Essential Playlist: The 25 best ‘Compton made’ rap songs
As hip hop shot into the stream of public consciousness and commercial success in the 1990s, there became two clearly defined headquarters for the genre that were producing the majority of the artists: California and New York. As this became apparent, the two states started competing with each other, which birthed the East Coast-West Coast rivalry.
Two rappers became the faces of the rivalry and almost the designated leaders of their respective locations: East Coast-based artist Biggie and West Coast-based rapper Tupac. Even their record labels were beefing as there was no love lost between New York’s Bad Boy Records and Los Angeles’s Death Row Records.
The feud came to a violent and tragic pinnacle in a six-month period in 1996 and 1997 that saw both Biggie and Tupac lose their lives to the feud, both dying in drive-by shootings. This loss of two of the brightest young talents that rap had to offer was a sobering conclusion to the rivalry. The battle formally ended with a peace summit in 1997 on the orders of Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader.
What was interesting about the competition was that it shouldn’t have been a contest in the first place. New York had five of its massive boroughs producing a lot of talent: Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island, and The Bronx. LA only had two: the Bay Area and, of course, Compton. This was especially poignant considering Compton’s population is in the 90,000s, completely dwarfed by the likes of Manhattan’s 1.6million.
The fact that Compton still held its own in the face of the giants of New York is ridiculous, but when you consider some of the artists that the little city has produced, it makes sense that it’s regarded as a rap Mecca.
These names include NWA, Kendrick Lamar, The Game, Suge Knight, and Vince Staples; the list goes on and on. With such a legacy of talent, the discography on offer is any rap fan’s dream.
We’d be remiss if the first song mentioned wasn’t the aptly titled ‘Straight Outta Compton’, the iconic debut single by legendary rap outfit NWA that thrust them into the spotlight. The title, combined with the aggressive lyrics and punchy delivery, let everyone know what Compton was about.
The street of the city could be lined with gold considering the amount of Grammys that home-grown talent Kendrick Lamar has brought back with him. Somehow, he didn’t win one for the perfectly harnessed chaotic energy of ‘M.A.A.D City’. This track brings the dark underbelly of Compton to the foreground and discusses in poetic detail the harrowing experience of living in the gang-run city.
Coolio killed it with his track ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’. He, too, details in detail what living life on the hard streets of Compton was like and the man it moulded him into. The heavy beat, complemented by Coolio’s discussions of death lurking around every corner, is truly impactful.
The range of tracks that have come straight out of Compton is as diverse as they are entertaining. Hip-hop wouldn’t be where it is today without Compton and all of its success stories. We have therefore created a playlist to help in your rap history education.
The 25 best ‘Compton made’ rap songs:
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘M.A.A.D City
- NWA – ‘Straight Outta Compton’
- YG – ‘Handgun’
- The Game – ‘Wouldn’t Go Far’
- Ice Cube – ‘It Was A Good Day’
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst’
- Coolio – ‘Gangstas Paradise’
- NWA – ‘Fuck Tha Police’
- Vince Staples – ‘ARE YOU WITH THAT?’
- Roddy Rich – ‘The Box’
- Ice Cube – ‘Check Yo Self’
- Dr Dre – ‘Still Dre’
- MC Ren – ‘Ruthless for Life’
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘i’
- YG – ‘Stop Snitchin’
- The Game – ‘Compton’
- Eazy E – ‘Boyz-N-The-Hood’
- Kendrick Lamar – ‘XXX’
- Dr Dre – ‘Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang’
- MC Eiht – ‘Straight Up Menace’
- Vince Staples – ‘SUNDOWN TOWN’
- The Game – ‘Westside Story’
- Tyga – ‘Lil Homie’
- DJ Quik – ‘Dollas + Sense’
- Roddy Rich – ‘Peta’