Straight Outta Compton is the debut studio album by the American gangsta rap group N.W.A, led by Eazy-E and formed in Compton, Los Angeles County, in early 1987. Released by Ruthless Records on August 8, 1988, the album was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, with lyrics written by Ice Cube, MC Ren, and Ruthless rapper The D.O.C. The track "Fuck tha Police" drew a warning letter from an FBI agent, which increased N.W.A's notoriety, leading them to call themselves "the world's most dangerous group."
 
Straight Outta Compton became the first gangsta rap album to be certified platinum, having sold one million copies by then. That year, the album peaked at number 9 on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at number 37 on the Billboard 200. N.W.A's example spurred the rap genre's shift toward hardcore, gangsta rap.
 
The album was remastered and reissued in September 2000 with four bonus tracks. Approaching its 20th anniversary, another extended version was released in December 2007. In 2015, following an album reissue on red cassettes and the theatrical release of the biographical film Straight Outta Compton, album sales surged, and it was certified 3x Multi-Platinum by year's end. In 2016, it became the first rap album inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The following year, the Library of Congress enshrined Straight Outta Compton in the National Recording Registry, deeming it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."