authentic, the violence and sexism on display here is not only unpleasant but jars badly with the cheery tone of the backing tracks.
Yo! Tätä ei ollutkaan ennen levyllistä putkeen kuunneltua. Ihan ok. Vähän liikaa uhoa ja kiroilua, mutta tulipahan kuunneltua...
"Moving like a tortoise full of rigor mortis." The title track and Express Yourself are absolute bangers but halfway through you get the message and have been told enough times who they are. The yanks sure love their guns.
3.0
like woah ok I know ice cube was not actually living the life he talks about so, chill, but liked a lot of the songs on the album. saved more than I thought I would to my liked songs and learned a lil bit about Compton
The OGs of gangsta rap. I forgot how funky this album can be too. TOP 3: Fuck Tha Police, Something 2 Dance 2, Straight Outta Compton
I get why this album is important but it’s got a little too much “gangsta” to be a regular in my rotation.
This was good. It's not my normal style, but I can hear how it's influenced music after.
Fuck the police for real. Hip hop is at its best when it is political and critical of the system and at its worst it’s misogynistic. This album has both.
didn’t totally finish, however fell asleep to it and drove to tom’s river listening to it and added at least two songs to my liked songs. SOLID start
Definitely a classic, so much misogyny though
dated
Well, I can hear the appeal and the raw energy in the music. It is a heavy album.
Iconic album with significant meaning. Reminds me of my childhood because my father liked this kind of music. It’s not a album I would go out of my way to listen to because it’s not quite my style, but if it randomly comes on, I wouldn’t necessarily skip it.
Great album. Sadly when you get to the end "A Bitch Iz a Bitch" ruins the vibe by being entirely too violently misogynistic for me to ignore.
I liked the beats and the energy, although the lyrics are kinda goofy sometimes, i guess that's part of the style. My favorite song is probably "Fuck the police"
I can hear why this was a massive feat at the time. Funky beats, neat. The lyrics, mwah. Guess we need to separate the author from the character(s). Overall, a bit monotonous and too long. Foundational but not sensational
Wait, so where are these guys from again? I didn’t quite catch it.
Pretty solid album, I think most people who like rap, hip hop, etc would like this. But, I can’t get over the overly misogynistic and homophobic lyrics. Just trying to do way too much for me.
2,5*
oh hell yeaah rap album thats exactly what i needed right now. Its sounds really good exactly how rap album should sound
This isn’t my genre, and I don’t think I will ever listen to it again. However, it’s a strong album, it has consistent flow, and it sounds honest. The beats are good and the rhymes are good in style, if not necessarily content. This is also a highly influential album, and is a very important debut.
Standouts Straight Outta Compton Fuck the Police Parental Discretion iz Advised
good gritty dj sounds get it nice I get it
Great!!!
it's 3,75. pretty visionary for its time, good old hip hop
I appreciate it as an album but is not something I would ever reach for!
This is a classic album, that I had never listened to before. I'm glad this spurred me to take the time to give it a listen all the way through. I will say this was not my favorite album, as it is not the type of rap/hip hop I tend to listen to. However, I really enjoyed how you could tell the group was having a lot of fun making recording the album. It allowed me to feel a connection to it which was fun.