-
Play on Mog
Yes, it scrobbles! Learn more
-
Play on Spotify
Yes, it scrobbles! Learn more
-
Play on Rdio
Yes, it scrobbles! Learn more
-
Play on Hype Machine
Yes, it scrobbles! Learn more
About This Track
“Express Yourself” is a song recorded by American hip hop group N.W.A. The song, off their 1988 album Straight Outta Compton, samples Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band’s song of the same name. Unlike most songs on the album and by N.W.A, the song is almost devoid of profanity and violent content.
The song’s vocals are primarily handled by Dr. Dre though an extended version features interludes from Ice Cube and MC Ren.
The song’s lyrics center around ideas of free expression and the constraints placed on rappers by radio censorship. They also speak of the fact that other “rappers” are afraid to express themselves for fear of what other people might think and that they try to be like everyone else.
This song is featured in the video games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4, EA’s Skate and in the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith. However, the version featured in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 is slightly different.
In 1990 the Australian government youth radio station Triple J played the song on continuous loop for 24 hours (360 times in a row) whilst the station went on a protest strike against censorship. After playing NWA’s “Fuck tha Police” for six months, government action had forced the station to stop playing the song. At that time Triple J had been the only station in the world playing the controversial song. Continuously playing the band’s other popular song during this strike was deemed an appropriate response to show solidarity with the band and dissatisfaction with the decision.
The song’s vocals are primarily handled by Dr. Dre though an extended version features interludes from Ice Cube and MC Ren.
The song’s lyrics center around ideas of free expression and the constraints placed on rappers by radio censorship. They also speak of the fact that other “rappers” are afraid to express themselves for fear of what other people might think and that they try to be like everyone else.
This song is featured in the video games Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4, EA’s Skate and in the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith. However, the version featured in Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 is slightly different.
In 1990 the Australian government youth radio station Triple J played the song on continuous loop for 24 hours (360 times in a row) whilst the station went on a protest strike against censorship. After playing NWA’s “Fuck tha Police” for six months, government action had forced the station to stop playing the song. At that time Triple J had been the only station in the world playing the controversial song. Continuously playing the band’s other popular song during this strike was deemed an appropriate response to show solidarity with the band and dissatisfaction with the decision.
Send Ringtones to Cell Similar Music
Play N.W.A RadioWith: Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Compton's Most Wanted and more…
People who listen to this also like
| Track | Duration | Listeners | ||
|
|
N.W.A - Something Like That | 3:35 | 76,566 | |
|
|
N.W.A - Quiet on tha Set | 3:58 | 54,382 | |
| Ice Cube - It Was a Good Day (album version) | 4:22 | 12,606 | ||
|
|
Eazy-E - Eazy-er Said Than Dunn | 3:40 | 100,198 | |
| Dr. Dre - Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin') | 4:51 | 53,329 | ||
|
|
Dr. Dre - Nuthin' But a "G" Thang | 3:58 | 124,756 |
Albums featuring this track
-
Straight Outta Compton
N.W.A
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.49
- 7digital Search
- iTunes $7.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $18.13
- eBay Search
-
Staight Outta Compton
N.W.A Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Straight Outta Compton: 20th Anniversary Edition
N.W.A Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon $1.75
- eBay Search
-
Hip Hop Don't Stop The Greatest (disc 2)
Various Artists Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Shouts
-
BeckaXstar wrote:
<3
-
DastardlyDuce wrote:
Love this track but the album version is so much better as it doesnt have that annoying screeching noise in the background.
-
madjock321 wrote:
good shit
-
madjock321 wrote:
brilliant
-
ivanshello wrote:
бля вот откуда ilwt спиздили минус под семена-страпона)
-
Flesh-n-Bone wrote:
This song is one of the greatest creations ever on this planet. Thankfully, it's also something that I will never lose!
-
Ariues wrote:
koopa_516 says DJ Yella said he doesnt smoke weed but everybody thikns its dre cuz of the video. hmm
-
Pack95 wrote:
"I find it funny that in this song Dr. Dre says he doesn't smoke weed, yet he has an entire album about weed. " A lot of things can change in 4 years......[3]
-
chris818er wrote:
bomb
-
TendaiMbofana wrote:
hey drope mi 1 mic
-
LTL71 wrote:
'waTz up B.A.B.Y."
-
CowTownPunk wrote:
this sounds so happy! :D
-
xxxvanessaxx wrote:
nwa
-
BigPolaka wrote:
oldschool,класика жанра,все эту песню знают,она даже в гта играла
-
koopa516 wrote:
That was DJ Yella, Not Dre, who said that line It only appeared as dre in the music video
-
Ariues wrote:
'I still express, yo, I don't smoke weed'. Yeah, right. Sure, Dre...[2]
-
gendervariant wrote:
"I find it funny that in this song Dr. Dre says he doesn't smoke weed, yet he has an entire album about weed. " A lot of things can change in 4 years......[2]
-
El_Salvador7 wrote:
'I still express, yo, I don't smoke weed'. Yeah, right. Sure, Dre...
-
IrishPride33 wrote:
love this song
-
yrharris wrote:
Marce. B sing from N.W.E. for show.
Track Stats
568,745 Scrobbles
148,231 Listeners
Recent Listening Trend
Listening Now
Top Listeners
See more
Recent Activity
-
GabrielMoran, potadoes, puppet0814 and 5 other people loved N.W.A – Express Yourself. 34 minutes ago
-
btraven17 tagged N.W.A – Express Yourself with gangsta rap, old school, hip hop and 2 other tags. yesterday afternoon
-
btraven17, BeckaXstar, JackSpacesick and 1 other person loved N.W.A – Express Yourself. yesterday afternoon
-
twi12345 added Express Yourself to twi12345’s library. yesterday morning
-
winky91, michaelinmi72, SetteshSutekh and 23 other people loved N.W.A – Express Yourself. yesterday morning
-
lascebras added Express Yourself to the playlist All-Time-Favourites (Hip-Hop). Wednesday morning
-
thajoker253, donahue16, woodedgrub19995 and 52 other people loved N.W.A – Express Yourself. Wednesday morning
Related Journals
-
300 songs before you go deaf
by spree0220 |
30 Nov 2011
| 10 comments
-
50 Questions About Top 50 Artists
by imgettinglastfm |
3 Jun 2009
| 1 comment
-
One of those "soundtrack" journals...
by pamento |
19 Oct 2008
