Quote:
"'Panic Zone' represented the sound of West Coast electro, as many other Arabian Prince and Egyptian Lover 12"s would before this release, but Dopeman and 8 Ball seemed to revisit Boyz' formula "

The A and the B-wide; "Panic Zone" and "Dopeman" off the 12" issued prior this LP's release represent two very distinct sounds of LA hip-hop - one sound that would essentially 'die' and one sound that would change hip-hop forever.

The hi-end electro sound with its braggadocio lyrics of 'Panic Zone' with its pulsed orchestral hits and the timeless shout-out lyric; "I'm the arabian prince, and we're N.W.A." cements its place between the two worlds.

The B-side in contrast - filled with angry sometimes obscene ranting set to the back-drop of extended drum filled introductions and the whiny hi-pitch synth that would become synonymous with the emerging soon-to-be-called 'gangsta rap' genre.

Calling any of this "rubbish" or "horse shit" is subjective to context. This is a 1989 re-release of a Macola *compilation* from 1987, which was not intended to be NWA's debut album. It was, however, a collection of material from Macola 12"s, and if one analyzes the whole of the West Coast scene between 1986 and 1988, you can see where each of these songs fits into the big picture, especially once you understand the order the songs were released.

The first in 1987 was Eazy-E's 12", since he was the one bank rolling the whole project. It included 'Boyz in tha Hood', 'Fat Girl' and 'LA is the Place'. Boyz in the Hood was originally written for the group HBO, who turned down the song, and since studio time was paid, Dre convinced Eazy to rap on it, despite the fact that E never intended to rap. The session was brutal as Dre had to splice together good takes he could just to complete it. This illustrates why there is such a stylistic difference between Boyz, and the other songs. Boyz would instantly become a street classic on the West coast, changing the face of rap music there in a short time. The other songs were on par with the West coast sound at the time, to some degree.

The next 12" was NWA's, which included 'Panic Zone', 'Dope Man', and '8 Ball'. Arabian Prince was an actual member of NWA, and MC Ren was not. The cover photo went on to be used for the 'NWA and the Posse' "album". 'Panic Zone' represented the sound of West Coast electro, as many other Arabian Prince and Egyptian Lover 12"s would before this release, but Dopeman and 8 Ball seemed to revisit Boyz' formula to continue the stream of hits. This was a transisional period.

Another project Dr. Dre was involved in around this time was a group known as 'Fila Fresh Crew'. It included fellow producer 'Dr. Rock', rapper 'Fresh K', and Dre himself acting as producer and rapper. They released a full album entitled 'Tuffest Man Alive'. Fresh K would go on to become 'The D.O.C.'. The D.O.C. was never part of NWA, as many say, unless you consider Dr. Rock to also be a former member of NWA via Fila Fresh Crew.

Around this time is when Macola constructed the NWA debut album, using bits from NWA, Eazy E, and Fila Fresh Crew's 12"s, along with some other Macola fodder. Why they didn't include C.I.A, I'll never know. It was a 1987 Macola project with Ice Cube rapping, and Dr. Dre producing.

A few more 12"s on Macola led to the formation of Ruthless Records, and the M&D deal with Priority. Eazy was free to begin releasing full ablums for the artists, but after 2 albums, Eazy decided to re-release this so-called debut album on Ruthless (with one new track entitled 'A Bitch iz a Bitch') to cash in on their names.

...and the Posse is a fun record. Highlights are Boyz N the Hood ( love the Marvin Gaye sample ) Dopeman ( full-length version ) Dunk the Funk, and Panic Zone. The rest is forgettable rubbish; particularly Drink It Up, which is an ode to getting stinking drunk, set to the tune of Twist and Shout ( itself a pile of horseshit, in my opinion! ) Fat Girl is a very funny track by the late Easy E, who can't seem to escape the attention of an overweight groupie!