Straight Outta Compton (song)
| "Straight Outta Compton" | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by N.W.A | ||||||||||
| from the album Straight Outta Compton | ||||||||||
| Released | July 10, 1988 | |||||||||
| Format |
| |||||||||
| Recorded | 1988 | |||||||||
| Genre | ||||||||||
| Length | 4:26 | |||||||||
| Label | ||||||||||
| Writer(s) | ||||||||||
| Producer(s) | ||||||||||
| N.W.A singles chronology | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
"Straight Outta Compton" is a song by American rap group N.W.A. It was released in July 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.
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"
Weird Al Yankovic parodied the line in the title of his 2006 album, Straight Outta Lynwood.
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". On the song "Dead Homiez" he says, "It makes me so mad I wanna get my sawed off, and get some bodies hauled" and on "Endangered Species (Tales from the Darkside)" from AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted, he says "I told ya last album, when I get my sawed off, bodies are hauled off".
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 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.[2]
Cover versions
- In 1998, Compton rappers, MC Eiht, King Tee and Dresta recorded a tribute remix of the song that appeared on Straight Outta Compton: N.W.A. 10th Anniversary Tribute.
- In 2004, rapper Young Buck album is called Straight Outta Cashville under G-Unit Records.
- Veruca Salt vocalist Nina Gordon recorded an acoustic "coffeehouse" version of the song at L.A.'s Largo in 2005.[3]
- Compton rapper The Game released his own version of this song with the same beat on his 2003 mixtape, You Know What It Is Vol. 1.
- Noonershaft did a cover as a tongue-in-cheek spoof.
- The song was parodied in the 1994 film CB4 as "Straight out of Locash" by CB4.
- The song was parodied and played in 2 episodes of The Cleveland Show.
- On May 28, 2010, Ice Cube performed the song with The Roots on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. It was performed for the audience during the warmup prior to taping, and was recorded on a crew member's iPhone. The performance was broadcast on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on July 8, 2010. The first 30 seconds of the song was also parodied on the show as part of a series of "raps" by NBC newsanchor, Brian Williams, through various news clips of Williams talking strung together over the actual music.
- In 2000, Queensbridge, New York rappers Cormega, Blaq Poet and Jungle released a song called "Straight Outta Queensbridge", using the same beat. It appears on Nas's album "QB's Finest"
- In 2001, Horrorcore/Gangsta Rap artitst Blaze Ya Dead Homie released a cover entitled "Str8 Outta Detroit" on his debut album 1 Less G n da Hood, featuring fellow Psychopathic Records' artists Anybody Killa & Violent J (of Insane Clown Posse), with slightly changed lyrics to reflect their native city of Detroit.
- In 2008, G-Unit recorded a song called "Straight Outta Southside" from their second album T.O.S: Terminate on Sight.
- In 2008, Chap-hop artist Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer released a parody entitled "Straight Out of Surrey".
- In 2011, the song was used in the film Take Me Home Tonight.
- In 2012, the song was used in the films 21 Jump Street, which Ice Cube starred in, and The Watch.
- In 2012, Captain Dan & The Scurvy Crew and Skull Branded Pirates covered the song together as "Straight Outta Kingston". The title is a reference to Kingston Harbour of Port Royal, a pirate stronghold in the 17th century.
References
- ↑ Top 100 Rap Songs About.com. Accessed February 28, 2008.
- ↑ Straight Outta Compton. MVDBase. Accessed December 13, 2007.
- ↑ Eye Weekly
External links
- "Straight Outta Compton" music video on YouTube
- "Straight Outta Compton" music video (clean version) on YouTube
- 2nd Official Site of N.W.A.
- Official N.W.A. Legacy site
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
