| 100 Miles and Runnin' | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP by N.W.A | ||||
| Released | August 14, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | 1989–1990 | |||
| Genre | Gangsta rap | |||
| Length | 23:17 | |||
| Label | Ruthless/Priority | |||
| Producer | Dr. Dre, Yella |
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| N.W.A chronology | ||||
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100 Miles and Runnin' is the title of an EP by hip hop group N.W.A, released in 1990 on Ruthless Records.
Prior to recording the EP, all five of the group members had signed a long-term contract with the Ruthless Records label. However, member and lead vocalist Ice Cube refused the contract's terms and consequently separated himself from the group.
Contents |
The title track "100 Miles and Runnin'" was the group's first track to gain radio airtime and appear on TV with its music video. Dr. Dre, who had just finished working with The D.O.C. and Above the Law, added atypical funky beats and the slow synth groove on "Just Don't Bite It". A sadistic parody of the police on a skit featuring The D.O.C. from the group's 1-900 hotline introduces "Sa Prize, Pt. 2", a sequel to the controversial "Fuck tha Police," originally from the Straight Outta Compton album. MC Ren and The D.O.C. wrote the lyrics for Eazy-E and Dr. Dre.
100 Miles and Runnin' was the first N.W.A album after Ice Cube had left the group in December 1989, and the group makes numerous sardonic references to its former member. On the title track, Dre states:
"It started with five but yo, one couldn't take it / So now there's four 'cause the fifth couldn't make it".
Therefore dismissing Ice Cube as a coward, and on the song "Real Niggaz" MC Ren states "Only reason niggaz pick up your record is cause they thought it was us", referring to the success of Ice Cube's first solo album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted which had been released earlier that year. Ice Cube would respond to these attacks on his 1991 album Death Certificate.
Three songs from this EP, "100 Miles and Runnin'", "Just Don't Bite It", and "Real Niggaz", were later released on N.W.A's Greatest Hits. "Real Niggaz" would also appear on N.W.A's final studio album, Efil4zaggin, a year later; the 2003 remastered edition of the album would append the rest of the EP to the track listing. The name of the follow-up album Niggaz4life is announced as a backward message in the final track "Kamurshol" (i.e., "commercial"); the album title would, in fact, appear written back-to-front on the album cover.
"100 Miles and Runnin'" is also notable for being producer Dr. Dre's final uptempo recording, as well as the only appearance of his revised, more aggressive rapping style, a change allegedly made to fill the void left by Ice Cube.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| Entertainment Weekly | (C+)[2] |
| RapReviews | (6.5/10)[3] |
| Robert Christgau | (C-)[4] |
Although the album was released as an EP, it nevertheless hit the charts and sold over 500,000 copies, reaching gold status on November 16, 1990 before reaching platinum certification on September 16, 1992 for over 1 million copies sold.[5]
| Chart (1990) |
Chart position[6] |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200 | #27 |
| R&B Albums | #10 |
| Year | Song | Chart positions[7] | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Chart | ||
| 1990 | "100 Miles and Runnin'" | - | #51 |
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