Compton's Most Wanted - Growing Up In The Hood (Boyz N The Hood Soundtrack)

From the "Boyz N The Hood Soundtrack" soundtrack (1991). Also appears on C.M.W.'s album "Straight Checkn 'Em".

Compton's Most Wanted is a classic American gangsta rap group and one of the pioneers of the West Coast Hip Hop scene still performing today on independent labels. The leader of the group was MC Eiht.

C.M.W. included rappers MC Eiht and MC Chill, and DJ Ant Capone who was later replaced by DJ Mike T, and producer DJ Slip. The Unknown DJ was also a producer for the group though not officially a member.

Their first three albums It's a Compton Thang, Straight Checkn 'Em and Music to Driveby, were produced by DJ Slip and The Unknown DJ, who produced both Electro funk tracks as well as Ice T's classic gangsta song "6 In the Morning". MC Chill was an original member of C.M.W. at the time of their first album It's a Compton Thang, but was sentenced to imprisonment in 1991 before Straight Checkn 'Em was issued. He was released from prison in 1994. During his time in prison he missed C.M.W.'s two biggest albums "Straight Checkn 'Em" and "Music to Driveby". After three years behind bars, MC Chill did not have the chance to return to the group as they broke up following Music to Driveby. Instead, Chill decided to work with MC Ren and MC Eiht for their solo albums. In 2000, the group reformed and released "Represent". They are known especially for their slow, often melancholic raps, using samples from 1970s soul and funk records such as "Joy" by Isaac Hayes and hit songs like Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day". MC Eiht is pursuing his solo career, while DJ Slip is mainly working for the new West Coast label IV Life Records.[3] Additionally, C.M.W. are set for a reunion which will feature on DJ Slip's next album "The Minority Report".

In 2004, Hood Took Me Under appeared on the popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (which features MC Eiht as a vital supporting character), and was played on the West Coast hip hop radio station Radio Los Santos. Ant Capone was supposed to be a member of the group while they released It's a Compton Thang, but was later fired from the group and replaced by DJ Mike T and did not appear on their first album. In 2006, the group released a fifth studio album, called Music to Gang Bang, which did not sell well.

In 1990, C.M.W. released theirfirst album, It's a Compton Thang which featured the single with the same title. Ant Capone was supposed to be featured as one of the producers; however, he was fired and replaced by DJ Mike T. It's a Compton Thang was entirely produced by DJ Slip and The Unknown DJ. The album peaked at #132 in the U.S. charts. A year later, the group released the follow up album, Straight Checkn 'Em, which featured popular hits like "Growin' Up In tha Hood" and the first version of the "Def Wish" series. MC Chill was sentenced to prison some months before the album was released and he did not have the chance to participate. However, the album was a bigger success than their previous album, peaking at #92.

Again in 1992, the group released their third and most successful studio album, Music to Driveby. It featured the single "Hood Took Me Under" which charted at #5 in Hot Rap Singles and was featured on the popular videogame Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas at the West Coast radio station, Radio Los Santos. The album charted at #66 in the U.S. charts and is considered a classic by many people. It was the last album C.M.W. released until their long break.

Finally, after a break of eight years, the group released Represent in 2000. The album featured the single "This Is Compton 2000" and had none of the success of their previous albums. After another long break, the group released Music to Gang Bang in 2006 which also did not sell well and contained four singles, most notably the single with same title as the album Music to Gang Bang.

Extended & updated info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comptons_Most_Wanted