First we were talking Run DMC now we’re talking NWA…this is hip hop.  October 3 at 11pm, VH1′s Emmy Award-winning series will take it back to ’88 when N.W.A.’s album “Straight Outta Compton,” was inspiring a culture and outraging almost everyone else.   The album not only changed the landscape of hip hop but introduced a genre in “gangsta rap” that even today folks take far too seriously and have thus targetted as public enemy number one.

When N.W.A. first dropped ‘Straight Outta Compton‘ TV and radio were scared sh*tless to go near it and banned the records, while politicians looking to grab and “easy” come-up were quick to condemn it.  When the dust settled the FBI wanted the album banned  and it made history before most folks really caught on.  The attention that ensued from the fiery lyrics did little to simmer the rising tensions but instead gave momentum to a subculture that was just as volatile as the music.   Here’s a snippet from the VH1 release:

VH1′s Rock Doc “NWA: The World’s Most Dangerous Group” tells the story of a group of childhood friends from Compton who channeled the rage of the streets through the prism of rap music and pop culture. Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella gave a powerful voice to the late-80′s Compton ghetto that was on the verge of exploding, and in the process scared much of White America. Often misunderstood, NWA’s raging raps about police violence, gang-land terror and drug-fueled shooting sprees gave the ultimate voice to the voiceless.”

The program is a must watch in my eyes.  NWA gave rise to the sh*tty attitude that made Hip Hop most appealing for inner city kids and suburban youth alike.  NWA added that last needed ingredient to the Hip Hop pot that made it unstoppable especially during the late 80′s and certainly into and through the 90′s.  To a large degree, censorship and pressure on the labels and sponsors has diffused that cockiness and castrated it from the culture.  Those who never lived through the era of NWA and the “gansta” rap movement feel can’t fully understand the grip it had on this country and how powerful Hip Hop was at the time.  As a result the cleavage between the old and the new occurred.  A must peep props to NWA!