Straight Outta Compton is produced by Ice Cube and Dr Dre and directed by F. Gary Gray.
If word on the street is to be believed, then the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton is yet another cog in the Hollywood entertainment machine. 
 

The film has come under pressure from critics and domestic violence campaigners alike over its decision to ignore key elements, including Dr Dre’s brutal attack of Fox TV host Dee Barnes in 1991. Produced by two of the groups founding members Ice Cube and Dr Dre, some have even gone as far as suggesting the producers shaped the story in order to airbrush their characters, all in preparation for big screen immortalisation. 

With regards to Dee Barnes, it’s a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ type scenario, with the left shouting censorship and the right denouncing the promotion of violence. As a whole however, the lengthy task of condensing decades of not one but three life stories, and combining that with the infamous three-hour cinema barrier, means the task of depicting every detail becomes nigh on impossible – even for the likes of director F. Gary Gray.

“There are so many people involved and there were so many lives that were affected in this film, that you’re going to hear everybody else’s side of the story,” notes Ice Cube’s son Oshea Jackson Jr. at the Straight Outta Compton Q&A session, an actor who plays the role of his father in the highly anticipated biopic.
Ice Cube, Oshea Jackson Jr. and Jason Mitchell at the Q&A
“I knew my father would keep it real, and that’s the real life movie, it’s not over Hollywood or over fantasized, it’s based on true events here. I’ve heard these stories my whole life and a few with the debauchery were fun to film – I’m not going to say I knew about the duffel bag filled with hardware you know, but we’ve done it by the book right there.“
And despite the criticism, Oshea insists the plot line has always stayed true to real life events.

“I never wanted this film to be a lie. The newer generation hasn’t necessarily grown up listening to NWA and will take this movie as law. I wanted this to be as authentic as possible.”

But criticism aside, what about the good stuff? Let me tell you, there’s plenty of it and every drop outweighs the negative criticism this film has received.

From the get go it’s clear this is a story made for the big screen. The combination of drive, talent and disadvantage makes N.W.A’s journey sound like the work of scriptwriting legend. There’s no question that Straight Outta Compton’s casting directors got it spot on – not least because the actor playing Ice Cube holds the same genetics as the guy himself. Each character is visually convincing, engrossing and comes with the on-screen attitude to back it up.

    

Oshea’s desire to create a truthful depiction of his father produces a performance that rivals the top dogs of Hollywood. The most astounding part comes when you discover that Straight Outta Comptonis in fact his feature debut.

It’s a film made with passion, one that doesn’t appear to stray far from the factual bones of the story. Sure Hollywood may have glamorized and dramatized it somewhat, but considering the story became tied into a multi-million pound deal with an institution such as Universal Pictures, things could have gone down a far different path. It’s gritty, it’s rebellious, it’s everything N.W.A hoped to achieve with the record Straight Outta Compton.

But more importantly, let’s talk about Ice Cube and the snippets of wisdom he unleashed upon the audience during the Q&A. Not only is the man quotable to the extreme, but Ice is a guy who’s head is well and truly screwed on. He doesn’t just point the finger of blame, he suggests solutions and constructive ways to implement change. In fact, I’m pretty sure this man makes more sense than half the politicians out there. From notorious rap gang member to presidential candidate? It may sound absurd but it would sure make a lot of sense. 

Straight Outta Compton Q&A – The World According To Ice:

On the first lyrics he ever wrote: 

“I’ve got every notebook with the first rap I ever wrote ever, when I was 14 years old. The first line I ever wrote was: “My name is Ice Cube and I want you to know, I’m not Run DMC or Curtis Blow.” 

On Success: 

“Have some determination, have some drive and talent, and hopefully they can climb up out of this situation too… who cares if they don’t have a new starbucks on the corner? That shit don’t matter. You’ve got to give the people an opportunity” 

On who runs the industry: 

“These shows are all run by channel directors. Instead of promoting your brain, they’re promoting your booty. See what I’m saying?” 

On originality: 

“Instead of a rap that will tell you how to get out of the situation, they’d rather you listen to a rap that will tell you how to take this pill, drink this thing, smoke that, and so now young rappers think ‘for me to get on the radio, for me to get famous, I gotta make a booty rap, a weed rap, a drug rap, a drinkin’ rap.’ There’s always rappers saying something but their records never get played.”

But Cube, is today a good day? 

“Today’s a great day.” 

On gun crime: 

“It shouldn’t just be disturbing to us in the black community, or us in the poor community, it should be disturbing to everybody.” 

On Obama: 

“Obama reminds me of the black kid that goes to an all white school. Sometimes the kids don’t wanna play with him. And it’s sad because he has great ideas, he’s a smart man, but you can’t pick your skin colour.” 

On change: 

“What you’ve got control over is on the inside, that’s what we should be worried about, what’s on the inside. The cream will rise to the top, it won’t be stifled and maybe we can clean up some of this shit.”


Finally, a big thanks to NME and Twitter for hosting the event.

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