This week we bring you an extravagangsta, our attempt to reckon with the complicated legacy of one of hip-hop’s greatest collectives, N.W.A. It is impossible to tell the story of rap music without talking about the controversies, personalities, and most importantly, the music of N.W.A. In the first segment we view their music through a contemporary lens, parsing what works, what doesn’t, highlighting favorite tracks, and discussing the group and its members, some of the most important figures, both as artists and business people, in the history of hip-hop. Then we have a great conversation with N.W.A. member DJ Yella. We talk to Yella about the group’s rise to fame, fashion sense, seeing himself portrayed on the big screen in Straight Outta Compton, and how he spent his time after the group broke up. Heads up, all of our episodes are marked explicit on the streaming services, and we do occasionally curse on the show, but this one is particularly profane. DBRP comes straight outta Stony Island Audio.
