Straight Outta Compton
by N.W.A.
Some works of art establish themselves as inflection points in their art. SOC is one of those albums. Dre blew doors off the boom bap standard with the innovative west coast g funk sound while Ice Cube and Wren's storytelling broke gangster rap to the world. I mostly don't find the album all that listenable these days but Straight Outta Compton still slams and is always good for stoking my mostly dormant teen defiance. Fuck that Police is timeless and a good reminder that police violence against blacks isn't something new. I'd definitely encourage Mara to listen to Express Yourself but the original Charles Wright version is my preference. The rest of the album has some catchy funk worthy of an old school party.