100 Miles and Runnin'
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100 Miles and Runnin' | |||||
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EP by N.W.A. | |||||
Released | August 16, 1990 | ||||
Recorded | 1989 - 1990 | ||||
Length | 23:17 | ||||
Label | Ruthless/Priority | ||||
Producer | Dr. Dre, Yella |
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Professional reviews | |||||
N.W.A. chronology | |||||
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100 Miles and Runnin' is the title of an EP by hip hop group N.W.A., released in 1990 on Ruthless Records.
Prior to recording, all of the group members had signed a long-term contract with the Ruthless Records label. However, member Ice Cube refused the contract's terms and consequently separated from the group.
Contents |
[edit] Album information
The title track "100 Miles and Runnin'" was the group's first track to gain radio airtime and appear on TV with its music video. Dr. Dre, who had just finished working with The D.O.C. and Above the Law, added atypical funky beats and the slow synth groove on "Just Don't Bite It". A sadistic parody of the police on a skit featuring The D.O.C. from the group's 1-900 hotline introduces "Sa Prize, Pt. 2", a sequel to the controversial "Fuck tha Police" originally off of the Straight Outta Compton album. MC Ren and The D.O.C. wrote the lyrics for Eazy-E and Dr. Dre.
100 Miles and Runnin' was the first N.W.A. album after Ice Cube had left the group a year earlier, and the group makes numerous sardonic references to its former member. On the title track, Dre states "It started with five one couldn't take it / So now there's four 'cause the fifth couldn't make it" to dismiss Ice Cube as a coward, and on the song "Real Niggaz" MC Ren states "Only reason niggaz pick up your record is cause they thought it was us", referring to the success of Ice Cube's first solo album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted which had been released earlier that year. Ice Cube would respond to these attacks on his 1991 album Death Certificate.
Three songs from this album, "100 Miles and Runnin'", "Just Don't Bite It", and "Real Niggaz", were later released on N.W.A.'s Greatest Hits. "Real Niggaz" would also appear on N.W.A.'s final studio album, Efil4zaggin, a year later; the 2003 remastered edition of the album would append the rest of the EP to the track listing. The name of the follow-up album Niggaz4life is announced as a backward message in the final track "Kamurshol" (i.e., "commercial"); the album title would, in fact, appear written back-to-front on the album cover.
"100 Miles and Runnin'" is also notable for being producer Dr. Dre's final uptempo recording, as well as the first and only appearance of his revised, more aggressive rapping style, a change allegedly made to fill the void left by Ice Cube.
[edit] Reception
Although the album was released as an EP, it nevertheless hit the charts and sold over 500,000 copies, reaching gold status. This was not surprising as the group had gained popularity from being seen as front runners of the increasingly popular genre of gangsta rap.
[edit] Track listing
- "100 Miles and Runnin'"– 4:32
- "Just Don't Bite It"– 5:28
- "Sa Prize, Pt. 2"– 5:58
- "Real Niggaz"– 5:25
- "Kamurshol"- 1:55
[edit] Singles chart positions
Year | Song | Chart positions | |||
Billboard Hot 100 | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Chart | Hot Rap Tracks | |||
1990 | "100 Miles and Runnin'" | - | #32 | #1 | |
1990 | "Real Niggaz" | - | #47 | #4 |
[edit] Personnel
- Eazy-E - Executive Producer
- Dr. Dre - Producer
- Brian Kilgore - Tambourine
- Mike Sims - Bass, Guitar
- Donovan Sound - Engineer
- Yella - Producer/DJ
- Steve Huston - Artwork
- Kevin Hosmann - Art Direction
- David Provost - Photography
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