4. N.W.A.Straight Outta Compton

This record came out in 1988 and I really liked it but didn’t have a radio or car (no driver’s licence), or any money for that matter, so I heard the songs mostly on the streets blasting outta boom boxes and car windows in NYC.

It wasn’t until years later when I "moved" back to DC from SF and was living in an all-black "sobre" homeless shelter that Straight Outta Compton became part of me and my days. Being the only white person among 400 occupants ranging in ages from 18-60 was definitely weird at first, but as the months went on it was the norm and part of my daily routine before piss tests was to borrow the Walkman and Straight Outta Compton cassette from a guy who had become a friend… There was no music allowed in the shelter except on Sundays for worship. The N.W.A cassette was all he had and he would secretly leave the Walkman and cassette in brown paper bag by the swing set everyday and I would put my hood on and walk around the playground for the 30-minute recreation time daily.