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Straight Outta Compton
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.
2015 · Directed by F. Gary Gray · 147 min · Drama · Music · History · Screenplay in the scene database · 9 frames
Tagline
The world's most dangerous times created the world's most dangerous group.
Plot
In 1986, Compton, California, Eazy-E narrowly evades a police raid at a crack house. The following day, Dr. Dre is struggling with what he wants to do in life and is confronted by his mother for missing a job interview. Meanwhile, Ice Cube is a high school senior aspiring to become a rapper. Intrigued by Cube's "reality raps" reflecting on the crime, gang violence and police harassment that they and other African Americans have endured recently, Dre convinces Eazy to fund a startup record label, Ruthless Records, with Dre as record producer. When their song "Boyz-n-the-Hood" is rejected by a New York rap group, Dre convinces Eazy to perform it instead. It becomes a local hit, and Eazy, Cube, Dre, DJ Yella and MC Ren form the group N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes").
Eazy accepts Jerry Heller's offer to manage N.W.A and co-run Ruthless, and Priority Records offers N.W.A a record deal. While recording their debut album, Straight Outta Compton (1989), the group is harassed by police due to their race and appearance, prompting Cube to compose a diss track—"Fuck tha Police"—toward the police. Having witnessed the altercation and being disgusted by the officers, Heller allows the track without hesitation. The album becomes a controversial hit due to its explicit lyrics, and the group's style is dubbed gangsta rap by the press. During a 1989 concert tour, the FBI demands that N.W.A not perform "Fuck tha Police", claiming that it encourages violence against law enforcement. Police in Detroit forbid them from performing the song, but they perform it anyway. The concert stalls and the police arrest the group, resulting in a riot that results in their release.
Heller delays the individual members' contracts with Ruthless, and when he insists that Cube sign without legal representation, Cube leaves the group. His debut solo album, AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990), is released, but when Priority Records is unable to pay him his advance on his next album, he wrecks the label head's office.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Screenplay: Andrea Berloff, Jonathan Herman
- Cinematography: Matthew Libatique
- Edited by: Michael Tronick, Billy Fox
- Music: Joseph Trapanese
- Production design: Shane Valentino
- Produced by: Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Matt Alvarez, Scott Bernstein
Cast
- O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Ice Cube
- Corey Hawkins as Dr. Dre
- Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E
- Neil Brown Jr. as DJ Yella
- Aldis Hodge as MC Ren
- Paul Giamatti as Jerry Heller
- R. Marcos Taylor as Suge Knight
- LaKeith Stanfield as Snoop Dogg
- Carra Patterson as Tomica
- Elena Goode as Nicole
Production
- Country: United Kingdom, United States of America
- Language: English
- Studios: Broken Chair Flickz, Universal Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Cube Vision
- Budget: $28,000,000
- Box office: $201,634,991
- Themes: drug dealer, police brutality, husband wife relationship, rap music, hip-hop, sibling relationship, aids, parent child relationship, gangster, rapper
More by F. Gary Gray
On this film
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