N.W.A
's career isn't necessarily one that lends itself well to anthologies. Though the group had important singles, especially in the underground
hip-hop
community in the late '80s, it never received any support from radio or
MTV
, which meant it never had any official "hits." Instead,
's albums were more important, popular, and influential than singles, even if individual tracks --
"Fuck tha Police,"
"Straight Outta Compton,"
"Gangsta Gangsta,"
"Express Yourself"
-- became the focus of attention. And, if you notice, all those songs were from
Straight Outta Compton
, the only good album the group ever made.
Greatest Hits
does include all of the high points from that album (the title track is present in a previously unavailable remix), plus a scattershot sampling of raw early singles and the highlights from
100 Miles and Runnin'
and
Niggaz4Life
. It's nice to have the good tracks isolated from the group's latter-day efforts, but
is unnecessary -- all you need is
. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine