Songoftheday 08/08/24 -These fools out here afraid to bustm I have no fear afraid of what?

 

 

"Gangsta Nation" - Westside Connection featuring Nate Dogg

from the album Terrorist Threats (2003)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #33 (two weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 6

Today's song comes from the hip-hop "supergroup" trio Westside Connection, made of former N.W.A. member Ice Cube, Mack 10, and WC (of WC and the Maad Circle). Their first album together in 1996, Bow Down, had spun off two singles that made it in to the top-40 of Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart with "Bow Down" and "Gangstas Make The World Go Round". Although they would sporadically contribute songs to movie soundtracks, it would be seven years until they would formally reunite for their second (and so far last) studio record Terrorist Threats on their Hoo Bangin' label distributed by Capitol Records. In the meantime, Ice Cube scored a few solo hits, with "You Can Do It" making the top-40 at the beginning of 2000, and Mack 10 doing the same with "Backyard Boogie" in the fall of 1997. 

The lead single from the record had them join forces with another G-Funk legend, singer Nate Dogg, who also landed in the top-40 on the Hot 100 in the summer of 1998 with "Nobody Does It Better". "Gangsta Nation", written by the foursome with producer Farid "Fredwreck" Nassar, has all three (well, Nate as well) posturing about their "hard" personas, with "bitch" thrown around as the derogatory slur to the men who challenge them. Of course, they save time to denigrate women as well, with A-listers Beyonce and Ashanti somehow catching strays. But with all their dissing of industry plants, the production is their most accessible, with Fredwreck forgoing samples for a prominent synth riff, while they even admit they put Nate Dogg on to make it a "single". But to their credit, the flow between the three veterans is seamless, and besides the tiring lyrical content gives for a somewhat decent ride in that genre...

 

 "Gangsta Nation" became Westside Connection's third, and so far most recent, top-40 hit on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 in February of 2004, while peaking at #22 on their R&B Singles chart and #9 on the Rap Singles list. On the radio, the song hit #25 on the Mainstream R&B airplay chart, and #7 on the dance/R&B-oriented Rhythmic format. Internationally, the single was a minor hit in France (#66) and Germany (#89). The Terrorist Threats album, released in December of 2003, came in at #16 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and #3 on the R&B Albums list, going on to sell over a half million copies. 

Two more singles were put out from the record, "Light's Out" and "So Many Rappers In Love", but neither got much notice. Ice Cube, Mack 10, and WC would go on to release more albums, but this will be their final time in the Hot 100 top-40. As for Nate Dogg, though, he will be back as a featured artist.

(3/10)

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Here's the group in concert...

Up tomorrow: Country duo disputes rural extraction.