Straight Outta Compton – “Life like a movie”
N.W.A. is one of my favorite rap groups. Yeah, sure, I know everyone says that NOW, but I still have their pictures and posters from 25 years ago hanging up in my studio at my parents’ house. I’ve always named them as one of my all-time favorite rap groups, along with Public Enemy, EPMD, 2 Live Crew, Outkast, A Tribe Called Quest, and of course Run DMC. On August 14th, “The World’s Most Dangerous Group” released their biopic Straight Outta Compton. In its opening weekend, the movie grossed around 60 million dollars. Two weeks later, the movie had grossed 110 million dollars; holding the number one spot at the box office. The surge in N.W.A.’s popularity caused their song of the same name to make its debut on the Billboard Top 100 Chart and Top 40 for the first time; 27 years after it was released. The album Straight Outta Compton also reached the number 4 spot on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. Although I missed seeing the movie when it was released in the theaters, I made damn sure to buy it when it was released this week.
But before all of the accolades and history lessons, N.W.A. was simply the voice of an area none of my friends or classmates really knew; California, namely Los Angeles and Compton. The group made their debut in 1987 with the compilation N.W.A. and the Posse, featuring artists and groups associated with Dr. Dre and Eazy-E. mostly. If you pay attention, you’ll even hear The D.O.C. (billed as Doc T.) performing as a member of the Fila Fresh Crew, before he went solo. Surprisingly, MC Ren is not featured on the album at all, though he is on the cover. It wasn’t until 1989 that the full impact of the core group was felt on Straight Outta Compton. Initially, there were six members: Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella, Arabian Prince, Ice Cube; with the D.O.C. as a featured guest. Eazy was the leader, as he financed the group and owned the record label, Ruthless Records. Dre and Yella masterminded the production, while Ren and Cube (with the D.O.C.) penned most of the lyrics. I’m not sure WHAT Arabian Prince did, truthfully – wrote some rhymes, I assume.
One of my first memories of N.W.A. was of my classmate/friend Peter walking through our junior high school hallway rapping “Gangsta, Gangsta” VERY LOUDLY to himself. Also, I remember the first time I watched the video for “Respect Yourself” around that time. For some reason, I instantly connected to Ice Cube, in that scene where they bust through the “I Have A Dream” banner. I knew he’d be a standout artist – I just knew. My brother had a bootleg copy of the album on tape. I would take that tape and play it in my earphones when I went to sleep at night. The introduction of Dre saying “You’re now about to witness the strength of street knowledge”, had me on edge the first time I heard it. I didn’t know what to expect. Before I could even imagine what was coming, the heavy percussion of “Straight Outta Compton” blasted in my ears and it was a rush to my 13 year old brain. Then I heard Ice Cube yelling profanity, and talking about gangs and shotguns – I thought I might be in over my head. I thought, where are these guys from?! Is this for real?! What the hell is this?! But yet, I was intrigued. I had listened to what was considered provocative or “hardcore” Hip-Hop in the ’80s – Run DMC, LL Cool J, 2 Live Crew, Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy. But THIS?! No disrespect to Ice-T, but N.W.A. were the only ones that painted a vivid picture of life in California; somewhere that was never on my radar until that point.
Like most biopics, Straight Outta Compton wasn’t exactly accurate. I understand that to include everyone that had anything to do with the group would have made it a 4-hour film. Still, I feel like Arabian Prince and maybe J.J. Fad should have been included, even if it was just briefly. MC Ren definitely should have had more screen time. Another discrepancy that came to mind was that Lonzo William’s club that Dre performed in was called “Eve’s After Dark”, not “Doo-to” (unless the name was changed later). One of Eazy’s protégées, B.G. Knoccout, made a good point: why was Dre’s protégées Snoop Dogg and Warren G featured in the movie, but not any of Eazy’s artists? Even Cube’s Lench Mob crew barely got five minutes. The beef between Dre and Eazy only focused on the issue with Dre’s contract with Ruthless. The movie never featured their personal beef on wax. Eazy’s daughter mentioned on Twitter that the movie played a substantial amount of Ice Cube’s “No Vaseline”, but not a snippet of “Real Muthaphuckin’ G’s”. Of course, by now you’ve probably heard of how Dre’s assault on Dee Barnes was omitted from the movie; though it made national headlines. Again, I know that every detail of the N.W.A. story couldn’t fit in 120 minutes, or whatever it was. However, other movies have been longer than two hours and were successful: X, The Godfather, Scarface, and The Lord of the Rings to name a few. It just seems like near the end, the movie focuses too much on Dre’s connection to Death Row, than the rest of N.W.A.
After watching the movie, I had many questions about the group. I knew what made them famous. Like Public Enemy, Run DMC, 2 Live, and BDP, N.W.A. were not only loud but different from what we were used to hearing. They kicked opened a door to a house that no one outside of the West Coast knew existed. We weren’t even in the same block or neighborhood. Misogynistic and violent they were, but they were also honest. The young people in my neighborhood could relate to N.W.A.’s aggression and frustration. And sometimes, positive songs just weren’t enough. That’s why we loved them. But sometimes I wonder, what if they had never broken up. Would the music still be good by their fourth or fifth album? Would it sound like any of their solo stuff? Would anyone care to listen? I don’t know how they would sound, but I’m willing to bet they still sound great. Just listen to their solo catalogs, and you’ll find plenty of hits and classic cuts in there. However, had they not broken up, we would not have gotten classic dis records like “100 miles and runnin'”, “No Vaseline”, “F— wit Dre Day” or “Real Muthaphuckin’ G’s”. We might not have gotten to hear the Westside Connection, Snoop Dogg, Bone Thugs N Harmony, or Eminem, had they stayed together. Who knows? I guess it was destined. Every great group breaks up or stumbles at some point. But still, after watching the movie and seeing the love that they get on social media, I wonder if things would’ve been different if Eazy was alive, and had gotten rid of Jerry Heller like he was supposedly planning to do. I would have loved to have seen a reunion, with all original members. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the memories of listening to them in my brother’s ’89 Escort GT, with two Rockford-Fosgate 12s in the back. As I’m writing this, I can’t help but laugh to myself as I hear a car at the stop sign by my house playing “Boyz N Tha Hood”.
Vinyl Words 