In an interview with BackstageOL, Dave Morales sat down with former members of hip-hop group N.W.A, Ice Cube and DJ Yella, to discuss the upcoming feature, Straight Outta Compton.
When asked when the decision was made to create the film to tell the story of the group, Cube, who served as producer on the film, explained, “Once we got a head start off with New Line, once we got a studio behind it, we knew: ‘Ok, this could be real.’”
Nearly half a decade in the making, Straight Outta Compton tells the story of “The World’s Most Dangerous Group” and how they used rap music to voice their frustration, specifically in regards to police brutality in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in America: Compton, California.
Director F. Gary Gray, who found it difficult to balance his job as a director, while also being a fan, is best known for working on 1995’s Friday, in which Cube starred in, alongside Chris Tucker.
Cube continued to elaborate how once “the project moved to Universal…[they] just started putting the gas on it.”
“One of the big things that we got was the rights to shoot it in LA, in Compton. That was a great sign that this was going to be a great project.”
Below is the film’s official synopsis:
In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels—armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent—stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.
In theaters on August 14th, Straight Outta Compton stars O’Shea Jackson, Jr. as Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre, Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E, Aldis Hodge as MC Ren, Neil Brown Jr. as DJ Yella, and Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller.
Check out the full interview below:
