Greatest Hits (N.W.A album)

Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits
Greatest hits album by N.W.A
Released	July 2, 1996
Recorded	1986–1991
Genres	West Coast hip-hop; gangsta rap; hardcore hip-hop;
Length	1:02:07
Labels	Ruthless; Priority;
Producers	Eazy-E (exec.); DJ Yella; Dr. Dre; Arabian Prince (uncredited);
N.W.A chronology

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Muzik	^[2]

Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by American hip-hop group N.W.A, released on July 2, 1996, via Priority Records. Composed of nineteen tracks, the compilation contains several popular singles and songs from the group's 1989 debut album Straight Outta Compton, 1990 extended play 100 Miles and Runnin' and their second and final studio album 1991 Niggaz4Life. It includes "Gangsta Gangsta", "Fuck tha Police", and remixes of "Straight Outta Compton", "Alwayz into Somethin'", "Express Yourself", and "100 Miles and Runnin'", as well as inserts and recordings from live concerts. Production was handled by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella with Eazy-E serving as executive producer.

The album made it to number 48 on the Billboard 200 and number 20 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums in the United States. It also peaked at number 43 in New Zealand and number 56 on the UK Albums Chart. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on February 14, 2002.

In 2003, Priority Records re-released the album with two bonus tracks — "Chin Check", which was recorded for Next Friday (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) with one-time member Snoop Dogg, and "Hello", which was recorded for Ice Cube's sixth solo studio album War & Peace Vol. 2 (The Peace Disc) — performed by the reunited N.W.A.

After the success of the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton, the album came back to music charts, re-entering UK Albums Chart at number 49, and reaching number 9 in Australia.

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performers	Length
1.	"Live Intro" (1989)	Antoine Carraby O'Shea Jackson Lorenzo Patterson Eric Wright Andre Young	Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren	2:21
2.	"Arrested" (Insert)		Eazy-E	0:57
3.	"Gangsta Gangsta"	O. Jackson Patterson Wright Young Leroy Bonner Marshall Jones Ralph Middlebrooks Walter Morrison Andrew Noland Greg Webster	Ice Cube, Eazy-E	5:29
4.	"Fuck tha Police" (Insert)		Eazy-E	0:32
5.	"Fuck tha Police"	O. Jackson Patterson Young	Eazy-E, MC Ren, Ice Cube	5:42
6.	"Compton's N the House / Ruthless Gangster" (Live)	Patterson Young	Dr. Dre, MC Ren	2:08
7.	"Break Out" (Insert)		Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, MC Ren	0:21
8.	"Straight Outta Compton" (Extended Mix)	O. Jackson Patterson Wright Young	Eazy-E, MC Ren, Ice Cube	4:28
9.	"If It Ain't Ruff"	Patterson Young	MC Ren	3:36
10.	"Real Niggaz"	Carraby Patterson Wright Young	Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, Eazy-E, MC Ren	4:44
11.	"I Ain't tha 1"	O. Jackson Randy Muller	Ice Cube	5:06
12.	"Alwayz into Somethin'"	Patterson Young Tracy Curry Burke Reeves	Dr. Dre, MC Ren, Admiral Dancehall	4:29
13.	"Don't Drink That Wine" (Edit)		Dr. Dre, The D.O.C.	0:26
14.	"Just Don't Bite It"	Patterson Young Joseph Williams	MC Ren	5:33
15.	"Cash Money" (Insert)		Dr. Dre	0:20
16.	"Express Yourself" (Remix)	Charles Wright O. Jackson	Dr. Dre, MC Ren, Ice Cube	4:21
17.	"100 Miles and Runnin'"	Gregory Hutchison Patterson Wright Young Lamont Dozier Herbie Hancock Brian Holland Edward Holland Paul Jackson Melvin Ragin	Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren	4:35
18.	"A Bitch Iz a Bitch"	O. Jackson Young	Ice Cube	3:15
19.	"Real Niggaz Don't Die"	Patterson Wright Young Curry Dino Fekaris Colin Wolfe Nick Zesses	Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren	3:42
Total length:				1:02:07

2003 re-release bonus tracks
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Performers	Length
20.	"Chin Check"	O. Jackson Young Calvin Broadus Patterson	Dr. Dre, MC Ren, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg	4:23
21.	"Hello"	O. Jackson Young Patterson	Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren	3:52

Sample credits

Track 3 contains a sample from "Funky Worm" written by Leroy Bonner, Marshall Jones, Ralph Middlebrooks, Walter Morrison, Andrew Noland and Greg Webster as recorded by Ohio Players
Track 11 contains a sample from "The Message (Inspiration)" written by Randy Muller as recorded by Brass Construction
Track 14 contains a sample of "That Girl's a Slut" written by Joseph Williams as recorded by Just-Ice
Track 16 contains a sample from "Express Yourself" written by Charles Wright as recorded by Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band
Track 17 contains a sample from "Nowhere to Run" written by Holland–Dozier–Holland as recorded by Martha and the Vandellas and a sample from "Hang Up Your Hang-Ups" written by Herbert Hancock, Paul Jackson and Melvin Ragin as recorded by Herbie Hancock
Track 19 contains a sample from "I Just Want to Celebrate" written by Dino Fekaris and Nick Zesses as recorded by Rare Earth

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)^[3]	41
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[4]	43
US Billboard 200^[5]	48
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[6]	20
Chart (2015)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[7]	9
UK Albums (Official Charts)^[8]	49
UK R&B Albums (Official Charts)^[9]	8
US Top Catalog Albums (Billboard)^[10]	5

Year-end charts

Chart (2015)	Position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[11]	99

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)^[12]	Gold	50,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[13]	Gold	100,000^*
United States (RIAA)^[14]	Gold	500,000^{^}
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Greatest Hits - N.W.A | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
↑ Bush, Calvin (September 1996). "NWA: Greatest Hits" (PDF). Muzik. No. 16. p. 112. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
↑ "Top RPM Albums: Image 3039". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 25, 2026.
↑ "Charts.nz – N.W.A. – N.W.A. - Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
↑ "N W A Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
↑ "N W A Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
↑ "Australiancharts.com – N.W.A. – N.W.A. - Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
↑ "Official Albums Chart on 10/9/2015 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart on 10/9/2015 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
↑ "N W A Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
↑ "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
↑ "Canadian album certifications – NWA – Greatest Hits". Music Canada.
↑ "British album certifications – Nwa – Greatest Hits". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Formats field. Type Greatest Hits Nwa in the "Search:" field.
↑ "American album certifications – N.W.A. – Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

N.W.A – Greatest Hits at Discogs (list of releases)

[1] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Greatest Hits - N.W.A | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

[2] Bush, Calvin (September 1996). "NWA: Greatest Hits" (PDF). Muzik. No. 16. p. 112. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022.

[ac_Canada_-3] "Top RPM Albums: Image 3039". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 25, 2026.

[ac_New_Zealand_N.W.A.-4] "Charts.nz – N.W.A. – N.W.A. - Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

[ac_Billboard200_N_W_A-5] "N W A Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

[ac_BillboardRandBHipHop_N_W_A-6] "N W A Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

[ac_Australia_N.W.A.-7] "Australiancharts.com – N.W.A. – N.W.A. - Greatest Hits". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

[ac_UK2_N.W.A-8] "Official Albums Chart on 10/9/2015 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

[ac_UKR&B_N.W.A-9] "Official R&B Albums Chart on 10/9/2015 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

[ac_BillboardCatalog_N_W_A-10] "N W A Chart History (Top Catalog Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

[11] "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2015". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 13, 2021.

[CanadaNWAGreatest_HitsalbumCertRef-12] "Canadian album certifications – NWA – Greatest Hits". Music Canada.

[United_KingdomNwaGreatest_HitsalbumCertRef-13] "British album certifications – Nwa – Greatest Hits". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Formats field. Type Greatest Hits Nwa in the "Search:" field.

[United_StatesN.W.A.Greatest_HitsalbumCertRef-14] "American album certifications – N.W.A. – Greatest Hits". Recording Industry Association of America.

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N.W.A
Arabian Prince Dr. Dre Ice Cube DJ Yella MC Ren Eazy-E
Studio albums	Straight Outta Compton Niggaz4Life
Extended plays	100 Miles and Runnin'
Compilations	N.W.A. and the Posse Greatest Hits 10th Anniversary Tribute The N.W.A Legacy, Vol. 1 The N.W.A Legacy, Vol. 2 The Strength of Street Knowledge Family Tree
Singles	"Gangsta Gangsta" "Express Yourself" "100 Miles and Runnin'" "Alwayz into Somethin'" "Appetite for Destruction" "The Dayz of Wayback" "Chin Check"
Other songs	"Straight Outta Compton" "Fuck tha Police"
Films	Straight Outta Compton Straight Outta L.A.
Related articles	Discography Songs Ruthless Records Jerry Heller The D.O.C.