August 9, 1988, N.W.A released “Fuck tha Police,” a protest song from their album Straight Outta Compton. Fuck tha Police was written shortly after the group was harassed by the Torrance Police Department, the song’s lyrics protested police brutality and racial profiling.
In 1989, an Australian government-funded radio station Triple J had been playing N.W.A’s “Fuck tha Police” on regular rotation for six months before it caught the attention of The Australian Broadcasting Corporation management. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation banned Triple J from playing N.W.A’s “Fuck tha Police” following a campaign by a South Australian Liberal senator. The Triple J radio staff went on strike and put N.W.A’s “Express Yourself” on continuous play for 24 hours, playing it roughly 360 times in a row.
Purchase our 100 Hip-Hop Facts (1973-2000) Book
Read: Dr. Dre was in a group called World Class Wreckin Cru before he was in N.W.A.
Read: Ice Cube’s “Kill at Will” was the first hip-hop EP to go platinum
