About The Song
“Express Yourself” is a song recorded by American hip hop group N.W.A, performed solo by Dr. Dre. The song, off their 1988 album Straight Outta Compton, samples Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band’s song of the same name. Unlike most songs on the album and by N.W.A, the song is devoid of profanity and violence. “Express Yourself” was released in 1989 as the album’s last single, the album version of the track features rap vocals from Dr. Dre only whereas the extended single version features small verses from MC Ren and Ice Cube, the writer of the song. The song reached number 50 in the UK in September 1989, before reaching number 26 on reissue in June 1990.
The song’s vocals are primarily handled by Dr. Dre though an extended version features interludes from Ice Cube and MC Ren. The song samples Charles Wright & the Watts 103 Street Rhythm Band’s hit, also titled “Express Yourself” (1971).
The song’s lyrics focus on the concept of free expression and the constraints placed on rappers by radio censorship, and disses other rappers for producing radio-friendly songs for mass appeal. The song, ironically, is based on a pop music sample with a clearly ‘radio friendly’ tone, and contains no profanity itself.
The music video starts with a black and white video of slaves working on a plantation. As they escape, the video transitions to the ghetto, as the band members walk through it and dance with the local residents. A “No Rapping” sign is shown. A mounted officer (played by Skeeter Rader) enforces the law on the crowd. Occasionally band members are depicted rapping in a prison environment. Later on Dr. Dre plays the role of the US president. At one point he is talking on the phone with Mikhail Gorbachev, and a photo of Martin Luther King Jr. can be seen in the background. One of King’s quotes, the famous “I Have a Dream”, also appears on a large sign that the band members walk through as the song properly begins. A parody of the assassination of John F. Kennedy follows. The video ends with Dr. Dre being executed in an electric chair. In the version appearing on the EMI YouTube channel and on N.W.A’s official VEVO channel on YouTube, numerous parts are blurred out including logos and faces. Despite this, the complete uncensored video can still be found online. The music video features cameos by Sir Jinx, TK Kirkland, and a then-unknown Warren G.
Video
Lyrics
Yo, man, it’s a lot of brothers out there flakin’ and perpetratin’
But scared to kick reality
Man, you’ve been doin’ all this dope producing
But you ain’t had a chance to show ’em what time it is
So what you want me to do? … (Express yourself)
I’m expressing with my full capabilities
And now I’m living in correctional facilities
Cause some don’t agree with how I do this
I get straight, meditate like a Buddhist
I’m dropping flavor, my behavior is hereditary
But my technique is very necessary
Blame it on Ice Cube, because he says it gets funky
When you got a subject and a predicate
Add it on a dope beat and that’ll make you think
Some suckers just tickle me pink
To my stomach, cause they don’t flow like this one
You know what? I won’t hesitate to dis one
Or two before I’m through, so don’t try to sing this
Some drop science, well I’m dropping English
Even if Yella makes it a cappella
I still express, yo I don’t smoke weed or sess
Cause it’s known to give a brother brain damage
And brain damage on the mic don’t manage nothing
But making a sucker and you equal, don’t be another sequel
Express yourself
(Come on and do it)
Express yourself
(Come on and do it)
Express yourself
(Come on and do it)
Express yourself
Now, getting back to the PG
That’s program, and it’s easy
Dre is back, new jacks are made hollow
Expressing ain’t their subject because they like to follow
The words, the style, the trend, the records I spin
Again and again and again, yo, you on the other end
Watch a brother saying dope rhymes with no help
There’s no fessing and guessing while I’m expressing myself
It’s crazy to see people be
What society wants them to be, but not me
Ruthless is the way to go, they know
Others say rhymes that fail to be original
Or they kill where the hip-hop starts
Forget about the ghetto and rap for the pop charts
Some musicians curse at home
But scared to use profanity when up on the microphone
Yeah, they want reality but you won’t hear none
They rather exaggerate a little fiction
Some say no to drugs and take a stand
But after the show they go looking for the dopeman
Or they ban my group from the radio, hear N.W.A and say “Hell no!”
But you know it ain’t all about wealth as long as you make a note to…
Express yourself
(Come on and do it)
Express yourself
(Come on and do it)
Express yourself
(Come on and do it)
Express yourself
From the heart cause if you wanna start to move up the chart
Then expression is a big part of it
You ain’t efficient when you flow
You ain’t swift, moving like a tortoise, full of rigor mortis
There’s a little bit more to show
I got rhymes in my mind, embedded like an embryo
Or a lesson, all of ’em expression
And if you start fessing, I got a Smith and Wesson for you
I might ignore your record because it has no bottom
I get loose in the summer, winter, spring and autumn
It’s Dre on the mic, getting physical
Doing the job, N.W.A is the lynch mob
Yes, I’m macabre but you know you need this
And the knowledge is growing, just like a fetus
Or a tumor but here’s the rumor
Dre is in the neighborhood and he’s up to no good
When I start expressing myself, Yella slam it
Cause If I stay funky like this, I’m doing damage
Or I’mma be too hyped and need a straight jacket
I got knowledge and other suckers lack it
So, when you see Dre, a DJ on the mic
Ask what it’s like, it’s like we getting hype tonight
Cause if I strike, it ain’t for your good health
But I won’t strike if you just
Express yourself
(Come on and do it)
Express yourself
(Come on and do it)
Express yourself
(Come on and do it)
Express yourself