Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the greatest and most influential acts in hip hop music.

The original lineup, formed in early 1987,[1] consisted of Arabian Prince, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, and Ice Cube, with DJ Yella and MC Ren joining later that year.

The group's debut album marked the beginning of the new gangsta rap era, as the production and social commentary in their lyrics were revolutionary within the genre.

N.W.A was still in its developing stages, and is only credited on three of the eleven tracks, notably the uncharacteristic record "Panic Zone", "8-Ball", and "Dopeman", which marked the first collaboration of Arabian Prince, DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube.

[21] Twenty-six years later, member and co-producer of the Straight Outta Compton film, Ice Cube, commented "they were talking about what really led into the style that we ended up doing, which is now called hardcore gangster rap.

Under pressure from Focus on the Family,[23] Milt Ahlerich, an assistant director of the FBI sent a letter to Ruthless and its distributing company Priority Records, advising the rappers that "advocating violence and assault is wrong and we in the law enforcement community take exception to such action."

His album was essentially a collaboration with Dr. Dre and notably free of "gangsta rap" content, including the N.W.A posse cut "The Grand Finalé".

Ice Cube left the group in December 1989 over royalty disputes;[6] having written almost half of the lyrics on Straight Outta Compton himself, he felt he was not getting a fair share of the profits.

Also heard on the EP (which found its way on the Efil4zaggin album) was "Real Niggaz", a full-blown diss to Ice Cube where the remaining members accuse him of cowardice, and question his authenticity, longevity and originality: "How the fuck you think a rapper lasts / With your ass sayin' shit that was said in the past / Yo, be original, your shit is sloppy / Get off the dick, you motherfuckin' carbon-copy", and "We started out with too much cargo / So I'm glad we got rid of Benedict Arnold, yo."

echoes the beginning of his song "Turn Off the Radio" from AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted: Ice Cube is first addressed by the name Benedict Arnold (after the infamous traitor of the American Revolution) but then named outright in a torrent of abuse from both the group and its fans: "When we see yo' ass, we gon' cut yo' hair off and fuck you with a broomstick" spoken by MC Ren.

"[29] He also responded to members MC Ren, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E individually to "100 Miles and Runnin'", claiming "I started off with too much cargo / Dropped four niggaz and now I'm makin' all the dough", using homophobic metaphors to describe their unequal business relationship with Jerry Heller, who became the target of harsh insults: "Get rid of that devil real simple / Put a bullet in his temple / Cuz you can't be the 'Niggaz 4 Life' crew / With a white Jew tellin' you what to do."

The song attracted controversy for its antisemitism (the beginning of such accusations against Ice Cube during his affiliation with the Nation of Islam), based on the bashing of Heller's religion.

In September 1990, members of hip hop act Above the Law clashed with Ice Cube and his posse Da Lench Mob during the annual New Music Seminar conference, forcing the latter to flee the premises of Times Square's Marriott Marquis, the venue of the event.

According to Rolling Stone reporter Alan Light: He picked her up and "began slamming her face and the right side of her body repeatedly against a wall near the stairway" as his bodyguard held off the crowd.

and Michel'le departed from Ruthless to join Death Row Records and allegations over Eazy-E being coerced into signing away their contracts (while however retaining a portion of their publishing rights), a bitter rivalry ensued.

The photos dated back to Dr. Dre's World Class Wreckin' Cru days, when such fashion was common among West Coast electro hop artists, prior to N.W.A's popularization of gangsta rap.

Dr. Dre, MC Ren and Ice Cube later expressed their re-evaluated feelings to their old friend on 1998's "Ruthless for Life", 1999's "What's the Difference" and "Chin Check", 2000's "Hello", 2006's "Growin' Up", and in the 2011 music video "I Need a Doctor".

After Ice Cube made a cameo appearance in Dr. Dre's "Let Me Ride" video in 1993, the two recorded the hit song "Natural Born Killaz" for Snoop Dogg's 1994 short film and soundtrack Murder Was the Case.

2000's all-star Up In Smoke Tour reunited much of the N.W.A and Death Row families, and during time spent on the road, Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, featured special guest Snoop Dogg[34][3][4][35] and Eminem began recording in a mobile studio.

[37] Only two tracks from these sessions were released: the aforementioned "Chin Check" (with Snoop Dogg as a member of N.W.A) from 2000's Next Friday soundtrack and "Hello" from Ice Cube's 2000 album War & Peace Vol.

There were also partial reunions on other projects, notably "Set It Off", from Snoop Dogg's Tha Last Meal (2000), which featured MC Ren and Ice Cube, and The D.O.C.

[38] On June 27, 2015, MC Ren and DJ Yella joined Ice Cube during his solo set as part of the BET Experience show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.

[42] The first album of the group, Straight Outta Compton, has been described by Gerrick D. Kennedy as one of the loudest "big bangs" in hip-hop music and a "a sonic Molotov cocktail that ignited a firestorm when it debuted in the summer of 1988".

[43] In 2017, Straight Outta Compton was selected for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress, who deemed it to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

[44] They were influential in appearance of West and East Coast hip hop genres and artists,[45] as well in development of alternative and nu metal acts such as System of a Down, Slipknot and Korn.

[49] According to researcher Bryan J. McCann:[49]The political and cultural mainstream of the 1980s regarded gangsta rap as a genuine threat to the social order rather than a playful destabilization of the period’s law-and-order discourses.

(...) Indeed, a seismic cultural force had emerged (...) NWA’s iconic album became a popular window into black inner-city life by enacting, exaggerating, and celebrating the practices and locales at the heart of 1980s law-and-order politics.

[54] New Line Cinema representatives announced to Entertainment Weekly's "Hollywood Insider Blog" that N.W.A's story was in development to become a feature film for theatrical release in 2012.

The script was researched and written by filmmaker S. Leigh Savidge and radio veteran Alan Wenkus, who worked closely with Eazy-E's widow, Tomica Woods-Wright.

[58] The film, named Straight Outta Compton, had been picked up by Universal Pictures who hired Jonathan Herman[59] in December 2013 to draft a new script and brought in Will Packer to executive produce.