New CD And DVD Maintain N.W.A.'s Gangsta Rap Cred

Hip-hop legends N.W.A.'s relatively brief but influential career will be chronicled in two packages arriving in stores next month.

The 17-song The Best Of N.W.A.: The Strength Of Street Knowledge, and a separate CD/DVD edition that adds a disc of music videos and previously unreleased interview footage, will be released by Priority/Capitol on Dec. 26. Nine tracks from the album will also be made available as ringtunes (with 35 different audio clip options) on Dec. 12.

All of the group's best-known songs are included on the CD, while the DVD features videos for "Straight Outta Compton," "Express Yourself," "100 Miles And Runnin'" and "Appetite For Destruction." It also includes the late Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and Yella talking about their music and such issues as their influence on rap culture and parental advisory stickers.

N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitude) formed in Compton, California in 1986 and were pioneers of the gangsta rap genre. Eazy-E (who died from AIDS in 1995) was an early hip-hop entrepreneur who formed Ruthless Records to release albums from N.W.A. and other acts. Ice Cube left the group in 1989 and N.W.A. came to an end following Dre's departure in 1991. N.W.A. released three full albums, an EP and a compilation, but their legacy, as well as the subsequent solo accomplishments by their members, is impressive.

Jerry Heller — who co-founded Ruthless with Eazy-E, acted as his manager and became a divisive force within the group — recently drew attention back to N.W.A. with the publication of his book, Ruthless: A Memoir.

Here are the tracks on The Best Of N.W.A.: The Strength Of Street Knowledge:
"Straight Outta Compton”
“Appetite For Destruction”
“Dope Man”
“Fuck Tha Police”
“Real Niggaz”
“8-Ball”
“Express Yourself”
“Alwayz Into Somethin'“
“A Bitch Iz A Bitch”
“Gangsta Gangsta”
“100 Miles And Runnin'“
“Boyz-N-The-Hood”
“Real Niggaz Don't Die”
“Compton's In The House (remix)”
“Approach To Danger”
“Chin Check”
“If It Ain't Ruff"