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Express YourselfN.W.A

Released: July 10, 1988

Songwriter: Ice Cube

Producer: Dr. Dre DJ Yella

[Intro: Dr. Dre & Ice Cube]
Yo, man, it's a lot of brothers out there flakin' and perpetratin' but scared to kick reality
Man, you've been doin' all this dope producing, you ain't had a chance to show 'em what time it is
So what you want me to do? (Express yourself)

[Verse 1: Dr. Dre]
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, 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 says it gets funky
When you got a subject and a predicate
Add it on a dope beat and that'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 dis one
Or two before I'm through, so don't try to sing this
Some drop science, well I'm dropping English
Even if Yella makes it a cappella
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

[Chorus]
Express yourself (Ah, ah, ah yeah, ah yeah, ah yeah, ah yeah)
Express yourself (Smoke, smoke)
Come on and do it (Yeah, kick it over here)
Express yourself (Do it, do it, [?])
Express yourself
Come on and do it

[Verse 2: Dr. Dre]
Now, getting back to the PG
That's program, and it's easy
Dre is back, new jacks are made hollow
Expressing ain't their subject because they like to follow
The words, the style, the trend, the records I spin
Again and again and again, yo, you on the other end
Watch a brother saying dope rhymes with no help
There's no fessing and guessing while I'm expressing myself
It's crazy to see people be
What society wants them to be, but not me
Ruthless is the way to go, they know
Others say rhymes that fail to be original
Or they kill where the hip-hop starts
Forget about the ghetto and rap for the pop charts
Some musicians cuss at home
But scared to use profanity when up on the microphone
Yeah, they want reality but you won't hear none
They rather exaggerate a little fiction
Some say no to drugs and take a stand
But after the show they go looking for the dopeman
Or they ban my group from the radio, hear N.W.A and say "Hell no!"
But you know it ain't all about wealth as long as you make a note to...

[Chorus]
Express yourself (Yeah, yeah, yeah, [?])
Express yourself
Come on and do it (Yeah, yeah, do it)
Express yourself (Dr. Dre, Dr. Dre [?] and N.W.A)
Express yourself
Come on and do it
Express yourself

[Verse 3: Dr. Dre]
From the heart cause if you wanna start to move up the chart
Then expression is a big part of it
You ain't efficient when you flow
You ain't swift, moving like a tortoise, full of rigor mortis
There's a little bit more to show
I got rhymes in my mind, embedded like an embryo
Or a lesson, all of 'em expression
And if you start fessing, I got a Smith and Wesson for you
I might ignore your record because it has no bottom
I get loose in the summer, winter, spring and autumn
It's Dre on the mic, getting physical
Doing the job, N.W.A is the lynch mob
Yes, I'm macabre but you know you need this
And the knowledge is growing, just like a fetus
Or a tumor but here's the rumor
Dre is in the neighborhood and he's up to no good
When I start expressing myself, Yella slam it
Cause If I stay funky like this, I'm doing damage
Or I'mma be too hyped and need a straight jacket
I got knowledge and other suckers lack it
So, when you see Dre, a DJ on the mic
Ask what it's like, it's like we getting hype tonight
Cause if I strike, it ain't for your good health
But I won't strike if you just

[Outro]
Express yourself (Yeah, yeah, this record's almost over, almost over, gotta get hyped up)
Express yourself (Do it, do it)
Come on and do it (Do it, do it, do it)
Express yourself (Compton's full of fakes, Compton's full of fakes, yeah)
Express yourself
Come on and do it (Do it, do it, do it)
Express yourself
Come on and do it (That's what she said, what she said)
Come on and do it
Come on and do it

N.W.A

Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince initially formed the collective known as “the world’s most dangerous group,” N.W.A.—Niggaz With Attitudes.

Following Ice Cube’s stint in C.I.A. and Dre and Yella’s departure from the World Class Wreckin Cru, they got together with Compton hustler Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, who formed Ruthless Records and released Eazy’s single “Boyz n the Hood,” written by Cube and produced by Dre. A compilation entitled N.W.A. and the Posse was released in 1987 but the group’s seminal debut, Straight Outta Compton, was released on August 8, 1988. It led to the rise of gangsta rap and West Coast hip-hop in general with their tales of “reality rap” from the streets of Compton and South Central Los Angeles. Their song “Fuck tha Police” even put the group on the hit list of the FBI.

Arabian Prince was the first to leave the group in 1988 over a financial dispute. Ice Cube left N.W.A. in 1989 after his own financial dispute, leading to the other members to diss him on their subsequent the 1990 EP 100 Miles and Runnin' and EFIL4ZAGGIN, which was released in 1991 and peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The D.O.C., who contributed to Straight Outta Compton and was still recovering from a car accident that severly altered his strong voice, wrote more rhymes for Dr. Dre and Eazy-E on the EFIL4ZAGGIN album in attempt to fill the void left by Cube.

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