Our art is a reflection of our reality…….

                A powerful statement stated by Ice Cube. Not only, is it powerful, but it’s true. This group of “thugs” was the voice of a whole generation. For, them to have the impact they did on a generation in turmoil, tells a lot about the hard times our country was going for. Racial inequality and prejudice was running rampant across the country and we were in an economic downfall of sorts. At the center of all of this, was the city of Compton. It was notorious for gang violence and poverty; drive by shootings were a common place. In fact, it wasn’t unusual for the murder rate to exceed 50 a year. Drugs were rampant with the rise of cocaine and crack heroin emerging in the 1980’s. Despite all these problems, these 4 young men emerged speaking the truth. But, they weren’t just speaking they were rapping. Their words told what life was like. They told about the drugs and the shootings. To many it was shocking; their words were so straightforward and brutal that they had their music banned in many places across the country. Was it because of the fact that we were offended by their offensive lyrics? Or was it the fact that we were offended by the lyrics because of the fact that they were telling a dark story of what happens every day in these ghettos. As controversial as they were, we can’t deny the influence they instilled on a younger generation of artists. N.W.A is the grandfather of rap. They were the first super group of the Rap genre. They influenced the likes of Tupac, Snoop Dogg, and even 50 cent.

 It was the first time we heard the other side to the stories about violence in the ghettos. That didn’t settle with a lot of people.  We deny the fact that we have the white privilege. We wonder why we don’t have many white gangs and violence in our neighborhoods. Then, we look at the ghettos that are home to minorities and we can see why they are fighting for turf and drugs to keep their minds off the conditions they are living in. We ignored them too long and they let us hear about it through the power of rap.

                Although, this saying did hit home with many people. The people of Compton and ghettos all around LA now had a voice to channel their anger and despairs. Through its lyrics we discovered that we weren’t all that powerful. We found that people are simply mistreated based on the color of their skin. White Privilege was becoming a term we could relate to ourselves. Believe it or not, we are higher up on this social scale. And all below a certain line are living in poverty and in the threat of violence at all times.

                This brings up the point of the LA Riots. They were protesting the acquittal of 4 police officers in the beating case of Rodney King. To riot and break into buildings is being hypocritical. If they were protesting police brutality, then why would you kill multiple people on the streets? It makes no sense. If you are going to protest brutality; then don’t do it by yourself being brutal. Do it through a peaceful march or something along those lines. Don’t take a semi driver out of a semi, beat him to near death, and celebrate as he is lying dying in the streets. If the race card is being pulled, then represent your race with some pride. Be the better person and don’t go shooting up a city and stealing things to show, “we are being victimized’. Express yourself through music or peaceful talks. Of course, NWA added fire to the flame as if it didn’t already have it. With the song, “F the police”, it riled people up. It was a deadly combination of anger and a willingness to break the law. Overall, these riots were nothing more than hypocrisy. By protesting violence, they went against themselves and did exactly what many people were trying to get them to do. This all bleeds down (figuratively and quite literally) to the cities and how their lives exist in them. The only way they know to solve problems is how they have always been solved in those communities. It’s the fact that they were being so long ignored to the fact that when they finally got the spotlight; they were flustered and were so desperate for attention they did this. If you look at it from this point of view, it is almost understandable, not excusable, but understandable. Sadly, in this country we only found the negative in the situation. We became scared of these places and instead of help we isolated them more. Not in presence, but by laws. With all these laws, it just isolates the group. In the end, it was an idea that could have had such a positive impact but instead it was taking the wrong way because of the sheer chaos of the situation.

                NWA was influential. There is no doubt about that. They expressed their voices through rhymes and beats. Explicit language was the only way to reach the ears of a whole country. They went against the grain and went into unnamed territory. They brought hip hop to the world; and it took it by storm. The media loved to hate them. To them, they were a bunch of thugs and murderers singing about killing police and doing drugs. But, they weren’t just a thug group, they were artists. They were painting a picture of their lives and the lives of millions of people in the U.S.  They appealed to the younger audiences and said things that we have never heard. Stories were told and it impacted our country in both positive and negative ways. N.W.A truly did show the world what it was like in the streets of Compton. But more importantly, they showed us that their art is a reflection of their reality.