"Straight Outta Compton" is the lead single

Lead single

A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...

 from N.W.A's second album with the same name

Straight Outta Compton

The lyrics on the album were mainly written by Ice Cube and MC Ren. Critics of the album expressed their view that the record glamorized Black-on-Black crime, but the emcees stated that the group was simply showing the reality of living in the areas of Compton, California, and South Central Los...

. It was released in 1988. It also appears on N.W.A's Greatest Hits with an extended mix and The Best of N.W.A. It was voted number 19 on About.com

About.com

About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....

's Top 100 Rap Songs, and is ranked number 6 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop. "Straight Outta Compton" was selected as one of many songs you must hear & download in the musical reference book, 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: And 10,001 You Must Download.

The opening verse is rapped by Ice Cube

Ice Cube

O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...

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