Released: August 8, 1988

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

Producer: Dr. Dre DJ Yella

[Intro: Dr. Dre]
You are now about to witness the strength of street knowledge

[Verse 1: Ice Cube]
Straight outta Compton, it's a crazy brotha named Ice Cube
From the stupid-dope gang wit a attitude
When I'm called off, I gotta sawed-off
Kick knowledge and bodies are hauled off
You too boy if you get with me
The police are gonna have to come and get me
Off yo back, that's how I'm going out
For the sucka dumb brothas that's showing out
Some start to mumble, they wanna rumble
Mix em and cook em in a pot like gumbo
Going off on everybody like that
With bass that's droppin' in your face
So give it up smooth
Ain't no telling when I'm down for a jack move
Here's a murder rap to keep you dancing
With a crime record like Charles Manson
Yo Dre, what's the sound of my tool?
Now you know that I'm about to act a fool
Me you can go toe to toe, no maybe
I'm knocking suckas out the box, daily
Yo weekly, monthly and yearly
Until the whole damn world see clearly
That I'm down with the capital C-P-T
Boy, you can't step to me
So when I'm in your neighborhood, you better duck down
Cause Ice Cube will damn sure buck 'em down
As I leave, believe I'm stomping
But when I come back boy, I'm coming straight outta Compton

[Eazy E]
Yo Ren

[MC Ren]
Whassup

[Eazy E]
Tell em where you from

[Verse 2: MC Ren]
Straight outta Compton, a brotha with his finger on the trigger
More punks I take out, my rep gets bigger
I'm a ruthless villain and you know this
But the suckas in the public won't show this
But I don't really care, I'mma make my snaps
If not from the records, from jacking the craps
It's like burglary, the definition is jacking
And when illegally armed it's called packing
Knock a fool out in a sec
I find somebody talkin' trash and put em in check
So if you're at a show in the front row
I'mma call you a sucka if you don't go with the flow
You'll probably get mad like a punk is supposed to
But that shows me, yo, you're composed to
A crazy young brotha from the street
Attitude legit cause I'm ready to hit
MC Ren controls the automatic
For any fool in my way that starts static
Not the right hand cause I'm the hand itself
Every time I pull a AK off the shelf
The security is maximum and that's a law
R-E-N spells Ren but I'm raw
See, cause people know me as a villain
The definition is clear, you're the witness of a killing
That's taking place without a clue
And once you're on the scope, you know you're through
Look, you might take it as a trip
But a brotha like Ren is on a gangsta tip
Straight outta Compton

[Dr. Dre]
Eazy is his name and the boy is coming

[Verse 3: Eazy E]
Straight outta Compton
Is a brother that'll smother your mother
And make your sister think I love her
Dangerous young brotha raising hell
And if I ever get caught, I make bail
See I don't really care, that's the problem
When I see a police, I don't dodge him
But I'm smart, lay low, creep a while
And when I see the punk pass, I smile
To me it's kinda funny, the attitude showing suckas driving
But don't know where the hell they going, just rolling
Looking for the one they call Eazy
But here's a flash, they never seize me
Ruthless
Never seen like a shadow in the dark
Except when I unload
You see I'll get over the hesitation
And hear the scream of the one who got the lead penetration
Feel a little gust of wind and now I'm jetting
And leave a memory no one'll be forgetting
So what about the girl who got shot [garbled]
You think I give a damn about a girl, I ain't a sucker
This is the autobiography of the E
And if you ever mess with me
You'll get taken by a stupid dope brother who will smother
Word to the mother, yeah!
Straight outta Compton

[Dre]
That's the way it goes in the city of Compton, boy

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.