
Released on Ruthless Records, an imprint co-founded by N.W.A. Touching on the gang violence, police brutality, and drug pandemic sweeping urban America in the light of Reaganomics, Straight Outta Compton’s jarring content struck a chord with fans across the country, who pushed it to platinum certification, unprecedented territory for a rap act with explicit content. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, DJ Yella, and Eazy-E, the Compton-based rap group was a seismic force. emerged on the scene, shocking the world with their own debut album, Straight Outta Compton, which lamented the harsh realities of the LA streets like never before.Ĭomprised of Dr. Rap artists on the East Coast had pioneered and dominated the genre during its infantile stages, however, the previous three years marked a period where Los Angeles would come to power, beginning with Ice-T, who unleashed his landmark debut, Rhyme Pays, in 1987. and traveled to New York City to record a classic.Īs the pages on the calendar flipped to the 1990s, West Coast hip-hop was beginning to tighten its grip on the consciousness of the culture. Read the story of how Ice Cube left N.W.A. Thirty years ago, Ice Cube released his Bomb Squad-produced masterpiece AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted.
