“Our art is a reflection of our reality.” this is a quote by
the famous Ice Cube, O’Shea Jackson; it is something that can be interpreted many
ways. Much like how people looking in on the “hood” or Compton can interpret
that many ways. Some people may see it as a community of black people that are
aggressive and can’t handle themselves and are always angry. When in reality
maybe it’s just the racist white people that make life hard for them because of
the discrimination and judgement they have to go through every day.
N.W.A.,
aka Niggaz Wit Attitude was a group that started off as young rappers and dj’s
that want to tell the world about what really goes on in the hood. They want people
like you and me to know what they deal with every day. They want us to know
about the trouble and hardships they face and they ultimately want to vent and
inform the world on what it’s like in Compton.
During this era cop brutality was a very big issue in the hood and other
ghettos or black communities. African Americans in those areas found themselves
constantly being checked for drugs and other illegal paraphernalia only because
of the solemn fact that they are black. The color of their skin made there
every day lives much more difficult than traditional white people, and in this
time most of the police force was predominately white. So as the group N.W.A.
performed they found that many people in the hood and out enjoyed listening to
their music and learning and hearing through it what it is like in Compton. The
fan population grew and so did the popularity of the group. This is when they
began being questioned about topics like money and how they are enjoying their new
lifestyle. This lifestyle was nice for them but some of them had trouble living
in it. They were used to the hood where every day it was dog eat dog and they
were always struggling to have money. Now that wasn’t as much of an issue for
them.
Later in
their career after finding themselves tired of the police brutality they found
themselves writing a song named “F*** the Police”. This song was written after
they found themselves being treated poorly by cops and they all had finally had
enough of it. When this song came out they found themselves hated by any type
of judicial force around. The FBI wrote them a letter and during concerts
police warned them not to play the song or face being arrested. These men didn’t
care about being arrested they cared about getting their message out to the
world and telling everyone about how hard life is in Compton. They accomplished
this in many ways throughout their career. This song became one of their most
famous hits as they sang it to the world and all their fans. It was a shame
that they were punished because of their opinions on the matter of police
brutality, but it was something that obviously was a touchy subject back in
those times. So they found themselves going to jail a time or two for singing
that song and receiving plenty of hate mail from sources that didn’t approve of
it. This was something that they were used to though. Through the year the
group found themselves being hated by many people and that’s exactly what you
would expect when they weren’t as traditional as most groups in the world at
the time. The way the dealt with this issue and it didn’t bother them was this
idea. The fact of the matter is to them they only wanted people to listen to their
music if they wanted to listen and feel what the hood is like. If people didn’t
like their music and thought it was too violent, vulgar, aggressive, or explicit
they didn’t care. They thought if you don’t like our music then don’t listen to
it because if you don’t enjoy it we don’t want you to listen to it.
Our art
is a reflection of our reality; I suppose you want to know where all this comes
into play. This is a statement that really tells what N.W.A. is all about. It tells
us that when they rap and express themselves through music we aren’t just hear
random stuff they made up on the spot just to spit some rhymes and call it
good. The things they are preaching to us are actual real life events that have
affected them and shaped their lives and they want to inform you about these
occasions. The reality of it is that these men came from the bottom and rose to
the top by sharing their life events and teaching the world about the reality
of their life.
These men
weren’t bad guys but they knew their lives had a purpose. They found that
purpose through their music. The group single handed lee changed the face of
music and the rap and hip hop world as we know it. They taught the world about
what the real life in the hood is and they showed us how to rise up and shut
out the bad parts of life. They all came from the hood but found their way out
and in doing that they became one of the most well-known groups in the world.
Our art
is a reflection of our reality; there art is what taught us. The reality of it is
that their mission was to inform the people and they did that and then some
with their art. That music was something that may never be beaten and is incomparable
to anything that will ever be written. That came from the heart and moved
millions of people and that kind of movement and act will never be passed up in
the history of music. N.W.A. will never be beaten and for the love of all music
may their legacy live on in the hearts and minds of people forever. May they
never be forgotten.
