History Music / NWA

* ReallyGetsAround: Most of the members expect Ice Cube was very promiscuous. However Dr.Dre, Eazy-E, and DJ Yella fit this to a T. Eazy and Dre had multiple kids by the time their album Straight Outta Compton came out. DJ Yella after NWA broke-up went on to do pornography.

Active from 1986 to 1991, the group endured controversy due to the explicit, confrontational nature of their lyrics. They were subsequently banned from many mainstream U.S. radio stations, and even at times prevented from touring -- yet the group still sold over 10 million units in the U.S. alone, mostly through word of mouth and underground magazines. Although largely unknown at the group's inception, members Music/DrDre, Music/IceCube, Music/EazyE and MC Ren would all go on to become platinum-selling solo artists, and some of them household names within popular music.

* ButNotTooBlack: DJ Yella hence his Stage Name.

* RatedMForManly

* AntiPoliceSong: "Fuck Tha Police" is an obvious example of the trope, being a BoastfulRap about a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against the LAPD for its brutality and bigoted racism against African-Americans, putting the LAPD "on trial."

[[caption-width-right:350: The World's Most Dangerous Group[[note]]Left to right: Music/IceCube, Music/DrDre, Music/EazyE, DJ Yella and MC Ren.[[/note]]]]

-->--'''Music/DrDre''' in the opening of "Straight Outta Compton"

* FiveManBand:
** TheLeader: Eazy-E
** TheLancer: MC Ren
** TheSmartGuy: Dr. Dre
** TheBigGuy: Ice Cube
** TheHeart: DJ Yella
** SixthRanger: Arabian Prince on the album cover of ''Straight Outta Compton''. It also applies to Krazy Dee. Both left the group before ''Straight Outta Compton'' was released.

* {{Angry Black M|an}}en: As if their name or near-NoIndoorVoice-territory rapping didn't give it away.

* ClusterFBomb: While no longer holding any records, it is amusing to note that "Fuck tha Police" is 12.1% profanity with a solid 42 seconds of the song being unplayable on the radio.

* TheDissTrack: After Ice Cube left the group, the remaining memebers took shots at him:

** Ice Cube left the group due to royalty issues and a distrust of their manager, Jerry Heller. His first solo album, ''[=AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted=]'' sold well, though he avoided mentioning his former bandmates. The remaining members, jealous of his solo success and butt hurt that he left, dissed him on ''100 Miles and Runnin''' and ''Niggaz4Life''. Cube responded with the ''brutal'' "No Vaseline".

** Ice Cube left the group due to royalty issues and a distrust of their manager, Jerry Heller. His first solo album, ''[=AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted=]'' sold well, though he avoided mentioning his former bandmates. The remaining members, possibly jealous of his solo success, dissed him on ''100 Miles and Runnin''' and ''Niggaz4Life''. Cube responded with the ''brutal'' "No Vaseline".

* MohsScaleOfLyricalHardness: 10, except for "Express Yourself" which is 2 only for the brief (and ''negative'') drug reference, and "Something 2 Dance 2", which is a ''1''.

* GoshDangItToHeck: "I Ain't Tha 1" is close to entirely devoid of profanity, yet it does contain sexually explicit themes. Consequently, this trope was in play in some of the lyrics. Similarly, "Express Yourself" is also devoid of profanity, despite its lyrics pondering on free expression and how some rappers are pandering to censorship to make their songs radio-friendly.

->''You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge.''

N.W.A (a.k.a. "Niggaz Wit Attitudes") was a Compton, California-based hip hop group widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre. Active from 1986 to 1991, the group endured controversy due to the explicit nature of their lyrics. They were subsequently banned from many mainstream U.S. radio stations and even at times prevented from touring -- yet the group has still sold over 9 million units in the U.S. alone, mostly through word of mouth and underground magazines and hip-hop scenes. Their first album, ''Music/StraightOuttaCompton'', marked the beginning of the new GangstaRap era as the production and the social commentary in their lyrics were revolutionary within the genre. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked N.W.A 83rd on their list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Although largely unknown at the group's inception, rappers Music/DrDre, Music/IceCube, Music/EazyE and MC Ren would all go on to be platinum-selling stars as solo artists.

Compton-based former drug dealer Eazy-E began Creator/RuthlessRecords with Jerry Heller. Ruthless released ''N.W.A. and the Posse'' in 1987 with Macola Records. N.W.A. was still in its developing stages, and only credited on four of the eleven tracks, notably the uncharacteristic electro hop record "Panic Zone", "[=8Ball=]", and "Dopeman", which first brought together (on wax) Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E. Also included was Eazy-E's solo record "Boyz-n-the Hood". In 1988, rapper MC Ren joined the group.

N.W.A released ''Music/StraightOuttaCompton'' in 1988. With its famous opening salvo of three songs, the group reflected the rising anger of the urban youth. "Straight Outta Compton" introduced the group; "Fuck tha Police" protested police brutality and racial profiling, and "Gangsta Gangsta" painted the worldview of the inner-city youth. While the group was later credited with pioneering the burgeoning sub genre of GangstaRap, N.W.A. in fact referred to their music as "reality rap".

Ice Cube and MC Ren's lyrics, dealing with the violence and anger of disenfranchised inner-city residents, were complemented by a simple, ominous production based on heavy beats courtesy of Dr. Dre and scratched samples by co-producer DJ Yella. "Fuck tha Police", perhaps the group's most notorious song, brought them into conflict with various law enforcement agencies. Under pressure from [[MoralGuardians Focus on the Family]], Milt Ahlerich, an assistant director of the FBI, sent a letter to Ruthless and its parent company Priority Records advising the rappers that "advocating violence and assault is wrong and we in the law enforcement community take exception to such action". This letter can still be seen at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Policemen refused to provide security for the group's concerts, hurting their plans to tour. ''Straight Outta Compton'' was also one of the first albums to be given the new Parental Advisory label, then in its early stages: the now-iconic label then only consisted of "WARNING: Moderate impact coarse language and/or themes". However, the taboo nature of N.W.A's music was [[NoSuchThingAsBadPublicity the greatest part of its mass appeal]]. The media coverage compensated for N.W.A's virtual lack of airplay and their album eventually went double platinum.

N.W.A's next release was some five months later, the EP ''100 Miles and Runnin''', but would not be equally diplomatic. Music/IceCube left in late 1989 over royalty disputes; having written 45% of ''Straight Outta Compton'' himself, he felt he was not getting a fair share of the money and profits. He wasted little time putting together his solo debut, 1990's ''Ameri[=KKK=]a's Most Wanted'', but avoided mentioning his former label mates. The song "100 Miles and Runnin'" is also notable for being Dr. Dre's final uptempo record, which had been a common feature of late-80s hip hop. The group's second full-length release, 1991's ''[=Efil4zaggin=]'' ("[=Niggaz4Life=]" spelled backwards), re-established the group in the face of Ice Cube's continued solo success. The album is considered by many to be Dr. Dre's finest production work, and heralded the beginning of the "G-Funk era". It also showed a clear animosity towards their former member, and derogatory references to Ice Cube are found in several songs.

After Eazy-E's AIDS-related death on March 26, 1995, all bad blood between the group ceased. Dr. Dre and Ice Cube would later express their re-evaluated feelings to their old friend on 1999's "What's The Difference" and "Chin Check", 2000's "Hello", and 2006's "Growin' Up".

With the success of the {{biopic}} ''[[Music/TheNotoriousBIG Notorious]]'', New Line Cinema reps announced to Entertainment Weekly's "Hollywood Insider Blog" that N.W.A's story is in development to become a theatrical release. [[Film/StraightOuttaCompton The film, titled after the group's first album]] and directed by Creator/FGaryGray, was released on August 14, 2015.

Perhaps due in part to the newfound hype surrounding the group, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, only the fifth hip-hop act to receive the honor (following Music/GrandmasterFlashAndTheFuriousFive in 2007, Music/RunDMC in 2009, Music/BeastieBoys in 2012, and Music/PublicEnemy in 2013).

* ''100 Miles and Runnin'', released August 14, 1990 (EP)

!!Yo man there's a lot of tropes out there:

And on the other hand, without a gun, they can't get none,
But don't let it be a black and a white one,
'Cause they'll slam ya down to the street top,
Black police showing out for the white cop!