People Who Inspired Me to be a Writer: N.W.A

”You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge…”

Those are the words of Dr. Dre as the opening lines of Hip Hop ensemble NWA’s debut song “Straight Outta Compton”. When ranking all of my favorite Hip Hop groups, NWA is definitely my number one. No group has inspired me more than NWA. They literally taught me the blueprint for how to make great, everlasting Hip Hop and they are also one of my biggest inspirations for becoming a writer.

The idea behind NWA was conceived by Eric “Eazy-E” Wright in 1986 Los Angeles, California. Wright was a well known gang member and crack dealer on the streets of Compton, California, but after the death of a close loved one and the rising level of death and incarceration throughout the city he decided it was time for a change in lifestyle. The growing Hip Hop scene in Los Angeles is where Wright found his escape. He ended up linking with a childhood friend named Andre Young who was a popular local DJ known by the stage name Dr. Dre, who was a part of a funk Hip Hop dance group called the World Class Wreckin Cru with close friend Antoine “DJ Yella” Carraby.

After talking to Dre about putting together a music group made up of local Hip Hop all stars Dre would introduce Wright to friend and collaborator O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson who was part of a group call the Cru In Action (CIA). After seeing Ice Cube perform with Dre on stage Wright decided to induct Cube into the ensemble. Wright would also add Dre’s friend DJ Yella who was a member of the World Class Wreckin Cru to the group as their DJ. In addition to Yella, Wright also added Lorenzo “MC Ren” Patterson to the group as well. Patterson was a former gang member and drug dealer who was a close friend of Wright who also escaped the gang life through Hip Hop when he started rapping and together these men would complete the final product known as NWA.

The acronym NWA stands for “Niggas Wit Attitude”. The name was conceived by Dr. Dre and Eazy-E together. When they were discovered by established manager Jerry Heller he thought their bold and audacious approach was exactly what was needed to elevate the industry. When NWA was complete Eazy-E and the rest of the group decided that they wanted to make music that chronicled the ongoings of their rough upbringing. The inner city of Los Angeles was heavily infested with drugs, gangs, police brutality and economic turmoil. So this made the group tell stories about life in the hoods of LA.

“If you smoke 'caine, you a stupid motherf-cker

Known around the hood as the schoolyard clucker

Doing that crack with all the money you got

On your hands and knees, searchin' for a piece of rock

Jonesin' for a hit and you're lookin' for more

Done stole the Alpine out of Eazy's '64

You need your a** whooped 'cause it's out of this earth

Can't get a ten piece, need a dollar fifty worth” - NWA (Dopeman).

When they began working on their debut album Straight Outta Compton they expressed the ongoings of criminal life and the social effects it has with songs like “Straight Outta Compton” and “Gangsta Gangsta”. They talked about the effects of drug dealing in the Black community with “Dopeman” and they expressed their disdain for police brutality towards African Americans with the brutally controversial “F-ck Tha Police”. Even with all their social commentary NWA also made sure to show the rest of Hip Hop that the West Coast was a home to great emceeing as well with MC Ren’s two solo songs “Quiet on tha Set” and “If it ain’t Ruff”. This would complete their debut mainstream release Straight Outta Compton which was followed by Eazy-E’s solo debut Eazy-Duz It, both released in 1988.

I'm expressing with my full capabilities

And now I'm living in correctional facilities

'Cause some don't agree with how I do this

I get straight and meditate like a Buddhist

I'm dropping flavor, my behavior is hereditary

But my technique is very necessary

Blame it on Ice Cube, because he said it gets funky

When you got a subject and a predicate

Add it on a dope beat, and it'll make you think

Some suckers just tickle me pink, to my stomach

'Cause they don't flow like this one

You know what? I won't hesitate to diss one

Or two before I'm through, so don't try to sing this

Some drop science, while I'm dropping English

Even if Yella, makes it a-capella

I still express, yo, I don't smoke weed or sess

'Cause it's known to give a brother brain damage

And brain damage on the mic don't manage, nothing

But making a sucker and you equal

Don't be another sequel (express yourself)

When it comes to Hip Hop NWA has had the biggest influence on me as a rapper and a writer all around. I always wanted to have the energy as a rapper that they had. I wanted to be bold and fearless and never wanted to be afraid to say what was in my heart no matter how much criticism and disapproval was drawn. When I learned the story of how they were targeted by the FBI when they first rose to prominence I was amazed at how uninhibited they were. They had the United States government after them and yet they never took their eyes off the prize of establishing themselves. For me that was the ultimate blueprint of what it meant to be fearless.

As a writer, their variety in lyrics had perhaps the biggest influence on me. I loved how they first and foremost talked about what was happening around them. I could relate to ongoings of the inner city they spoke about because I grew up in the same environment and witnessed its negative effects. Talking about it may not be the easiest thing to do and there are people who definitely don’t want to hear about it because of how uncomfortable it makes them, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be expressed because there are those who will listen.

As a writer I have always been well aware of what my writing could do for me, but I would have never been aware of how my writing could be a voice for others without NWA. Growing up I listened to so many people express how NWA’s gave them a voice to express their rage and pain they dealt with, especially coming out of the inner city. NWA not only gave a voice to many of us who felt like we didn’t have one, but also helped many others find their voice as well. Countless artist who would become the future of Hip Hop like Tupac Shakur, Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., Eminem and Kendrick Lamar were all heavily inspired by NWA and even brought up by NWA as well and this is an example of the kind of writer and storytelling artist that I want to be: one that can not only tell stories that speak to you, but can inspire you as a storyteller as well.

Fast forward to today and I am still just as inspired by NWA today as I was when I was a kid. They have been nothing but an inspiration to me that has taught me how you can take what seems negative and use it for a positive. They are a bright example of how hard work always pays off even when you have to spend alot of days struggling just to do so and for the stories they told with their diverse sense of subject matter, they are not only my biggest inspirations out of Hip Hop, but one of the greatest forces of art that inspired me to be a writer.

“As I leave, believe I'm stompin'

But when I come back, boy, I'm comin' straight outta Compton” - NWA (Straight Outta Compton).