With the new and brilliant Game mixtape coming out earlier this week it only made since to look back at West Coast Hip-Hop, there would be no Game, no Snoop, no Warren G, 2Pac's career would have certainly been different if not for one of the greatest Hip-Hop groups of all-time (personally my 2nd favorite all-time) N.W.A.
N.W.A. didn't just change West Coast Rap as we know it, it changed Hip-Hop as we know it, while Public Enemy was out East doing somewhat of the same thing they did it in a thought provoking, conscience way, N.W.A. came out raw, angry, bitter, with a chip on their shoulder, and that was obvious when you first heard them. "Straight Outta Compton" is easily one of the best records ever made, not just in Hip-Hop, and the title track is explosive and set the tone for what type of group this was all about
While the group would split, Ice Cube going to a solo rap career, soon followed by becoming a very good actor/writer, Dre would go on to produce, and of course created another of the greatest records of all-time in "The Chronic" and Eazy-E tragically would die from HIV, they will always be remember for an amazing album, and single-handedly changing the course of Hip-Hop for years to come.
One amazing thing about the album is how modern it still sounds, there are a lot of Hip-Hop albums that after a year or two sound very dated and lame, 20+ years later, "Straight Outta Compton" sounds every bit as good today as it did when it came out.
Here is a fun piece of trivia, who was the Lakers leading scorer during the entire decade of the 90's? Well, obviously his picture was posted already, but yes, Elden Campbell was the Lakers leading scorer in that entire decade. The 90's was a very interesting time in Lakers history, it was the end of one great Era, The Magic and Kareem Era, and saw the beginning stages of the Kobe and Shaq Era, and yet with all that going on, someone had to keep the Lakers franchise going, and that responsibility when to Center Elden Campbell.
Campbell was born and raised in LA, as a result he was a fan favorite, after playing college ball on the East Coast at Clemson he returned to LA as a Laker in the 1990 draft. During his time as a Laker he earned the nickname "The Janitor" both for his workman like skill set, and the way he "cleaned the glass" aka grabbed rebounds. Campbell played for the Lakers from 1990-1999, and after being moved around from one team to another he caught on with the Pistons in 2004, only to face his former team (the Lakers) in the NBA Finals, Campbell was a surprisingly big factor in the Series, as his tremendous defense against Shaq would prove to be a difference maker in the Pistons NBA Championship.
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