N.W.A. | BEST OF N.W.A., THE | CD

Liner Note Author: Soren Baker.
Photographers: Ted Soqui; Bettman.
When Dr. Dre opened the 1988 classic, STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON, with the proclamation, "You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge," N.W.A. was issuing their own unapologetic parental advisory--though perhaps not the one Tipper Gore had in mind. N.W.A. was one of the first groups in the rap genre to excite suburban white kids and scare their parents on such a mass scale. Though Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Yella, and Dr. Dre spent less than half a decade recording together, the crew birthed a monstrous style that's been with hip-hop ever since--namely gangsta rap.
Nothing is sacred and no taboos are out of reach when these five artists are at their most ruthless. Ice Cube "never should've been let out the penitentiary," just as Eazy-E is bound to "smother your mother." Dr. Dre's early production work--experimenting with hard-thumping drum tracks and computerized effects on tracks like "Dopeman" and "Alwayz Into Somethin"--laid the groundwork for what would later be called G-Funk. This 2006 greatest-hits collection brings together 17 ferocious cuts from the group's three LPs and one EP from 1987 to 1991, as well the 2000 reunion track "Chin Check," featuring Snoop filling in for the late Eazy-E.

• Format: CD
• Genre: Pop
• Released: 12/26/2006