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April 22, 2005

The Immortals - The Greatest Artists of All Time: 83) N.W.A

By Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson
June 24, 2004

N.W.A. Outta Compton in 1989

50 moments that changed the history of rock & roll

N*gg*z4life

Decked out in identical utility gear and sporting enough lyrical artillery to frighten all of middle America, N.W.A quickly upended hip-hop tradition with Straight Outta Compton. One of hip-hop's crucial albums, it was a bombastic, cacophonous car ride through Los Angeles' burnt-out and ignored...

1991 RS: 3of 5 Stars

N*gg*z4life

1991

Straight Outta Compton

1988

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With the double-platinum-selling Straight Outta Compton, N.W.A brought gangsta rap into the mainstream. The album was among the first to offer an insider's perspective of the violence and brutality in gang-ridden South Central L.A. With songs like "Fuck tha Police" and "Gangsta Gangsta" set in a chaotic swirl of siren and gunshot sounds, it also foreshadowed the 1992 L.A. riots.

In 1986 O'Shea...

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