''It's a Compton Thang!'' is the debut studio album by American gangsta rap group
Compton's Most Wanted
Compton's Most Wanted (C.M.W.) is an American gangsta rap group and part of the early West Coast hip-hop scene. The leaders of the group are MC Eiht and Tha Chill.
History
Formation and early years
C.M.W. included rappers MC Eiht, Tha Chill, ...
. It was released in 1990 through
Orpheus Records
Orpheus Music is an independent record label that is part of Hush Management and is dedicated to R&B and jazz music, and home of recording artist Freddie Jackson. For years, it was distributed by EMI.
Roster
*Eric Gable
*Freddie Jackson
*Meli's ...
.
The recording sessions took place at Thllss Studios in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
with
audio engineer
An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduc ...
Mike "Webeboomindashit" Edwards and
producers
DJ Slip
Terry K. Allen, (born April 19, 1964) professionally known as DJ Slip or Don Bolo is an American record producer from Inglewood, California. He is a founding member of gangsta rap groups Compton's Most Wanted, X-Factor, and N.O.T.R. making him o ...
and
the Unknown DJ
Andre Manuel, a disc jockey and record producer called The Unknown DJ or DJ Unknown, was a pioneer in the Los Angeles area's 1980s music scene, moving from electro funk and electro rap to gangsta rap. Now a legend of West Coast rap, he worked wit ...
. It was
mastered
Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source from which all copies will be ...
at The Other Room in
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
,
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
, by Jack Skinner. Ant Capone was supposed to be part of the group, but left prior to this album due to contractual and managing issues, and was replaced by
DJ Mike T.
The album peaked at number 133 on the
''Billboard'' 200 and at number 32 on the
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...
chart in the United States.
Critical reception
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
noted that "the true beauty of ''It's a Compton Thang'' is the initial synthesis of former electro legend the Unknown DJ with future gangsta icon MC Eiht as well as the pleasant reminder that West Coast gangsta rap was once more about old-fashioned fun than cheap thrills."
[ '']The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' thought that the album "lacks the sonic punch and the verbal verve of N.W.A."
Track listing
Personnel
* Aaron Tyler – lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
, vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
* Vernon Johnson - lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
, vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
* Terry Keith Allen – producer, arranger
* Michael Bryant – scratches
* Andre Manuel – keyboards, producer, arranger, executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...
*Darryl "Lyrrad" Davis – additional keyboards, design
*Mike "Webeboomindashit" Edwards – engineering
Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...
*Jack Skinner – mastering
*Henry Marquez – art direction
*Phil Bedel – photography
*Weldon Cochren – production coordinator
*Lynda Simmons – project coordinator
Charts
References
External links
*
1990 debut albums
Compton's Most Wanted albums
{{1990s-hiphop-album-stub