Released: September 5, 1988

Songwriter: Ice Cube ​The D.O.C. MC Ren

Producer: Dr. Dre DJ Yella

[Skit: Krazy D + Eazy-E (Dr. Dre)]
*Sirens*
Ah shit. Man, them pinche black gangstas are at it again
I wonder who they fucked up today?
*Screeching Tires*
You motherfucker!
*Machine Gun Fire*
(Got him)

[Police + MC Ren]
Pull over to the side right now
Man, fuck them motherfuckers!

[Intro: Eazy-E + Sample]
Yo, Dre! Give me a funky-ass bassline!
Right here!

[Verse 1: Ice Cube]
Here's a little somethin' about a nigga like me
Never should've been let out the penitentiary
Ice Cube would like to say
That I'm a crazy mothafucka from around the way
Since I was a youth, I smoked weed out
Now I'm the mothafucka that you read about
Takin' a life or two, that's what the hell I do
You don't like how I'm livin'? Well, fuck you!
This is a gang and I'm in it
My man Dre'll fuck you up in a minute
With a right left, right left, you toothless
And then you say: "Goddamn, they ruthless!"
Everywhere we go they say: "Damn!"
N.W.A's fuckin' up the program
And then you realize we don't care
We don’t just say no, we’re too busy sayin', "Yeah!"
About drinkin' straight out the eight bottle
Do I look like a mothafuckin' role model?
To a kid lookin' up to me
Life ain't nothin' but bitches and money
'Cause I'm the type of nigga that's built to last
If you fuck with me I’ll put my foot in your ass
See, I don't give a fuck, 'cause I keep bailin'
Yo, what the fuck are they yellin'?

[Chorus: MC Ren + Sample]
Gangsta, Gangsta! That's what they're yellin'
It's not about a salary, it's all about reality
Gangsta, Gangsta!
Hopin' you sophisticated motherfuckers
Hear what I have to say

[Verse 2: Ice Cube]
When me and my posse stepped in the house
All the punk-ass niggas start breakin' out
'Cause you know, they know what’s up
So we started lookin' for the bitches with the big butts
Like her, but she keep cryin'
"I got a boyfriend"—bitch, stop lyin'!
Dumb-ass hooker ain't nothin' but a dyke
Suddenly I see some niggas that I don't like
Walked over to 'em, and said, "What's up?"
The first nigga that I saw, hit him in the jaw
Ren started stompin' him, and so did E
By that time got rushed by security
Out the door, but we don't quit
Ren said: "Let's start some shit"
I got a shotgun, and here's the plot
Takin' niggas out with a flurry of buck shots
Boom, boom, boom! Yeah, I was gunnin'
And then you look, all you see is niggas runnin'
And fallin' and yellin' and pushin' and screamin'
And cussin', I stepped back and I kept bustin'
And then I realized it's time for me to go
So I stopped, jumped in the vehicle
It's like this, because of that who-ride
N.W.A is wanted for a homicide
'Cause I'm the type of nigga that's built to last
Fuck with me, I'll put my foot in your ass
See, I don't give a fuck, 'cause I keep bailin'
Yo, what the fuck are they yellin'?

[Chorus: MC Ren + Sample]
Gangsta, Gangsta! That's what they're yellin'
It's not about a salary, it's all about reality
Gangsta, Gangsta
He'll tell you exactly how he feel
And don't hold a fuckin' thing back

[Verse 3: Ice Cube]
Homies all standin' around, just hangin'
Some dope-dealin', some gang-bangin'
We decide to roll and we deep
See a nigga on Dayton's and we creep
Real slow and before you know
I had my shotgun pointed in the window
He got scared and hit the gas
Right then I knew I had to smoke his ass
He kept rollin', I jumped in the bucket
We couldn't catch him, so I said fuck it
Then we headed right back to the fort
Sweatin' all the bitches in the biker shorts
We didn't get no play from the ladies
With six niggas in a car—are you crazy?
She was scared, and it was showin'
We all said "Fuck you, bitch!" and kept goin'
To the hood, and we was fin to
Find somethin' else to get into
Like some pussy, or in fact
A bum rush, but we call it rat pack
On a nigga for nothin' at all
Ice Cube'll go stupid when I'm full of eight ball
I might stumble, but still won't lose
Now I'm dressed in the county blues
'Cause I'm the type of nigga that's built to last
If you fuck with me, I'll put my foot in your ass
I don't give a fuck, 'cause I keep bailin'
Yo, what the fuck are they yellin'?

[Interlude: Dr. Dre + MC Ren (The Jimmy Castor Bunch)]
Wait a minute, wait a minute, cut this shit!
Man, what'cha gon' do now?
(What we're gonna do right here is go way back)
How far you goin' back? (Way back)
"As we go a lil' somethin' like this"—hit it!

[Pre-Verse: Ice Cube]
Here's a little gangsta, short in size
A t-shirt and Levi's is his only disguise
Built like a tank, yet hard to hit
Ice Cube and Eazy-E cold runnin' shit

[Verse 4: Eazy-E]
Well, I'm Eazy-E, the one they're talkin' about
Nigga tried to roll the dice and just crapped out
Police tried to roll, so it's time to go
I creeped away real slow and jumped in the six-fo'
With the {diamond in the back, sun-roof top}
Diggin' the scene with the gangsta lean
'Cause I'm the E, I don't slang or bang
I just smoke motherfuckers like it ain't no thang
And all you bitches, you know I'm talkin' to you
"We want to fuck you, Eazy!" I want to fuck you too
Because you see, I don’t really take no shit
So let me tell you motherfuckers who you're fuckin' with
'Cause I'm the type of nigga that's built to last
If you fuck with me, I'll put a foot in your ass
I don't give a fuck, 'cause I keep bailin'
Yo, what the fuck are they yellin'?

[Chorus: MC Ren + Sample]
Gangsta, Gangsta! That's what they're yellin'
It's not about a salary, it's all about reality
Gangsta, Gangsta
He'll fuck up you and yours
And anything that gets in his way
Gangsta, Gangsta! That's what they're yellin'
It's not about a salary, it's all about reality
Gangsta, Gangsta
He'll just call you a low-life motherfucker
And talk about yo' funky ways

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.