Greatest Hits

You can't accuse N.W.A. of being subtle. The original gansta-rap group was unabashedly angry, with controversial songs that reflected the troubled streets from which it came. N.W.A.'s unpleasant style touched a nerve; critics called it offensive at least, dangerous at worst. But to simply dismiss N.W.A. as a group of violent, misogynist troublemakers is to completely miss the point. N.W.A. made an indelible mark on the world of rap music with its funk-infused, slow-grind style of rap (created by producers Dr. Dre and Yella) and its frank depiction of life in the inner city. Ice Cube's sublime lyrical timing and delivery complemented MC Ren's self-assured, off-tempo rhyming and Easy E's straightforward style. N.W.A. launched the gansta-rap genre, not to mention the careers of several major rap stars, while exercising (and defending) its rights of self-expression. more...

GREATEST HITS includes such rap classics as "Fuck Tha Police" and "Gangsta Gangsta" along with a few previously-unreleased mixes and 12-inch tracks, all proof of N.W.A.'s considerable impact on both pop music and pop culture.

Rap Pages (9/96, p.35)
- "...No other group in the history of rap has had so many of its members become so successful as solo artists..."

Q (10/96, p.184)
- 3 Stars - Good - "NWA transformed rap....Much of it was reprehensible; but a great deal of it...was astonishing and marvellous too. It hit big, stuck like glue with the new generation of West Coast rappers, and created gansta rap..."

NME (8/10/96, p.53)
- 8 (out of 10)
- "...they were The Revolution itself, thrusting a great big Smith & Wesson down the necks of whitey's middle America....they were spawns of genius....the original, fearless, composite capsule of the last time music went politically and sexually berserk..."