If you're expecting to find a best-of collection of N.W.A. songs, you've

picked up the wrong album (Priority actually has a separate, N.W.A.

Greatest Hits available). The double-LP, The N.W.A. Legacy,

is less a retrospective on N.W.A. than a way to trace the impressive

genealogy that the group birthed during the '90s. As suggested by the

family tree in the liner notes, N.W.A. were not simply legends in their

own time, but were responsible for spawning an entire generation of

seminal rap artists.

Foremost among them are Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, N.W.A.'s most important

lyricist and most important producer, respectively. The N.W.A. Legacy

features songs from Cube that highlight not just his anger but his

insight as well. In fact, Cube was a ghetto prophet for South Central

long before his transformation into the Westside's most garrulous gangsta.

Songs such as

"Color Blind" (RealAudio excerpt), "Steady Mobbin'" and "Dead Homiez" reflect

his early gifts for introspection. As for Dr. Dre, songs like "Let Me

Ride" (RealAudio excerpt) and Tupac Shakur's "California Love" helped force a sea of change

in the sound of rap music. His symphonic stacks of sound, wet with slick

basslines and whining keys, were perfect for long drives in Los Angeles

as you were "digging in the seam with the gangster lean."

In turn, these two would beget even more heavy-hitting rappers. From

Cube came groups like Da Lench Mob ("Guerillas in the Mist"), and the

Westside Connection of Cube, WC and Mack 10 ("Westside Slaughterhouse,"

"Bow Down"). Dre's best known pet protege was Snoop Dogg, whose "Murder

Was the Case" appears on this compilation, along with a cameo on "Only

In California" alongside Mack 10 and Cube. Further down the line is the

Dogg Pound of Kurupt and Daz ("Only In California," "Nothin' But the Cavi Hit").

Inevitably, hardcore N.W.A. fans will squabble about what isn't

on this compilation. Those who deserved a spot and who are notably missing

include: Yo Yo, Rage and Warren G. And surely some will argue over song

selection and the like. And while The N.W.A. Legacy fails as a

comprehensive survey of the crew's work, it offers some great songs and

some valuable lessons about the history of hip-hop.