“Straight Outta Compton”
The movie “Straight Outta Compton” has been one of the most anticipated movies of 2015. Especially if you grew up in the 80’s and 90’s, that generation has been waiting for this for quite awhile. Honestly, I wanted to see the movie but I did have mixed feelings. I was worried that the members of NWA wouldn’t be portrayed the right way, that the acting would not embody who they really were or that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. And honestly, I was happily disappointed in that regard. It was an amazing film, the entire cast was incredible. First of all, the story was about NWA and the background of how they formed into a group and everything that transpired after, including the death of Eazy-E. I applaud the director, F. Gary Gray, for his vision and making it all come to life. The entire movie was not focused on one member more than another (which can happen in some Bio-Flicks) but on them all collectively.
I don’t want to give the movie away because it was so dope that I think everyone should go and see it, at least TWICE! O’Shea Jackson Jr., was the spitting image of his father, so much so that at times I thought it was really Ice Cube on the screen. His speech, his mannerisms, everything was so Cube, it was crazy. Corey Hawkins who played Dr. Dre had me convinced from the jump, plus his energy and his acting were so point. For me, the star though, was Jason Mitchell who had the honor of playing Eazy-E. Mitchell was PHENOMENAL, the first scene of the movie was with Eazy-E, handling some “business” and as soon as he stepped on the screen I felt like it was Eric Wright. Again, the speech and mannerism were on point. But he just embodied him so well, it was almost scary. For a lot of the audience it was a serious trip down memory lane.
It reminded us of the power that NWA had, and when I say power, I’m referring to their determination to be heard and to speak for the thousands of people in the inner cities of LA who didn’t have a voice. Hell, even the inner cities nationwide. They said a lot of things that other artists were afraid to say, they spoke the TRUTH that a lot of people were living at that time. They kept it real in other words. On the other hand a lot of the audience members were teenagers, most of them didn’t even know what was going on half of the time. I think this movie opened their eyes though, it let them see just how much of a impact music really had on people. It reminded them that music hadn’t always been about the silly lyrics, the corny dances, etc. It showed them that music then, came with a message. The message that they were spreading was simply the truth of what they were experiencing and what they had seen in their environments.
If one really looked there was a serious correlation between what happened then and what’s going on now. There were also things that I learned about the members of NWA that I hadn’t known at the time, I mean, I wasn’t that old when they were on the rise. I was so impressed by who they were and are, Ice Cube always had his integrity and dedication to keeping his music legit. Dr. Dre was clearly a man with a vision, a man with a plan, and he let no one (Not even scary Suge Knight) stand in his way. And Eazy, well his sense of business and his intelligence and drive were amazing. I think that’s what made him so charismatic, he just had a way about him. He wanted something that was bigger then himself. Again, I don’t want to ruin the movie but I’m telling you….this one, it was for US and I already consider it a classic.
The movie "Straight Outta Compton" has been one of the most anticipated movies of 2015. Especially if you grew up in the 80's and 90's, that generation has been waiting for this for quite awhile.
