The N.W.A Legacy, Vol. 2 [Clean] - N.W.A.

Despite the name, The N.W.A Legacy, Vol. 2 isn't an N.W.A release per se, but a compilation of tracks from the pioneering hip-hop group's members and various associates. Snoop Dogg, for instance, shows up five times (in various permutations), while N.W.A is only represented by three tracks, including album cut "Appetite for Destruction." The other two numbers, however, weren't featured on either 1988's Straight Outta Compton or 1991's Niggaz4life: "Hello," from Ice Cube's War & Peace, Vol. 2, and "Chin Check," from 1999's Next Friday soundtrack (and in which Snoop Dogg shows up a sixth time, filling in for Eazy-E, who passed away in 1995). This 78-minute release is a follow-up to 1999's well-received two-disc set The N.W.A Legacy, Vol. 1: 1988-1998. If the lineup of artists isn't identical -- 2Pac and N.W.A's DJ Yella, for instance, don't make repeat appearances -- it's quite similar (Mack 10 and D.O.C. do). Highlights include the two non-LP N.W.A tracks and the Westside Connection's Ice Cube-penned "Gangsters Make the World Go Round," a humorously ironic take on the Stylistics' 1971 hit, "People Make the World Go Round." You could say that volume two is more of a taster for the N.W.A fan -- or soon-to-be fan -- than a full-course meal, as Priority would re-release digitally remastered versions of Compton, Niggaz4life, and Eazy-E's Eazy-Duz-It only a few weeks later. [The clean edition cuts any profanity or questionable language from the album.] ~ Kathleen C. Fennessy, All Music Guide