Retro Video of the Week: "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A.

Thirty years ago today, arguably the most important rap album of all-time was released:  N.W.A.'s Straight Outta Compton.  I first discovered N.W.A. on a compilation tape I had called Rapmasters 9:  The Best of the Hardcore.  There were edited versions of songs by various "hardcore" rappers, including "Gangsta Gangsta" by N.W.A.  That piqued my interest in several of the rappers and groups on the tape, but N.W.A. stood out above the rest.  I bought Straight Outta Compton on tape at some point in 1990 at my local Rose Records.  (It took a while for gangsta rap to get to the suburbs.)  Setting aside why some record store clerk sold a tape with a parental advisory sticker to a 12-year-old, it was a watershed moment in my music upbringing.  

N.W.A. may not have thought they were speaking to adolescent white suburban Midwestern boys when they made the album, but Straight Outta Compton was the "realest" thing I had ever heard.  I loved every song, and pretty much still know every lyric.  The album spawned gangsta rap and, along with the films Boyz N Tha Hood, South Central, and Menace 2 Society, brought to light to the rest of the world the problems plaguing South Central Los Angeles -- including drugs, gangs, hos, and racial tension with police.  It launched the careers of Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E (and I'm still not sure why MC Ren's solo career wasn't bigger).  And, of course, it was a great album to blare from your boombox when you were pissed at your parents.  Word to the wise, though:  when a song from the album comes across your iPod in your office, I've found that it's better not to sing the song out loud.

Straight Outta Compton has gone on to receive countless accolades, as it should.  There are only a couple videos from the album, so I'm going with the uncensored title track.  I can still recite the song word for word.  Or should I say word for word to the motherfucka?  I should.  Damn that shit was dope.