Straight Outta Compton, a biopic about the infamous rap group N.W.A., has been set to be released on the big screen in August 2015. N.W.A. was an extremely influential group to the Hip Hop movement during the late 80s to the early 90s. They are often referred to as the most essential gangsta rap group of their time. Although the production of the biopic has been under hot water lately due to its offensive casting announcement in regards to classifying women in the film, the ultimate purpose of this movie release is to individually and collectively capture the livelihoods of six talented young rap artists from Compton, California in a positive light.The film will reveal how this urban group revolutionized mainstream culture in the mid 1980’s with knowledge about everyday urban living in regards to the battle and balance of women, sex, money and drugs.
The group initially consisted of five members - Mike “Arabian Prince” Lezan, Antoine “DJ Yella" Carraby, Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, Eric “Eazy E” Wright and O’shea “Ice Cube” Jackson. MC Ren later joined the group in 1988. From 1986 to 1991 there was much controversy about the group's explicit and derogatory lyrics towards women, sex, money, drugs and crime.Spectators saw the group's explicit lyrics as highly inappropriate and disrespectful.Taking a separate approach from their rival group Public Enemy, N.W.A. came off as extremely blunt and harsh. They received their first break from the underground hit, “Straight Outta Compton”, which resembled Public Enemy's loud and rambunctious feel but with N.W.A.'s own urban twist. Shortly after, N.W.A. became notorious for their hardcore and relentless vibe of music, America seemingly fell in love with the group by relating to their struggles.
Although the rap group eventually hit their peak, they had a pretty rapid downfall. N.W.A. slowly but surely began to dissolve. After Arabian Prince left the group in 1988, rapper Ice Cube departed from the group in 1989. The following two years, Eazy E and Dr. Dre had taken the lead and released two songs within a year titled “100 Miles and Runnin” and “Efil4Zaggin”. Their music continued to grasp a predominately male fanbase as well as a white suburban audience which put them back on the road to success. Although the group seemed to be doing quite well for themselves, Dr. Dre had plans on leaving the group as well. Early in 1992, Dre went on to create Death Row Records with Suge Knight. After Dre’s departure from the group, an enormously publicized feud aroused between the former members causing the group to officially split. Just before the passing of Eazy E in 1995, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre mended issues with their former partner and everyone ended on good terms. The rise and fall of N.W.A. was a tragic but a remarkable time period in Hip Hop history. They created a new meaning to the era of Gangsta Rap and will forever be recognized as phonemes in the industry.
Over a decade later, the remaining members came together and collectively decided to put their lives into perspective for those who may not have been able to experience such a phenomenal time period in music. Hence, the Straight Outta Compton biopic was pitched. After precise deliberation, the film's director F. Gary Gray and several producers including Ice Cube and Dr. Dre came to a decision on who they wanted to cast to play the infamous rappers of N.W.A. in the biopic. The Straight Outta Compton casts features Jason Mitchell (Eazy E), Corey Hawkins (Dr. Dre),James Darnell (MC Ren), O’shea Jackson Jr. (Ice Cube) and Neil Brown (DJ Yella).
With the the release of this film, the directors and producers are looking to give viewers a firsthand experience of how N.W.A. tackled the industry back in their glory days. The film not only offers an educational moment in Hip Hop history but also viewers will get to see how it compares and contrasts old and new school rappers of today.
Stay tuned for further updates because this is something you don't want to miss!
By: Alexis J. Robinson
Twitter: Theywant_BOOSIE
Edited by: Brittany C. Jackson (@BChanelJackson)
