Voices from the Streets. A Bold History of Gangsta Rap.

Against the backdrop of rising gang activity, a crack epidemic, and police brutality, one group cut through the chaos of late 1980s Los Angeles: N.W.A. Led by a drug dealer, a glamorous producer, and a high school student, N.W.A. expressed their views on contemporary society, becoming the voice of all disenfranchised African Americans. They also quickly changed pop culture worldwide. Their names remain as popular as ever: Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, and Ice Cube. Soon, Dre teamed up with Suge Knight to create Death Row Records, which turned Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur into superstars. Ben Westhoff explores how N.W.A. shifted the balance of hip-hop from New York to Los Angeles. He shows how the shocking success of the group led to rivalries among its members, record labels, and ultimately to war between East and West Coast factions. Hip-hop burst onto dominant America during huge social changes and became the most dominant musical movement over the last thirty years. Original reporting, investigations, interviews with key players, and dozens of stories that have never been told before.