The effects of new N.W.A biopic "Straight Outta Compton" have been more widespread than anyone could have predicted, with other rappers planning their own origin story films, Dr. Dre saving face by "apologizing" to Dee Barnes, and most importantly, a follow-up to Dre's 2001 finally surfacing. But perhaps the most surprising aftershock of all is the ongoing boost in sales of N.W.A's music. Straight Outta Compton (the album) currently sits right behind Compton at #4 on Billboard's albums chart, and "Straight Outta Compton" (the song) has just become the group's first-ever top 40 single.
Cracking the benchmark some 27 years after its original release, the song's current spot is less surprising than the fact that the legendary group has never made it there before. Of course, this probably has more to do with radio stations in the '80s being unwilling to play N.W.A's revolutionarily explicit singles than it does their popularity, which seems like it was almost unavoidable at the time.
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