On this date in 1987, a compilation album consisting of all of South Central Los Angeles and Compton’s hottest Hip-Hop artists, N.W.A. And The Posse, was originally released on Macola Records. It was re-issued by Ruthless and Priority Records. This is the group’s first but unrecognized album, unlike their 1988 multi-platinum descendant Straight Outta Compton.
At the time, N.W,A.(Niggas Wit Attitudes) only consisted of Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E and Arabian Prince. DJ Yella and MC Ren were not yet a part of the legendary collective, even though Ren did appear on the album’s cover photo(seen above). Other extended crew members aka “The Posse” included the late DJ Train(J.J. Fad), Tha Lench Mob’s Sir Jinx, Candyman, who is known for his platinum single “Knockin’ Boots”, K-Dee, Krazy Dee, MC Chip and DJ Scratch(NOT of EPMD). Six of the album’s 11 tracks came from N.W.A.’s core members, but four of the album’s tracks came from the Fila Fresh Crew, the clique from wich Dr. Dre plucked Doc-T aka The D.O.C.
Some of the album’s highlights include “Dope Man”, *8 Ball” and the classic “Boyz-N-The-Hood” anthem, which has been sampled and copied numerous times since its 1987 inception. All of the above singles, along with an additional two tracks, were written by O’Shea Jackson, aka Ice Cube.
Salute to Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E(R.I.P.) DJ Yella, MC Ren, The D.O.C., Arabian Prince and everyone else who took part in this important part of Hip Hop history!