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"Fuck tha Police"
Song by N.W.A.
Album	Straight Outta Compton
Released	1988
Recorded	1988 in Menlo Park, California
Genre	Gangsta rap/Protest
Length	5:43
Label	Priority/Ruthless
Writer	Ice Cube, MC Ren, Eazy-E
Producer	Dr. Dre, DJ Yella
Straight Outta Compton track listing
"Straight Outta Compton" (1) "Fuck tha Police" (2) "Gangsta Gangsta" (3)

This article is about the N.W.A. song. For the J Dilla song of the same name, see Fuck The Police (J Dilla song).

"Fuck tha Police" is a protest song by the controversial hip hop group N.W.A. on the album Straight Outta Compton. It ranked #417 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and is the group's only song on the list.

Contents 1 Inspiration 2 Content 3 Impact 4 References

N.W.A. was inspired to write the controversial classic after Dr. Dre and Eazy-E were pulled over by cops for carrying out a series of drive-by paintball shootings.

Dr. Dre and the late Eazy-E were so disgusted by what they thought was mistreatment at the hands of the police, that they immediately went to the studio to record the song which became an instant gangsta rap anthem.

Dre recalls: "It was me and Eazy riding around. He had this paintball gun, and he was shooting people at bus stops. The cops caught us and we were face down on the freeway with guns pointed at us. We thought it was bullshit. So we went to the studio and created the song."^[1]

Fuck tha Police is a mock court scene, in which the "Police Department" is put on trial, with Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Eazy-E playing the role of the prosecution. Judge "Dre" is presiding and the trial is described as being "N.W.A versus the police department". Rapped "testimonies" expressing anger at racism and police brutality in abrasive, violent language are delivered by Ice Cube:

Fuck tha police

Comin straight from the underground

A Young nigga got it bad cuz I'm brown

And not the other color so police think

They have the authority to kill a minority

MC Ren:

Lights start flashin' behind me

But they're scared of a nigga so they mace me to blind me

But that shit don't work, I just laugh

Because it gives 'em a hint not to step in my path

and Eazy-E:

Without a gun and a badge, what do you got?

A sucker in a uniform waiting to get shot,

By me, or another nigga

And with a Gat it don't matter if he's smaller or bigger

At the end of the song, "Judge Dre" delivers the verdict: "The jury has found you guilty of being a redneck, white bread, chickenshit muthafucker" —— "you" referring to a police officer who represents the Los Angeles Police Department. The police officer's reaction is: "But wait, that's a lie! That's a god damn lie! I want justice! I want justice! Fuck you, you black motherfuckerrrrr!" as he is apparently being dragged out of the courtroom.

The song "Fuck tha Police", containing N.W.A's trademark inflammatory lyrics, stood out in particular from many of the songs on Straight Outta Compton. It highlights many of the tensions between black urban youth and the police (widespread resentment towards the LAPD boiled over 3 years later, in the 1992 Los Angeles riots following the Rodney King incident). The song also alleged that minorities in the police department betrayed their race, with lyrics such as:

And on the other hand, without a gun they can't get none

But don't let it be a black and a white one

Cause they'll slam ya down to the street top

Black police showing out for the white cop

Especially controversial were the areas of the song that appear to condone violence towards police authorities; lines such as "I'm a sniper with a hell of a scope/Taking out a cop or two, they can't cope/with me" and "A sucka in a uniform waitin' to get shot/by me, or anotha nigga" directly reference the murder of police officers. The FBI and the U.S. Secret Service sent a letter to Ruthless Records informing the label of their displeasure with the song's message, and N.W.A were banned from performing at several venues.

The controversy around the single helped propel sales for the album and, ultimately, helped make it go double platinum.

This song has proven popular enough to be covered by such acts as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Rage Against the Machine, dope, Public Enemy, and Soulfly, among others. This song was included on N.W.A's Greatest Hits.

In 1989, Australian radio station Triple J had been playing "Fuck tha Police" for up to six months, before gaining the attention of Australian Broadcasting Corporation management who subsequently banned it. As a reaction the staff went on strike and put N.W.A's song "Express Yourself" on continuous play for 24 hours, playing it roughly 360 times in a row. In 1996, during massive opposition street protests in Belgrade, Serbia "Fuck tha Police", along with Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" was continually played for 2 days on a Belgrade radio station B92. This was a form of expression of most people's feelings towards police and state regime.

The song as of 2007 is currently banned in Mongolia, Mozambique, Malta, Vietnam, Rwanda, China, and Angola.^{[citation needed]}

1. ^ http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=233295582&p=z33z96z88

v • d • e N.W.A.
Ice Cube · Dr. Dre · Eazy-E · MC Ren · DJ Yella
Albums	N.W.A. and the Posse · Straight Outta Compton · 100 Miles and Runnin' · Efil4zaggin
Singles	"Dopeman" · "Straight Outta Compton" · "Gangsta Gangsta" · "Express Yourself" · "100 Miles and Runnin'" · "Appetite for Destruction" · "Alwayz Into Somethin'" · "Chin Check"
Related articles	Discography