13. NWA - Straight Outta Compton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMZi25Pq3T8 Whilst The Sugarhill Gang brought hip-hop into the mainstream with Rappers Delight, Public Enemy and NWA refined the genre completely with gangsta rap, which told the stories of inner city living, racial tensions and battles with the law - albeit with a certain misogyny. Where Public Enemy quickly moved into the land of pastiche, with Flavour Flav seemingly only capable of saying What time is it? NWA stayed true to the template they created on Straight Outta Compton where they set out their stall as agitators and revolutionaries who would take the fight to the police, resist arrest, all whilst hooking up with as many women as they could. But this isnt just about the story that they had to tell about American politics but the music that brings it to life, Dr. Dre produced the records and with Straight Outta Compton he sampled the repetitive beat of Funky Drummer by James Brown and made it sound like a car being driven through a wall, incorporated scratching that made the hip-hops equivalent to Phil Spectors Wall of sound. It had a warmth and a funk to it that Public Enemy never matched, they sounded tinny and metallic in comparison. And what made this such a remarkable song was that it was it was the lead single from an album that literally had the FBI apoplectic with rage. They wrote to the band to stop what they were doing so it got little to no airplay, and yet they sold an unbelievable amount of records. The scene for the hip hop of that would rule the 90s was well and truly set.
Ed Nash
Contributor
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash
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Ed