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.Roni Sarig, ''Third Coast: Outkast, Timbaland, and How Hip-hop Became a Southern Thing'' (Philadelphia: Da Capo Press, 2007)
indexing "Fila Fresh Crew"
It is regarded as American rap group N.W.A's first but neglected album;Stephen Thomas Erlewine
"N.W.A: Biography"
''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited 26 Apr 2020.Alex Henderson
"N.W.A: ''N.W.A and the Posse''"
''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited 26 Apr 2020. Jerry Heller with Gil Reavill,
Ruthless: A Memoir
' (New York: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2007). 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.

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.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), p
321

322
Macola omitted the N.W.A EP's track "A Bitch iz a Bitch" 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.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
Months after ''Straight Outta Compton'' was released the new Ruthless distributor, Priority Records, re-issued the ''Posse'' album with the "Bitch" track included.

Backstory

Six of the 11 tracks on the ''Posse'' album are from then-N.W.A members: Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Arabian Prince, and DJ Yella. MC Ren was not yet in N.W.A, and does not appear on the record though is 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, a rap crew including Doc-T, who soon renamed himself The D.O.C. 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. 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.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. The success of N.W.A's first three releases—"Boyz-n-the-Hood", "Dope Man", and "8 Ball"—prompted Eazy's call for an EP, distributed by Macola. The EP's five songs included Dre and Cube on "A Bitch iz a Bitch", Eazy on "Fat Girl", and Arabian's production "Panic Zone."

Cover photo

For the EP's cover photo, Eazy summoned N.W.A's members to pose for the camera in a Hollywood alleyway near Macola's office.Martin Cizmar
"Whatever happened to N.W.A's posse?"
'' LA Weekly'', 6 May 2010. Reportedly, some who were photographed wound up there by merely driving or accompanying another. And future N.W.A rapper MC Ren, living near Eazy, although photographed, was not yet in N.W.A. On the other hand, DJ Yella, although already active within N.W.A, is absent.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.

Track list

All songs produced by Dr. Dre

Certifications

Notes

N.W.A albums
Albums produced by Dr. Dre
1987 compilation albums
Ruthless Records compilation albums
Gangsta rap compilation albums

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