The five best Compton rappers of all time
The most mythologised postcode in hip hop has been Compton. The city is the one that transformed rap into something threatening, something desperate and something that the world simply could not forget. Compton MCs have been frontrunners in the late eighties to date in gangsta rap.
It is not all about street stories. Compton rappers have taken themselves to the forefront to take the culture to the next level, combining roughly lyrical music with cultural critiques. All the artists bore the weight of the city on their shoulders; be it hard-edged rhymes, ambitious albums, and even by influencing the sound of West Coast hip hop proper.
The list names are of various generations. Others busted down the doors initially, others reinvented the notion of what a Compton rapper might become, and one of them took the city to Pulitzer-winning heights. They all demonstrate that Compton never left the past behind, but it is present in each beat and verse released out of its streets.
These are the five greatest rappers ever to represent Compton.
The best five Compton rappers of all time
Eazy-E
Eric Wright was not the most technical rapper, but he was the one to light the entire city up. Being a leader of NWA, he represented the threat of Compton life and transformed it into culture. His first album Eazy-Duz-It remains a staple of the West Coast, crass and cartoonish but brimming with flair.
In addition to his personal documents, Eazy had proved himself a visionary. It is Ruthless Records that introduced Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to the world and made his name the “Godfather of the Gangsta Rap”. His scowling voice, demeanour, and entrepreneurial mentality saw him become the first real world icon in Compton.
Dr Dre
Andre Young can be referred to as the producer mogul, yet his rapping can not be overlooked. Dre lent authority and confidence to his voice and each verse in Straight Outta Compton, and in The Chronic, was marked by a sense of control.
When Dre rapped, it was something. His poetry was sharp, purposeful and it never failed to put weight upon the documents he was editing. It was like a seal of Compton credibility to have Dre on a track and his solo records confirmed him as being able to hold the mic as securely as any.
The Game
In 2005, The Game reminded the whole world that Compton was yet to be fed. The Documentary was simultaneously an ode to West Coast rap and a statement of independence. Other hits such as “Hate It or Love It” and Dreams showed that he was able to deliver not only radio hits, but also street anthems.
The commercial influence of The Game was not limited. He returned Compton to the mainstream discourse, towering even among the shade of the G-Unit leadership of 50 Cent. It was his gravelly delivery and sheer energy that provided Compton with a new voice of a new time.
Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar has changed the image of Compton as the capital of gangsta rap to the city of the poet laureate of hip hop. His debut Section.80 pre-empted it, however, good kid, m.A.A.d city shot his home city with camera exactness.
Subsequent albums went even further. To Pimp a Butterfly combined jazz, funk, and politics into a broad vision of black art, and DAMN. proved that he could take over the charts without compromise. Kendrick did not abandon Compton, carrying its stories and struggles with him to his Pulitzer-winning career.
MC Ren
MC Ren has constantly been unable to shine in the shadow of Cube and Eazy, yet in NWA he was the anchor to the lyrics. His solo writing, such as Kizz My Black Azz and Shock of Hour, demonstrated an uncompromising, realistic and militant voice.
Ren might not have been the empire builder as Dre and Hollywood trodder as Ice Cube, but his pen is one of the brightest in Compton. He is the city of pure lyricists, a rapper whose catalogue should be considered and re-evaluated in the broader context of the hip hop narrative.