''It's a Compton Thang!'' is the debut studio album by American gangsta rap group

Compton's Most Wanted Compton's Most Wanted (C.M.W.) is an American gangsta rap group and part of the early West Coast hip hop scene. The leaders of the group are MC Eiht and Tha Chill. History Formation and early years C.M.W. included rappers MC Eiht, Tha C ...

. It was released in 1990 through

Orpheus Records Orpheus Music is an independent record label that is part of Hush Management and is dedicated to R&B and jazz music, and home of recording artist Freddie Jackson. For years, it was distributed by EMI. Roster * Eric Gable *Freddie Jackson *Meli ...

. Recording sessions took place at Thllss Studios in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

with audio engineer Mike "Webeboomindashit" Edwards and producers

DJ Slip Terry K. Allen, (born November 29, 1968) professionally known as DJ Slip, is an American record producer from Inglewood, California. He is a founding member of gangsta rap groups Compton's Most Wanted and N.O.T.R. Discography Solo *2007: ''T ...

and

The Unknown DJ Andre Manuel, a disc jockey and record producer called The Unknown DJ or DJ Unknown, was a pioneer in the Los Angeles area's 1980s music scene, moving from electro funk and electro rap to gangsta rap. Now a legend of West Coast rap, he worked wi ...

. It was mastered at The Other Room in

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, by Jack Skinner. Ant Capone was supposed to be part of the group, but left prior to this album due to contractual and managing issues, and was replaced by DJ Mike T. The album peaked at number 133 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and at number 32 on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine that ranks contemporary R&B, R&B and hip hop music, hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Th ...

chart in the United States.

Critical reception

''Old School Rap and Hip-hop'' wrote that "the true beauty of ''It's a Compton Thang'' is the initial synthesis of former electro legend the Unknown DJ with future gangsta icon MC Eiht as well as the pleasant reminder that West Coast gangsta rap was once more about old-fashioned fun than cheap thrills." ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' thought that the album "lacks the sonic punch and the verbal verve of N.W.A."

Track listing

Personnel

* Aaron Tyler –

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or witho ...

* Terry Keith Allen – producer, arranger * Michael Bryant – scratches * Andre Manuel – keyboards, producer, arranger,

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

*Darryl "Lyrrad" Davis – additional keyboards, design *Mike "Webeboomindashit" Edwards –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

*Jack Skinner – mastering *Henry Marquez – art direction *Phil Bedel – photography *Weldon Cochren – production coordinator *Lynda Simmons – project coordinator

Charts

References

External links

* 1990 debut albums Compton's Most Wanted albums {{1990s-hiphop-album-stub