N.W.A. and the Posse

N.W.A. and the Posse
(L-R) Top: DJ Train (obscured), Sir Jinx; Middle: MC Chip, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, K-Dee, Ice Cube, Arabian Prince, DJ Scratch; Bottom: Krazy Dee, Candyman.
Compilation album by
N.W.A
ReleasedNovember 6, 1987 (original)
November 13, 1989 (reissue)
Genre
Length46:26
Label
Producer
N.W.A chronology
N.W.A. and the Posse
(1987) 		Straight Outta Compton
(1988)
Singles from N.W.A. And The Posse
  1. "Boyz-n-the-Hood"
    Released: March 3, 1987
  2. "Panic Zone"
    Released: August 13, 1987
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[2]
Spin Alternative Record Guide4/10[3]

N.W.A. and the Posse is a compilation album, re-releasing N.W.A and associated groups' underground rap songs from the Los Angeles area's rap scene on November 6, 1987.[4][5] It is regarded as American rap group N.W.A's first but neglected album;[6][1][7] N.W.A's authorized debut studio album, rather, is Straight Outta Compton, released in August 1988. Whereas the Straight album was certified platinum, one million copies sold in July 1989, the Posse album was certified gold, half as many copies sold, in April 1994.[8]

Originally not N.W.A's intended album release, the Posse album was released by Macola Records—which was then the Los Angeles hip hop scene's main distributor—by collecting songs, mainly N.W.A's EP titled N.W.A, that Macola had distributed for N.W.A's record label, Ruthless Records.[1][9] Macola omitted the N.W.A track "A Bitch iz a Bitch" which was recorded around the same time but not included on the EP either to favor party, electro sounds, like the "Panic Zone" track, that led the Los Angeles rap scene until N.W.A's Straight album hit.[6][1][10] Months after Straight Outta Compton was released the new Ruthless distributor, Priority Records, re-issued the Posse album with the "Bitch" track replacing "Scream".[1]

  1. ^ a b c d e Alex Henderson, "N.W.A: N.W.A and the Posse", AllMusic.com, Netaktion LLC, visited 26 Apr 2020.
  2. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 512–513.
  3. ^ Sandow, Greg (1995). "N.W.A". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 277–278. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  4. ^ Robin D. G. Kelley, "Kickin' reality, kickin' ballistics: Gangsta rap and postindustrial Los Angeles", in William Eric Perkins, ed., Droppin' Science: Critical Essays on Rap Music and Hip Hop Culture (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996), p 128.
  5. ^ Roni Sarig, Third Coast: Outkast, Timbaland, and How Hip-hop Became a Southern Thing (Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2007), indexing "Fila Fresh Crew".
  6. ^ a b Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "N.W.A: Biography", AllMusic.com, Netaktion LLC, visited 26 Apr 2020.
  7. ^ Jerry Heller with Gil Reavill, Ruthless: A Memoir (New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2007).
  8. ^ Gold & Platinum search, "N.W.A. & the Posse", Recording Industry Association of America website, visited 26 Apr 2020.
  9. ^ David Diallo, "Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg", in Mickey Hess, ed., Icons of Hip Hop: An Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music, and Culture (Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2007), pp 321–322.
  10. ^ Gerrick D. Kennedy, Parental Discretion Is Advised: The Rise of N.W.A and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap (New York: Atria Books, 2017), pp 85–86.