One of the earliest gangsta rap albums, propelled by an exploitative cop film and the following media frenzy about movie violence and the glamorization of criminals. Most of these tracks had been previously released, but here now were such tracks as Ice-T's brutal title track, Big Daddy Kane's "Raw," and M.C. Shan's "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste" in one friendly package, and suddenly middle America knew about the Crips and the Bloods. It's a solid album, with only one out of place song: Decadent Dub Team's "Six Gun" (with the film's star Sean Penn on uncredited vocals), which sounds like filler. Highlight of the whole thing: Coldcut's infamous remix of Eric B. and Rakim's "Paid in Full," which no rap collection should be without. ~ Ted Mills

Rovi