Society has rules on how to speak. Don’t question authority. Don’t challenge ideas. Don’t use profanity. Depending on one’s background and their society, one can be ridiculed, jailed or even killed for breaking these rules. While these rules are meant to maintain peace and order, they often plague communities by keeping us complacent to harmful status quos. Those who truly understood this harm decided to speak out — Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Rosa Parks — and launched the world into unprecedented progress. N.W.A. celebrates this same mentality on “Express Yourself”, off their widely influential debut Straight Outta Compton, a soulful standout urging the importance of genuine expression — both for the individual and the society at large.

“Express Yourself” by N.W.A.

N.W.A.’s ethos of expression propelled them to becoming one of the most celebrated and controversial musical groups to ever exist.

With simple hopes of getting their music played throughout Los Angeles, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren, Dr. Dre, and DJ Yella came together to create and release 1988’s Straight Outta Compton. The album ended up becoming a national phenomenon and a watershed moment for hip-hop. Throughout the project, N.W.A. shared honest lyrics about their personality and pride in Compton, CA (“Straight Outta Compton”), painted detailed imagery about the harsh environments that surrounded their life (“Gangsta Gangsta”), and voiced scathing criticism for the ways law enforcement disproportionately targeted Black Americans (“F*** Tha Police”). As you listen to these songs, it becomes clear that the group was determined to unapologetically present their unabashed anger and vitriol towards the powers that kept them stuck.

“Express Yourself” acts as a celebratory mid-point respite from the raw, gritty, and sobering tracks without sacrificing any of the social commentary.

The track samples heavily from the classic R&B and funk track also titled “Express Yourself” by Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band. Charles Wright’s repeated titular phrase is joyously yelped out to start off N.W.A.’s version. Immediately, we are thrown into a soulful, upbeat, and empowering world, as Dr. Dre’s vocals of expression and authenticity take us soaring.

“I’m dropping flavor, my behavior is hereditary / But my technique is very necessary / Blame it on Ice Cube, because he says it gets funky / When you got a subject and a predicate / Add it on a dope beat and that’ll make you think”

In these lines, Dr. Dre playfully breaks down the recipe for a hip-hop song. By layering a few lines over an instrumental, we as an audience can suddenly become locked into to the stories, the commentary, the questions, and the wisdom that burst through the seams of our favorite songs. These lyrics are especially poignant given the time of release. While hip-hop may now be recognized as the highest consumed musical genre, Straight Outta Compton helped millions fall in love with an art form that was still considered a fad.

As Dr. Dre begins his rapping, the production is rightfully updated for the times, with a firepower kick from the hip-hop drum pattern and disc scratches intricately placed throughout the track. Dr. Dre’s deep voice compliments his confident and charismatic delivery, making the themes of expression and authenticity come off as incredibly inspiring for the listener.

After a more lighthearted first verse, the lyrics begin to dig deeper into the core philosophy behind N.W.A.’s music and worldview.

“It’s crazy to see people be / What society wants them to be, but not me / Ruthless is the way to go, they know / Others say rhymes that fail to be original / Or they kill where the hip-hop starts / Forget about the ghetto and rap for the pop charts / Some musicians cuss at home / But scared to use profanity when up on the microphone / Yeah, they want reality but you won’t hear none / They rather exaggerate a little fiction / Some say no to drugs and take a stand / But after the show they go looking for the dopeman / Or they ban my group from the radio, hear N.W.A and say ‘Hell no!’ / But you know it ain’t all about wealth as long as you make a note to… / Express Yourself!”

In this thought-provoking and socially conscious verse, Dr. Dre comments on the destructive relationships in society that breed inauthenticity. He illustrates how society punishes those who go against the grain — not dissimilar to how radio stations, suburban families, and even the FBI protested and banned N.W.A.’s music. He sheds light on the psychological and sociological effects of such a culture; specifically, he details the myriad of ways musicians in turn play into corporate demands for the sake of financial gain. This verse highlights a toxic cycle where we as individuals become de-incentivized and scared to be ourselves and break from the norm. As a result, society becomes even more sensitive and furious over new ideas and statements that are simply trying to educate the masses. Despite the heartwarming instrumentation of the song, this verse details a distressing cycle that prevents us from growing as a culture.

Yet the last line of the verse injects us with a much-needed dose of positivity before seamlessly transitioning back into that spirited chorus. It cements N.W.A.’s energizing ethos — genuine expression, especially if it is for social good, is the highest priority above all else. It is this priority that helped N.W.A. radically shift both mainstream hip-hop and the politics of the world.

In a 2015 Billboard interview, Compton-based rapper and artist Kendrick Lamar interviewed the living members of N.W.A. to talk about hip-hop culture and the legacy of N.W.A — almost three decades after the group came to prominence.

Kendrick Lamar sits down with N.W.A — Interview

[Kendrick Lamar]: “How do y’all feel N.W.A. changed the history of music?” [Ice Cube]: “N.W.A. not only changed music but we changed pop culture all over the world, because we made it alright for artists to be themselves. You know, you didn’t have to be squeaky clean to be just as big, or bigger, than the squeaky clean artists. There were artists out there who weren’t being themselves. On record, they were all these nice guys but behind the scenes they were thugged out. So, we was like, ‘Yo, we gon be ourselves no matter what’. On record, off record, we gon’ be ourselves and let the chips fall where they may. And I think it opened the floodgates for artists who wanted to walk on this side and to be a little raw and not be so squeaky clean. [Dr. Dre]: “Or [have to] worry about being on the radio and all that s***” [Ice Cube]: “Ya, you know, all these worries that artists would hold on to. Because there were no other avenues. There were no other examples of a person not doing it the square way and being successful. And here we come, as the example, not only for musicians but for all artists. You know, there wouldn’t be shows like South Park. Even the reality shows where they’re bleeping [words] and all that. We started that on the radio — bleeping words out. The rawness wasn’t there in the world until N.W.A. said it was okay for you to be yourself. It’s the world before N.W.A. and there’s the world after N.W.A.”

The more we speak authentically, the greater hope there is to better understand who we are and work to solve the problems around us. We don’t need to conform to the dress, vernacular, and ideas that are instilled in us, if we feel that these traditions are counterproductive to the happiness of individuals and communities. We don’t know how others may react to us challenging the status quo, but there is beauty in the attempt to release the thoughts that we have long been burying to ourselves.

So speak up.