N.W.A - Niggaz4life

Hundreds of Thousands of Shocking Volts Amplified

If you thought Guns and Roses were bad boys of the 1980's then N.W.A. made them look like sissies. When "Straight Outta Compton" dropped, the entire world was flipped upside down. The lyrical onslaught of Ice Cube, the beat making genius of Dr. Dre, the menacing swagger of MC Ren, the turntable wizadry of DJ Yella on the breaks, the wildy dry humour of Eazy-E, and the super dope manager Jerry Heller. It seemed like an unbeatable combination but lack of group compromise and unrest between the members caused a break up and things never were quite the same. Ice Cube moved on to put out critically acclaimed solo projects and N.W.A. carried on without him. So how do you cope without a vital part of the team, you turn the controversial heat up super mega degrees.

To this day, "Death Certificate" and "Elif4ZaggiN" remain some of the most visceral yet seminal recordings in Hip Hop history. In fact, if your not really into Hip Hop your probably thinking right now, "what does it mean for an elf to zag" just looking at the album title. The title was rejected at first so not being phased, the group flipped the title of their album backwards. That's one way to spit in the face of the FCC and they loved every minute of it. In fact, if you thought "Straight Outta Compton" was a 'Final Destination' roller coaster thrill ride then magnify that X4 on "Elif4Zaggin". Due to Cubes absence, the political element seemed to be completely stripped. The 'N' word is used around four times more than it was on their debut, there is profanity around nearly every corner, and the misogyny on the second half is so foul it can make the hardest of thugs go to church. N.W.A. struck a nerve in 1988 and this was the stake in the heart with a 'Ruthless' flag waving from your chest.

Side A is deliberately violent. Side B is deliberately misogynist. AND all sides are arguably some of Dr. Dre's best production to date. Although the shock value is over the top, you can't help but be impressed by some of the beats. They come off as so ugly their beautiful. So dirty their clean. Check "Appetite For Destruction" for evidence. The song has a killer bassline and a barrage of samples that sounds like a mix of Bombsquad with 'The Chronic (1992)' giving you the best of both worlds. It's widely regarded as one of Dre's top 5 beats. The 10 steps of violence in Eazy-E's verse is sheer humor as he warns innocent pedestrians to stroll down the yellow brick road into Compton. Need More? Check the whiny synthesizer on "Alwayz Into Something" and the jamaican horn riff sample on "One Less Bi***". The music is so evil you can basically smell the gunpowder oozing out your speakers.

My favorite N.W.A. song to this day is "The Dayz of Wayback". The sample is golden (you may recognize it from the opening of Pete Rock and CL Smooths 'Lots of Lovin'), the lyrics are hard yet dope, the reggae style influence fits the track smugly, and I couldn't think of a better way to close the album off with. Another favorite is "Real Ni****". Again, the production is the show stopper, with multi-layered sampling that would make the Bombsqaud jealous. Aside from the songs, Prince Paul went on to say that some of his favorite skits of all-time came from this record. It may seem like opposite ends of the spectrum but it goes to show you how fierce competition was in the 'Golden Age' of Hip Hop. Everyone was listening to everyone. Even Dr. Dre said he was forced to put out "The Chronic" because of "The Low End Theory".

Nerve racking yet annoyingly delightful, "Elif4Zaggin" is a trip you should take despite its disturbing nature. It is one of six seminal Hip Hop records bashed by Rolling Stones who found the lyrics tiresome but had nothing to say about the genius of the musicality. Even rock bias can't front on the beats. In these oversensitive times, a product like this would never come out today. It's not to be taken serious and your stomach may turn into knots every step of the way. Those fearful of this journey will miss out on one hell of a train wreck!

December 29, 2007

BEST RAP ALBUM EVER

BACK IN THE DAY - I WAS A RAPPER - CAUSE RAPP WAS BIG - RAP WAS REAL ! THIS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH RAP TODAY - THIS IS `RAP` LIKE IT IS SUPOSED TO BE. THIS WAS GROUNDBREAKING. I STILL LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM TODAY (EVEN TAUGHT IM A 33 YEAR OLD ROCKER). NO ONE HAS DONE IT BETTER, THIS IS IT FOR ME. EASY E - DR DRE - ICU CUBE - MC REN - DJ YELLA..... THANK YOU June 18, 2007

Dre was at his peak production wise, pre Chronic............

NWA upped the violence and aggression for this 1991 classic. I remember me and my boys riding around drinking brew and being ready for whatever when this joint came out. Without Cube in the fold, they were out to prove that they did'nt need him. They succeed in proving that they could make it without him. MC Ren steps up to the plate and handles his business on key tracks like Prelude and Real N*ggaz Don't Die, and pretty much the rest of the album. Dre and Eazy deliver some of the best rhymes of their careers as well.

Top Joints:
Prelude (Ren disses so called hiphop purists - "N*ggaz rapping since the 70's and still never went Gold")
Real Niggaz Don't Die
Niggaz 4 Life
Protest (Funny)
Appetite For Destruction (Classic, nice bounce)
Alwayz Into Somethin'
Message To B.A. (They were cut his hair off, yall know the rest)
Real Niggaz
One Less Bitch (Hard)
Findum, F---um & Flee
Automobile (Eazy's country western parody)
She Swallowed It (Get it all baby)
I'd Rather F--- You (Eazy's interpretation of Bootsy Collin's classic)
Approach To Danger
The Dayz Of Wayback (That's my joint!)
January 14, 2007

Carl Johnson:"I'm not really inta rap no more-I'm more inta that hardcore gangsta s***!

Yep, I'm back....you shouldn't be surprised, I was just taking a break from writing, but now I'm back and better than ever! Anyways, this is NWAs' first album without Ice Cube, and because of that loss, their are no more political lyrics, instead we get a violent, nightmarish and, at times hilarious album. Buy it. June 13, 2006

Actually 4.25 but they dont allow it

The album is Musicially amazing but the lyrics are alittle disturbing but once you lokk past it you'll see what a true piece of gangggsta rap is
Favorites: Alwayz into somethin and Prelude March 27, 2006

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