The hugely successful and popular Beatles were an iconic rock group from Liverpool, England. They are frequently cited as the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed band in modern history, with innovative music, a cultural impact that helped define the 1960s and an enormous influence on music that is still felt today.  If you take the millions of record sales out of the equation, Is NWA The Hip Hop Version of The Beatles?  Big Hutch AKA Cold 187um of the west coast hip hop group Above The Law definitely seems to think so.  While he was a guest on "Down With The Kings", the godfather of the G-Funk sound expressed his heartfelt appreciation for what the mega group, NWA did for his career, "To me, they're like my Beatles. I got the whole blue print from them. A lot of people got the rock and roll blueprint from The Beatles, to me in hip hop - they're my Beatles"  Much like The Beatles, NWA took the direction of hip hop into new frontiers by shining a spotlight on gangster rap and hardcore hip hop and as Big Hutch said, provided a "blueprint" for others to follow.  They made their own rules, did what they want and weren't going to let anyone tell them how to do it.  The impact of NWA is still felt to this  was going by  is still felt to this day which was evident by the recent success of the biopic smash feature length film, "Straight Outta Compton".