N.W.A.
The Compton group that defined gangsta rap between 1987 and 1991.
N.W.A (Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California, in 1987. One of the earliest and most significant gangsta rap acts, it is widely considered among the most influential groups in hip-hop.
Quick Facts
- Origin
- Compton, California, U.S.
- Genre
- West Coast hip-hop, gangsta rap
- Years active
- 1987–1991; 1999–2001; 2015; 2016
- Label
- Priority, Ruthless
- Past members
- Arabian Prince
- Dr. Dre
- Eazy-E
- Ice Cube
- DJ Yella
- MC Ren
Lore & Background
The original 1987 lineup was Arabian Prince, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E and Ice Cube; DJ Yella joined shortly after and MC Ren became the sixth member in mid-1988. Their first release was the compilation N.W.A. and the Posse (1987), followed by the debut studio album Straight Outta Compton (1989). Arabian Prince left in January 1989 and Ice Cube in December of that year.
Reader's Guide
Explicit lyrics, seen by some as misogynistic or homophobic, and the glorification of drugs and crime got the group banned from many mainstream American radio stations, yet it has sold over ten million units in the United States. Drawing on the members' own experiences of racism and excessive policing, N.W.A's accusations of institutional racism in American police shaped the political awareness of American youth. The four-piece disbanded shortly after its second album, Niggaz4Life.
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