Straight Outta Compton

Rating: 8/10 (28 August 2015)

I was hyped about this film ever since I saw the trailer a few months back and finally got around to seeing it. Very satisfied with the end product. I'm a big fan of N.W.A., Ice Cube, and Dre so seeing young portrayals of them was riveting. O'Shea Jackson Jr. looks so much like young Ice Cube it is ridiculous. He had all the mannerisms and voice of his father down. The film offered a view at the creation of some of the wonderful tracks in the groups catalog like "Fuck Tha Police", "Express Yourself", and the title track. Its crazy to think that the group was around for a short time, yet became such an influential and iconic group in hip hop. I was very satisfied with the portrayals of the members of the groups. There is some stuff left out with events that transpired with Dre, and the more misogynistic element of N.W.A.'s music but its no biggie. Its so nice to hear some classic tracks from not only N.W.A., but the various solo efforts of the group, among other West coast acts that are featured in the film. Music biopics are usually hit or miss; I can safely say this one was a hit. Dramatic elements, the music, the rowdy atmosphere of the late 80's, and the raw energy of Compton and aggressive hip hop was all captured in this film.