YMMV / N.W.A

• Applicability: While the group in general averts No Communities Were Harmed, the police they rebel against in "Fuck tha Police" is simply referred to as "The Police Department", with no mention of which police department they are referring to. This was done to make it a protest song against police in general and not just towards the police in the Los Angeles area.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: After an album's worth of heavy beats and angry lyrics, Straight Outta Compton ends with the more uptempo, electro-influenced "Something 2 Dance 2", a showcase for the otherwise absent Arabian Prince. Something Awful mockingly described this as "like a bloody gangster movie cutting to a glowstick rave during the closing credits".
• Broken Base: Depending on who you ask, Niggaz4life is either an awesome, fun gangsta rap classic and that NWA did just fine without Ice Cube, or a huge step down from Straight Outta Compton that is hurt by Ice Cube's absence and lyricism that's denser, lacking in social commentary, and a little too shocking and offensive for its own good. That said, one thing that everyone agrees on is that Dr. Dre's production on the album is excellent.
• Complete Monster ("One Less Bitch"): Dr. Dre's character is a ruthless pimp who only cares about money. Upon noticing the attractive prostitute Clara, Dre's character decides to pimp her to gain money. However, after accusing her of stealing from him, Dre's character ties her up to a bed and has her gang-raped by his friends before killing her. Later having a sexual relationship with Vicky, he decides to use her as well as a prostitute to gain money, but kills her when he finds out her husband is the District Attorney.
• Contested Sequel: Depending on who you ask, Niggaz4life is either an awesome, fun gangsta rap classic with far better production value than Straight Outta Compton and proof that the group did just fine without Ice Cube, or a huge step down from Straight Outta Compton that is hurt by Ice Cube's absence, and a Flanderization of the band that tries way too hard to be shocking for its own good.
• Do Not Do This Cool Thing: This would be a perennial trope within Gangsta Rap for a long time to come, and N.W.A. was no different. The dark tales of gritty urban lifestyles went over huge, and it's no secret that middle-class white teenagers were prominent amongst their fans.
• First Installment Wins: Straight Outta Compton is an undisputed classic, and a vital piece of hip-hop history. Niggaz4life, while still a pretty popular album with gangsta rap fans, isn't nearly as universally cherished.
• Franchise Original Sin: N.W.A. often get the blame for making Rap synonymous with "Gangsta" themes in the eyes of the public.
• Gateway Series: Like Public Enemy, N.W.A. were this for thousands of new Hip-Hop fans in the late-80's.
• Harsher in Hindsight: In 1991, the members of NWA talk about the dangers of STDs, and Eazy-E, in particular, stresses the importance of wearing a condom. In 1995, Eazy-E died from AIDS due to years of unprotected sexual activity.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • One of Eazy-E's lines from "Real Muthapuckkin G's" mocks rumours about Death Row Records (But at Death Row, I hear you're gettin' treated like boot camp / Gotta follow ya sergeant's directions, or get your ass pumped with a Smith & Wesson) Three years later, Dr. Dre left Death Row and it turned out that the label's owner Suge Knight was in fact a dictatorial, violent prick.
  • Before that, here's Dr. Dre's line from "Express Yourself". Keep in mind that this is the guy who's biggest album post-N.W.A is titled The Chronic:
    "I still express, yo I don't smoke weed or sess, 'cause it's known to give a brother brain damage..."
• Memetic Mutation: "Fuck The Police", as the (usually relatively lame) troublemaker's unofficial battlecry.
• Moment of Awesome: In the official video for "100 Miles And Runnin'", MC Ren is being chased by a squad car. When the car catches up to him, he does a flip over it, resulting in a collision with another car, and consequently causing the explosion of the second car. Ren then proceeds to continue running, seemingly oblivious to what has happened.
• Narm: Eazy-E gives us this gem in "Appetite For Destruction"
  "Always gotta fuck out of wedlock, I like it when the pussy goes Snap, Crackle and Pop.
• Retroactive Recognition: The cover of N.W.A and the Posse features two non-N.W.A. members who had a bit of success on their own. The foremost person is Candyman, who became a One-Hit Wonder with "Knockin' Boots" in 1990. The person whose face is obscured by the 'A' is the late DJ Train, who was known as a producer for J.J. Fad and CPO.
• Signature Song: Most people probably know them primarily for "Straight Outta Compton" and "Fuck Tha Police".
• Values Dissonance: "Fuck The Police" contains a homophobic slur in reference to male police that get too handsy.^note "I don't know if they fags or what / Search a nigga down and grabbin' his nuts"
• Values Resonance: "Fuck The Police" has become a sort of anthem of 2020 due to the death of George Floyd.

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