N.W.A.
Straight Outta Compton

I will start by specifying that I only recently got into Rap music, even though, among my friends, I've always been the one who preferred Rock/pop/Funk/jazz, basically anything but Hip Hop. The earliest influences of Hip Hop come from funk: The Parliaments, Bootsy Collins, George Clinton, The Gap Band, etc. It all begins with Rapper's Delight by Sugarhill Gang (even though some attribute the first rap piece to Kurtis Blow with "The Break"), 1979, the first rap record in history.

Musically, it’s not much, and the words don’t pretend to have any "intellectual" sense. In short, the historical value is there undoubtedly, but it stops there (apart from the bass line referenced hundreds of times later). In short, it's house party rap with improvisations and banter, there aren't yet intense rhymes delivered with force bringing huge social meanings (for example, "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, with a very kitschy video that's a must-see). Straight Outta Compton by N.W.A (remember for those who don’t know them, the American national team of HIP HOP includes: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren, Yella, The Arabian Prince, The D.O.C.) is undoubtedly a historic album that has contributed to the evolution of Rap. It's one of the first and most famous Gangsta Rap groups, gangster rap, where partying is no longer talked about, but anger is. The group makes an apology of violence and gangster life. What characterizes N.W.A are the "baroque" beats typical of the West Coast (meaning they are "full" as opposed to the beats of Mobb Deep, for example), and lyrics so violent they often end up being parodies. With Straight Outta Compton, N.W.A. takes us through the ghettos of Los Angeles.

In conclusion, this album is not so interesting in terms of lyrics (understandable and enjoyable only by those who grasp the nuances of American slang) as it is in terms of the spectacular flow of the protagonists and the perfect musical arrangement. Kudos to them.