N.W.A. and the Posse

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.[3][4] It is regarded as American rap group N.W.A's first but neglected album;[5][1][6] 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.[7]

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
ProducerAndre Young, Arabian Prince
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]

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][8] 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.[5][1][9] 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]

Backstory

Six of the 11 tracks on the Posse album are from then-N.W.A members: Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Arabian Prince. MC Ren and DJ Yella were not yet in N.W.A, however Ren does appear on the cover photograph. One track is of Microphone Mike, later called Myka 9, along with Rappinstine, a traveling faction of the DJ crew World Class Wreckin' Cru, whose core had yielded N.W.A's Dr. Dre and DJ Yella.

Four of the Posse album's tracks are from the Fila Fresh Crew,[4] a rap crew including Doc-T, who soon renamed himself The D.O.C.[1] Dr. Dre discovered them in Texas, where a DJ friend of his, Dr. Rock, had invited him to perform at a nightclub, where the Fila Fresh Crew was performing.[4][9] These four tracks had previously been released by Ruthless Records.

Macola

The World Class Wreckin' Cru', including Dr. Dre and DJ Yella, led by Grandmaster Lonzo, were signed to Lonzo's label Kru-Cut Records, a sublabel of Macola Records, the area's leading distributor of rap records.[10] The success of Eazy’s single "Boyz-n-the-Hood" prompted Eazy's call for an N.W.A EP, distributed by Macola.[9] The EP's five songs included Eazy and Cube on "Dopeman", Eazy on "8 ball", and Arabian's production "Panic Zone."[9]

After the release of the EP, N.W.A left Macola and signed to Priority. Macola wasn’t too happy and wanted to cash in on the group so they took the songs from Eazy’s Boyz-n-the-Hood single as well as the N.W.A EP and combined them with a bunch of random songs that Macola had in their library and this resulted in the N.W.A. and the Posse album.

Cover photo

For the EP's cover photo which is the same cover used for the album, Eazy ''summoned'' N.W.A's members to pose for the camera in a Hollywood alleyway near Macola's office.[11][9] Reportedly, some who were photographed wound up there by merely driving or accompanying another.[11] And future N.W.A rapper MC Ren, living near Eazy, although photographed, was not yet in N.W.A.[11] On the other hand, DJ Yella, although closely associated with the rest of the group is absent,[12] due to being sick on the day the photo was taken.[13] Yella was not active within the group when the picture was taken and the EP was released and only joined later on that year shortly before Ren after the group was signed to priority.

Track list

All songs produced by either Dr. Dre, Arabian Prince or both.

N.W.A. and the Posse track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)PerformersLength
1."Boyz-n-the-Hood"O'Shea JacksonEazy-E5:37
2."8 Ball"O'Shea JacksonN.W.A.4:26
3."Dunk the Funk"The D.O.C.Fila Fresh Crew5:01
4."Scream"M. "Microphone Mike" Troy, RappinstineM. "Microphone Mike" Troy, Rappinstine3:18
5."Drink It Up"The D.O.C.Fila Fresh Crew4:45
6."Panic Zone"Arabian Prince, Krazy DeeN.W.A., Krazy Dee3:33
7."L.A. Is the Place"O'Shea Jackson, Ron-De-VuEazy-E, Ron-De-Vu4:31
8."Dope Man"O'Shea Jackson, Krazy DeeN.W.A., Krazy Dee6:16
9."Tuffest Man Alive"The D.O.C.Fila Fresh Crew2:16
10."Fat Girl"O'Shea Jackson, Ron-De-VuEazy-E, Ron-De-Vu2:45
11."3 the Hard Way"The D.O.C.Fila Fresh Crew4:10
Total length:46:26
1989 reissue bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)PerformersLength
4."A Bitch iz a Bitch"O'Shea JacksonN.W.A.3:10

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes
  1. 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. 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.
  4. Roni Sarig, Third Coast: Outkast, Timbaland, and How Hip-hop Became a Southern Thing (Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2007), indexing "Fila Fresh Crew".
  5. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, "N.W.A: Biography", AllMusic.com, Netaktion LLC, visited 26 Apr 2020.
  6. Jerry Heller with Gil Reavill, Ruthless: A Memoir (New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2007).
  7. Gold & Platinum search, "N.W.A. & the Posse", Recording Industry Association of America website, visited 26 Apr 2020.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. David Diallo, ch 10 "From electro-rap to G-funk: A social history of rap music in Los Angeles and Compton, California", in Mickey Hess, ed., Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide, Volume 1: East Coast and West Coast (Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2010), p 233 on World Class Wreckin' Cru, pp 234–238 on N.W.A.
  11. Martin Cizmar, "Whatever happened to N.W.A's posse?", LA Weekly, 6 May 2010.
  12. In the photo, the five, eventual N.W.A members are side by side in the center: Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Arabian Prince, and MC Ren. Otherwise, there are seven others. Two of them had already formed, with Ice Cube, the rap trio C.I.A.: Anthony "Sir Jinx" Wheaton and Darryll "Kid Disaster" or "K-Dee" Johnson. Another two were in another rap group, CPO: Clarence "DJ Train" Lars and Granville "MC Chip" Moton. Also, there are LaMont "DJ Scratch" or "King Scratch" Burnett, Candell "Candyman" Manson, and Damon "Krazy D" Trujillo. For backstory and developments on each, see Martin Cizmar, "N.W.A. and the Posse: Where are the 12 guys from N.W.A's first album cover now?", Phoenix New Times, 15 Mar 2010.
  13. "DJ Yella: Eazy E Wasn't a Natural Rapper, He Had to Be Coached". YouTube. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  14. "American album certifications – N.W.A. & The Posse – N.W.A. and the Posse". Recording Industry Association of America.


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