Straight Outta Compton is released

Why it matters

Straight Outta Compton came out on Ruthless Records on August 8, 1988. NWA at this point was Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince. Cube wrote most of the lyrics, including the title track and "Fuck tha Police." Dre and Yella produced the music. The album was recorded in five weeks on a budget Eazy had built from independent record sales and prior career activities. What this album did is move the geographic center of rap. Before Straight Outta Compton the center was New York: the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, the Boogie Down. After Straight Outta Compton there were two centers. The title track and "Fuck tha Police" introduced the central conceit of gangsta rap, which is: I will narrate to you, in detail and without apology, what life is like in the neighborhoods you do not enter, and I will not soften the language. Three million people bought the record. The FBI assistant director wrote Ruthless a letter complaining about "Fuck tha Police." The album opened the door for the next thirty-five years of West Coast rap, and you can hear that door opening on every track.