Customer Reviews

Niggaz4life

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If you've never heard this album before, you are either only 15 or have been asleep since 1990, either way you missed out on one helluva ride. NWA made all the headlines with their first album, "Straight Outta Compton," but on "Niggas4Life," they nearly acheived perfection. Granted, had Ice Cube never left the group, this album would be considered one of the greatest of all time ,but that is a "what if." Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren and Yella had their backs against the wall after Cube left, amid an array of diss songs, Dee Barnes beatings, etc. Quite simply, they came out swinging. Dre and Ren handle most of the lyrics themselves, spinning wild and gruesome tales of murder, pimpin', and how it relates to L.A., while Eazy provides the punchlines. This formula was masterful, despite the complaining that Eazy wasn't on the album enough. .... Dr. Dre and Yella provide the ultimate soundscape for their hardcore flows, and most of the album strongly hints at what was to come with the whole "g-funk" sound. Like it states above, if you like "The Chronic," pick up "Niggas4Life," it will not disappoint.

Some of you people reviewing this album really makes me laugh my a** off the seat! Some of you people giving this album a negative look are really stupid, aren't you? Let me ask you a question, a question that's gonna get to you at one point- "if this is considered trash, why aren't classic rap albums such as The Chronic (Dr. Dre) and Grip it On that Other Level (Geto Boys) considered trash too?" I am not saying that they're trash (true rap classics, to be honest) but I'm trying to get a point across. You can't possibly say this album is rubbish and then go and praise the other 2 gangsta rap albums as classic because that just doesn't make sense. Whoever said this is more mean-hearted than The Chronic, what are you talking about? You must be listening to 2001 if you truly believe that. Have you ever heard of A Nigga Witta Gun, The Day the Niggaz Took Over, Wit Dre Day, B*tches Ain't Sh*t, Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat etc? What about the Geto Boys' releases, Let a Ho Be a Ho, Mind of a Lunatic, Gangsta of Love, Do it Like G.O. etc. were considered magnificent songs, but you can't say none of the songs here are good? Think about it.

Niggaz4life, to me, is a classic rap album. Songs like Real Niggaz Don't Die and Niggaz4life explores the world of the black man, while songs like She Swallowed It and Just Don't Bite It talks about prostitution, rape and sex. A "sequel" to F*ck tha Police is featured on this limited edition called Sa Prize 2, which has some EXTRAORDINARILY FUNNY SKITS. 100 Miles and Runnin', to me, is one of N.W.A.'s best songs, with its ruthless, run-away beat. Appetitite for Destruction and Approach to Danger are songs to look forward to here. Even though they're dark and violently sung, they are classic examples of what gangsta rap sounded like back then.

It's true when Ice Cube left the group, the group fell off but this album proved they could do it without Cube. If you want to witness Dre's best rhymes, they're featured here. His rhymes are ruthless and hard and he delivers them with much energy and life. Eazy and Ren have never sounded better and Yella is still on the instruments, giving 'em noise. The only bad point about this album is the disses against Cube. "We're gonna find you and f*ck you wit a broomstick, think about, punk ass muthaf*cka", funny but their disses against Cube went no where when Cube destroyed them with No Vaseline.
Many people have noted that when Cube left, N.W.A. died. Someone said it was like a T.V. without a remote, useless. Someone said he was the heart of N.W.A. I'm referring Cube to an arm, coz when he left, they were left with one strong arm (Dre, if Dre left with Cube, N.W.A. truly would have been destroyed) and still they stood on their own two feet. Peace.

Despite its comedy, Niggaz4Life is in many ways a sad album. Ice Cube had left, and the boys were doing their best to continue after being written off. The production on this album is superb and is coupled with some great rapping, especially from the late Eazy-E. The amount of coarse language may offend many people, but it acts as two things; comedy and impact. The album also features several scenes featuring a cameraman being shot at an NWA concert, the band shooting a prostitute and a guy who's been arrested swearing his head off. Excusing the vulgarity and the comedy, there are some really good rap numbers like "Real Niggaz Don't Die", "Findum, F***um and Flee" and "The Dayz of Wayback". NWA were the revolution, but by the end of the album, the wheels had fallen off and the group had stopped working as a unit. Eazy-E does not rap enough on the album and is left to two hilarious solo numbers including "Automobile" which resemble! s a bar-room singalong. The final track, "The Dayz of Wayback" is an indication that there wasn't going to be anymore. A great album, for those who are not easilly offended.

I heard this CD for the first time only 3 years ago -- a college roommate had it, and to this day I think of her when I listen to it and laugh hysterically. For some of the material, even though misogynistic and graphic, is funny as hell. Songs 13, 14, and 15 or 'Automobile', 'She Swallowed It', and 'I'd Rather F--- You' are the reason I bought this CD in the first place. I'm black and I'm female, but I'm also too busy enjoying the old school beats and pointed lyrics (MC Ren is much better than I remembered him to be) to get indignant about some sexist references that in the end have little to do with me. If you have grown up on hip-hop the way that I have, you'll appreciate this CD within the context of the early 90s, when bangin' beats were of the utmost importance and groups such as N.W.A. were groundbreaking in their efforts to represent a facet of black American life that had previously garnered little attention. Anyone who considers him- or herself a hip-hop fan should not sleep on this CD, or the previous one, when Ice Cube was still a member of the group. After almost ten years, their message still carries more weight than the ghetto-fabulous fantasies flooding the airwaves courtesy of Jay-Z, Puff Daddy, Lil' Kim, etc.

Even after loosing their premier lyricist Ice Cube, N.W.A. released another classic record before the group broke up for good. Without Cube's in-your-face political rymes the group was definately less threatening, but Dr. Dre truly upped his game to create some of the best production heard in that day making this album classic for completely different reasons than those that made STRAIGHT OUT OF COMPTON a classic. Dre was coming into his own more than ever with production that signified what was to come with his solo debut and legendary album THE CHRONIC. The beats are all alot smoother than the raw, Bomb Squad influenced sound of their previous work. With such excellent production the fact that MC Ren was no Ice Cube didn't even matter and Eazy E's unique vocals complimented the music and made it appealing to the ears. While the lyrics here are often refered to as parodic (and rightfully so) they are often quite entertaining succeeding the most when they are comedy based. In back to back to back sex tracks "Automobile", "She Swallowed It" and "I'd Rather F*** You" the guys narate sexcapades even Too Short and 2 Live Crew couldn't top that will make anyone laugh. "Automobile" actually sounds like a guy playing piano in a 1890's saloon and would seem extremely out of place on this album, but fits in perfectly due to it's lyrical content. Of course the guys don't hold back from taking shots at former partner Ice Cube either in the heat of the battle between them. This record may not be as groundbreaking as STRAIGHT OUT OF COMPTON, but it's another stepping stone forward toward the landmark LP THE CHRONIC and is still a very enjoyable listen today.

If you thought that DMX was "hard" and Eminem was "shocking", then you aint heard nothing yet. Before them, stood the true masters and pioneers of gangsta-rap, causing more shockwaves, and controversy across America than any other rap group since. Niggaz with Attitudes were the guys who started it all, elevating hip hop into mainstream conciousness, marketing music about the realities of ghetto life, to white, middle-America. So much outrage, that even the FBI intervened to censor publication of their records. Beat that Slim shady!!!
This is an undeniable classic. Forget about NWA's much remembered "Straight outta Compton"-this followup surpasses the heights reached from the groups debut album.

From the onset, "Niggaz4Life" has you gripped,with its raw intensity, and gangsta bravado. The music is dark, dangerous and threatening, bringing the listener into a world of chaos, despair, violence and misogyny. You can almost sense the security of your surroundings loosening, metamorphosising into a world, where pushers, thieves, pimps, hoes and gangsters, provide the only focus of reality. The sidewalks of South Central, are brought to you, with all the ferocity from the buckshot of a 12 gauge shotgun. The harshnest in voice from the likes of Ren and Dre, provides the perfect deliverance of unsanitised, explicit lyricism.

What seperates this album from "Straight Outta Compton" is the way in which NWA have stepped up a gear, bringing the fans a combination of full on extremities, dark humour, and progression in musical accomplishment. Listen to "SOC", and you'll find the music incorporates the usage of the typical electronic keyboard sounds prevalent in the 1980s (which were kinda cheesy and non-threatening). In "Niggaz4Life", the background music has shifted into a more sinister, dangerous theme, providing the foundations for the West-coast G-funk sound of the early nineties. The instrumentals alone, for "N4L", could provide a musical score, within a horror movie.

The standout tracks are "Real Niggaz Don't Die", "Niggaz 4 Life","Alwayz into Somethin" "Real Niggaz" and "The Dayz of Wayback"-probably the best one of the lot.

Eminem's lyrics are supposed to be "shocking" in todays society. Pah!! The Marshall Mathers LP pales down to insignificance compared to "N4L". I feel the same energetic intensity today, which I felt seven years ago, every time I pick up this album. If you want to know what quality, genuine gangsta rap is about, without the thugged-out nonsense which seems to be defecating the charts today, then listen to this album. It is definetely one of the greatest rap albums ever made, regardless of the crudility involved. Possess it now.

This album like every other NWA album is the definition of a rap music classic. The worlds greatest group ever, the people who really put west coast on the map, drop their last album this time without talented rapper and lyricist Ice Cube. He went away because of money dissagreements and the groups menages perfectly without him. The music is again ruthless hardcore gangsta rp over some of the greatest production ever held by Dr. Dre and Yella. The lyrics are hard as ever - MC Ren is incedible as usually and Dre and Eazy come up perfect as well. Accept a few comedy tracks, this album does it all. A true great album, a must have for a real rap fan. It's the definition of greatness. it even Has the greatest intro ever.

When I first listened to "Three Chord Opera," I felt that it was okay but that none of the songs seemed to be earmarked for "standard" status. The more I listened to it, though, the more different songs began to appeal to me in different ways. First of all the arrangements: I usually prefer the ballads and I immediately found "You Are the Best Part of Me" memorable and gradually warmed to "Midnight Dream" (it has that "epic" feel to it), "Elijah's Song" (a beautiful lullabye) and "My Special Someone" (after "Canta Libre" and "Carmelita's Eyes," the third in his Spanish trilogy). However, "At the Movies" was clearly a fun song from the word go and it didn't take long for me to appreciate what the Tower of Power horns add to "Baby Let's Drive," "Mission of Love" and "Don't Look Down." Perhaps influenced by this, I felt that the album slowed down a bit too much at the end. Then the lyrics: "I Haven't Played This Song in Years" harkens back to the devastatingly personal tone of "If You Know What I Mean." It took me a few listenings to figure out how the gospel song ("Leave a Little Room for God") and the singalong ("Turn Down the Lights") fit into the mix. An eclectic set, but one that makes no concessions to "the times." As a friend of mine said, "He wrote what he wanted to write." And, yes, he did write a couple of new standards!

OK how do you follow up a classic album that got the feds scared? now how do you do it with your premier lyricist gone? SIMPLE...LET DRE MAKE THE BEATS, MC REN WRITE THE RHYMES AND HAVE EAZY-E COME WITH THE HUMOR. I like this album much better than straight outta compton. im not saying that SOC is not good. IM sayin that they stepped up a level on this album. the beats on this cd are still funky enough to bump today. on SOC, you can tell that theyre more old school. the only part that shouldnt be on the album is when they make fun of ice cube for leavin the group to go solo. but that skit is still hella funny. this is one of the top 10 albums of all time. a true classic.

this album is stacked from begining to end with hard pumpin' beats and strong ass lyrics by the best rap group ever assembled they saved thier best for last even without cube, but it is still an instant classic