Straight Outta Compton
Director: F. Gary Gray
Screenwriters: Johnathan Herman, Andrea Berloffk
Cast: Corey Hawkins, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Jason Mitchell, Paul Giamatti, Neil Brown Jr., Aldis Hodge
Universal Pictures
Rated R | 147 Minutes
Release Date: August 14, 2015

On the surface, many biopics based on a music artist or group will probably follow the same old Behind the Music narrative of the successes, hardships, and downfalls of said career. Of course, the subject of those episodic documentaries have had some sort of significance, but few have had as much of an impact both in the music industry and culturally as NWA.

In F. Gary Gray‘s Straight Outta Compton, we see a dramatized version of the rise and fall of the rap group whose significance resonates even 30-plus years after their first studio album of the same name. It was because of NWA’s groundbreaking music that the world learned about Compton, CA, and South Central Los Angeles. But the film also covers what went on when the music stopped, revealing that meteoric success can’t stop an inevitable disbanding.

Straight Outta Compton covers the real life story of NWA, the music group that helped bring gangster rap into the mainstream as well as put a spotlight on the injustice of law enforcement. Though the film chronicles over five years of DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and MC Ren’s activities as NWA from their start to their eventual disbanding in a little over two hours, it does so much more than dramatize a real-life story.

Geeks of Doom were invited to the film’s press day where we got to talk to the young cast, O’Shea Jackson Jr. – Ice Cube’s own son – who plays Ice Cube, breakout star Corey Hawkins who plays Dr. Dre, and scene stealing Jason Mitchell who plays Eazy-E. During the press conference the three talked about portraying their real-life counter parts, some of the emotional scenes, and the bonds that were created during the production of the film. Check out the full interview below, and be sure to check out our interview with Ice Cube, DJ Yella, and director F. Gary Gray if you missed it.

Straight Outta Compton chronicles the history of the iconic rap group NWA, and how its members helped revolutionize the music industry and influence a nation with their controversial music that was a reflection of their life in south Los Angeles. From their meteoric rise to their disbanding, the biographical film exposes the honest truth about each of the members’ dreams, ambitions, and hopes, and goes far beyond the conventional “Behind The Music”-style documentary storytelling.

We were recently invited to the film’s press day where we had an opportunity to talk to Straight Outta Compton director, F. Gary Gray, as well as two of its producers and NWA members, Ice Cube and DJ Yella, where we talked about how the project came into fruition, the auditioning process, how the cast exceeded expectations, and addressing the critics who condemned NWA’s music but are receiving praise for the film. Check out the full interview here below.

Universal has released a new trailer for G. Gary Gray‘s (Friday, The Italian Job) NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton. The film chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of the iconic rap group NWA, and its members Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), and Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell). The red band trailer premiered already, and this new trailer features more footage of the group struggling to make it big but also inspire a revolution of a silenced generation.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer for Straight Out Of Compton.

The trailer for Straight Outta Compton, which looks to be a surefooted biopic of the incendiary and provocative Los Angeles hip hop group NWA, has been released, and like the legendary band, who are now almost steeped in mythos in the city in the contemporary age, the film also looks to be a hard punch to the senses.

Watch the red-band trailer here below, which includes an introduction by NWA’s Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, and check out the image gallery for the teaser poster and stills from the film.

Straight Outta Compton, which was also the name of NWA’s 1988 multi-platnium selling release, in which their life in essence imitated their art and vice versa, seems to be a no-apologetic look at the band, who were right in a hot bed nerve center that was Los Angeles in the late 1980s, with cities like Compton and Watts full of economic strife, crime, restlessness, and an un-abiding deep hatred for Police and Law Enforcement in general due to the lack of support for the aforementioned problems. It’s an attitude that still runs high today in the city, and in light of recent racial incidents and tragedies across the nation in the last few years, it’s also an attitude that runs high in the nation.