N.W.A.’s aggressive attitude and explicit content may have been what catapulted them to national recognition, but Straight Outta Compton delivers several underlying themes pertaining to life on the streets, the economic conditions of those in Compton, and the misconception of their content being “gang-related.” The 1980s are known as the era of “Reaganomics,” a trickle-down economic program in which “the poor are (getting) poorer and the rich are (getting) richer” (United Press). believes that the lifestyle they choose to portray is not the locus of the problem, but rather, the problem resides in the public reaction to them from authority figures. This demonstrates the popularized situation in which N.W.A. Courts said this is “when the problem started,” as 18 people were arrested after the police incidents (Counts). against playing the song at a concert in Detroit, and when they started the song, the police “immediately jumped on the stage and started taking out amplifiers” (Counts). Now retired Police Sergeant Larry Courts warned N.W.A. However, N.W.A.’s message spread as far as Illinois to an unlicensed radio station called “Black Liberation Radio,” operated by Mbanna Katako (Rodriguez 194). that “Advocating violence and assault is wrong” (King 103). had been receiving publicity for their breakout hit “F*** tha Police,” led to their album being banned from publicly broadcast radio stations after the FBI wrote in a warning letter to N.W.A. The LAPD’s direct targeting of N.W.A.’s music, because N.W.A. For example, MC Ren raps “I’m a sniper with a hell of a scope, taking out a cop or two, they can’t cope…” Such broad statements are what seemingly pit black culture against police authority, a sentiment to Police Chief Daryl Gates (at the time) responded by calling the anti-gang sweeps “a war on ‘the rotten little coward’” (Tranquanda). is also renowned for outright threats to police officers. “Straight Outta Compton album cover” Drash, Wayne. Straight Outta Compton became the anthem for the anti-police brutality movement, and had violent and non-violent repercussions which harmed the L.A.P.D.’s public image after the album gained national attention. The album itself contains several songs that protest against police brutality in Los Angeles, such as “Straight Outta Compton” and “F*** the Police.” This “gangsta rap” displays what some consider to be an unpleasant side of rap music, highlighting the life endured by many black men who are struggling to live in a culture of gang violence, police brutality, and job inequality. The album also sheds light on a domestic war that few Americans knew the true story behind: the war against police brutality and black-on-black violence.
Dre” Young describe the everyday life of the black man in Compton, located in South Central Los Angeles. In this album, group members O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson, Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, Lorenzo “MC Ren” Patterson, Antoine “DJ Yella” Carraby, and Andre “Dr. Straight Outta Compton is a certified double platinum album that was released August 9, 1988, by the rap group N.W.A. Dre, Eazy-E, DJ Yella, and MC Ren.” Photograph-Web. Dre, Eazy-E, DJ Yella, and MC Ren” Myint, B. “N.W.A., from left to right: Ice Cube, Dr.
0 kommentar(er)
