Double Elvis.

Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis.

The stories about NWA are insane.

Their founding member was a retired crack dealer.

Their producer was a violent, surly genius.

Their main lyricist's words set off a riot with tens of thousands of fans.

NWA, the group, was born of the violent streets its members were raised on, Compton, South Central Los Angeles,

where they were forced to dodge straight bullets from rival gangs and shakedowns from abusive cops on the regular.

This violent and horribly unjust daily life informed NWA's music,

imbued it with a sense of reality that previously had not existed in pop

music, and for many was too unbelievable to be true. They were labeled sensationalists, misogynist,

profanity-spewing opportunists, anything but what they really were, protest musicians,

who, by the way, were highly entertaining. And who made great music?

That music you heard at the top of the show, that wasn't great music.

That was a preset loop from my Melotron called Trashman Funk BK2.

I played you that loop because I can't afford the rights to Moni Moni by Billy Idol.

And why would I play you that specific slice of secondhand Shandelle cheese, could I afford it?

Because that was the number one song in America on November 27, 1987.

And that was the day NWA entered the studio to record their album straight out of Compton,

an album of hard beats and lyrics so steeped in reality that they

would predict one of the most shockingly violent events in American history.

On this episode, Trashman Funk, Shondell Cheese, and the violent reality of NWA.

...