3.5-4 Stars

So overall I really enjoyed this book. I grew up listening to NWA and all of the other rap groups in the late 80’s & early 90’s. This book went into a lot of detail about the group and the members individually. It was interesting to read about South Central and the other surrounding areas and how life was for NWA prior and during their rise to fame.

Overall I think the book was well written and anyone who grew up with or liked Rap music would enjoy reading Parental Discretion is Advised.

Hip hop is here forever. This is a very vivid book of NWA and the genre. Enjoyed the read.

This book was great and gave an amazing overview. I would happily recommend this book

A very well researched look at the 80s/90s gangster rap scene. I wouldn't recommend this book to everyone, but it is an eye opening account to the genre. I would also strongly suggest to see the movie Straight Out of Compton before reading this book to grasp this book better .

If you're unfamiliar with the intricacies of the L.A. Rap Scene (in the late 70's and early 80's), have little-to-no understanding of the 1992 L.A. Riots (the catalyst, the under-current of animosity towards the LAPD, as well as the resentment held for South Central's Korean Community), or want a broader understanding of how ground-breaking it was to have a West Coast rap group make such a substantial impact on the genre, as a whole, as we know it today, then this is definitely the book for you.

While I was looking for a basic timeline: Eazy connects with Dre, and then the two combine with Ice Cube, Ren and, Yella to form what would become N.W.A, Kennedy expands the knowledge of his reader by digging deeper into the history of South Central and its residents. A foreknowledge that is certainly necessary in order to understand the "why" of it all.

I was a pre-teen when N.W.A released it's "Straight Outta Compton", so I was able to recall a good bit of the music and the times mentioned by Gerrick Kennedy. Even so, I learned a bit more about how Dre and Eazy came to be, as well as the forces that worked to separate them in the end--forces that likely would've been an issue with or without the infamous Jerry Heller.

Kennedy isn't trying to form opinions, so much as he hopes to better inform anyone who mistook N.W.A as just a bunch of thugs with bad mouths and violent tendencies.

Parental Discretion Is Advised: The Rise of N.W.A and the Dawn of Gangsta Rap is a great read for anyone just getting into the history of rap music, as it pertains to the West Coast's influence, but it may also send you down a rabbit hole of your own research as well...starting with the music that birthed Gangsta Rap and made Dr Dre. and Ice Cube household names.

This was a very well researched, written, and structured account of the rise and fall of N.W.A. The author did hold on back when describing the lives of the Eazy-E, Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella, which was very refreshing. I appreciated that the story was gritty, honest, and true to the guys and where they came from. There was a lot of detail included that you don't really get in other mediums when hearing about N.W.A, such as on film, and it was nice that there were interviews and other information included to supplement the story.

The introduction of the book, about the hologram of Eazy-E at Rock The Bells in 2013, was very attention grabbing. It certainly sucked me in and made me want to read more. I really liked how the story focused on building up the lives of each individual group member too, before launching into the formation of the group and how they rose so quickly to fame. Reading about their decline is understandably not easy, especially as it peaks at the death of Eazy-E, but that just made it very gritty and real.

Good, informative book on NWA. It opens with the hologram of Eazy E performing and the book never lets up from there. If you were or were not a fan of NWA, this book is still interesting. Some have heard of the group from their first recording, some with the death of Eazy E, etc. This book touches on all the members of this historical group and is just very well written. NWA had a lot of talent,and maybe some things were done incorrectly but one thing is apparent, they did not give up and they did give back. I read this book in three sittings. I had to continue reading. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC of this book in return for my honest review.