N.W.A ‘100 Miles and Runnin’ 25th Anniversary
This past Friday (14th August 2015) marks the 25th Anniversary of the release of N.W.A‘s ‘100 Miles and Runnin’ EP, a timely anniversary given the recent release of Dre’s ‘Compton: A Soundtrack’. The 5 track EP was the group’s first release following the acrimonious split from former group member Ice Cube who released his solo debut ‘Amerikkka’s Most Wanted’ earlier in the year. The EP serves as prelude of sorts to the group’s second Long Player ‘Efil4zaggin’ released in spring of the following year and ‘Real Niggaz‘ from the 100 Miles EP also appears on that album. The Dre-produced EP is a sample heavy affair, the title track alone containing nearly 20 samples. It’s the tracks that display the group’s politicised anger over bombsquad-esque sample packed sound collages that are most memorable, whilst shock value sexual brags of the variety popular with teenage boys are easily forgotten.
The EP (although not technically and album) comes in at #4 in Ego Trip’s Top 25 Rap Albums of 1990. A brief extract from the title track appears in our 1990 Rap Megamix.
Stream the EP on Youtube here.
[Purchase physical copies / check release details on Discogs here]
...and as an added bonus the good folks at WhoSampled have put together a playlist of samples used in the making of the record which you can check out here.