Straight Outta Compton (song)

"Straight Outta Compton"
Single by N.W.A
from the album Straight Outta Compton
Released July 10, 1988 (1988-07-10)
Format
Recorded 1988
Genre
Length 4:26
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
N.W.A singles chronology
"Panic Zone"
(1987)
"Straight Outta Compton"
(1988)
"Gangsta Gangsta"
(1988)
Audio sample
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"Straight Outta Compton" is a song by American hip hop group N.W.A. It was released on July 10, 1988 as the lead single from their debut album of the same name. It also appears on N.W.A's Greatest Hits with an extended mix and The Best of N.W.A: The Strength of Street Knowledge. It was voted number 19 on About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs,[1] and is ranked number 6 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop.

In 2015, "Straight Outta Compton" debuted at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the issue dated September 5, 2015 as a result of the recent releases of the film of the same name and Dr. Dre's Compton; it was the highest debut on the chart that week.[2] This became the group's first top 40 hit song, in large part due to lack of airplay since N.W.A was banned from many radio stations in the 1980s, charting 27 years after its initial release and 24 years since the group originally disbanded.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Content

The opening verse is rapped by Ice Cube. MC Ren delivers the second, and Eazy-E the third verse.

Tributes

The song, especially Ice Cube's verse is referenced quite often by rappers, and not infrequently by Cube himself. In the song "Compton" by The Game, he says "Nigga I'ma keep on stompin' comin' straight outta Compton"

Ice Cube

In the N.W.A diss song by Cube, "No Vaseline" he says "I kept on stompin' while y'all motherfuckers moved straight outta Compton".

Music video

A video was made of the song. It features Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren, Krazy Dee, and DJ Yella. The video shows the group walking and posing throughout various parts of the city of Compton. Ice Cube and Ren are chased by the police during their verses, arrested, and put in a holding van. Eazy-E's verse shows him riding alongside the van in a convertible, yelling at the driver who ignores him. As the van leaves the neighborhood local residents throw rocks at it. In the clean version of the video, profanities have edited lyrics by rappers' voices, including words like "fuck" changed to "get" from time to time with different words as well. The video first aired in May 1989, directed by Rupert Wainwright.[10]

Cover versions

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2011–15) Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[12] 63
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[13] 66
US Billboard Hot 100[14] 38
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] 13
US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[16] 9

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[17] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/20/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.