The group that changed music, the way we feel about it and the way we talk about it, is making history again. Straight Outta Compton follows the true story of how five young men turned their rage into music, and what turned out to be one of the most influential groups in history. Entertainment Affair was at the press conference and got the insights on the extraordinary performances and original members of N.W.A.

Directed by F. Gary Gray and written for the screen by Jonathan Herman and Andrew Berloff, this film goes back to where it all started and takes you into the beats and rhymes that became their most powerful weapon. Involved with the project for four years, Gray originally got the script from Ice Cube. Admitting he was a little nervous at first, he knew the story was one that needed to be told. “When I read the first draft that Andrew Berloff wrote, I was kinda like ‘Okay, there is something there, something really good there.’ And then when I talked to Cube, and explored really what we could really do with this story, I joined the project,” said Gray.  

Ice Cube, who’s been producing films since 1995 said this movie has been a dream, one that finally came true. “This has kinda been in the back of my mind… By Gary choosing to direct the project, you know the movie really started to take shape and we really started to hone in on what we needed to produce this movie and get it on the big screen.” Pointing out it’s been twenty-six years since they began their journey, DJ Yella comments on the story having all the qualities it needs to be a hit. He shared, “Our passion was music, the lyrics, and we didn’t let anything stop us… It’s a great time right now. It happens to be a perfect time for the movie, and 26 years later the music still sounds fresh.”

Finding a cast that could portray the characters with great ability seems effortless on screen. But, their performances come with great preparation. Gary explains, “The story is really, really personal to me in a lot of ways, but I don’t want to minimize what these guys did ’cause it was really, really hard. You hear about great actors doing a lot to take on a role, and I had these guys go in the gym, and some had to lose weight, some had to gain weight, we went through DJ school, these guys recorded Straight Outta Compton. I had them record the entire album. I had these guys do so much and I believe it was eight weeks, it was like a two month period where they worked around the clock with wardrobe and their trainers, and they worked with Dub C who was William Calhoun, where I got my start, he worked with them to perform on stage and how to walk, talk, and absorb the LA culture and west coast hip hop culture.”  

Corey Hawkins, who plays Dr. Dre described the project as a team effort. He said, “Gary always use to say on set, just keeping in mind that the power of what we were doing, ‘We’re making history about a group that made history.’ But for us it was just coming to work every day. We didn’t take it likely. You know, they placed a story in our hands that we just wanted to do justice to.” Jason Mitchell, who received praises for giving life to such a beloved character as Eazy-E, told us that channeling emotions of his own came quite effortlessly as he too was battling losses of long time friends. On getting this role, he described it as a dream come true and said, “I feel like I hit the life lottery.” O’Shea Jackson Jr. recalls two years of hard work and auditioning was worth the effort. “It’s a huge honor because we’re speaking about N.W.A, but at the same time, this is my family’s legacy… And with the final product I couldn’t be happier.” On performing and not missing a detail of his father, he commented, “If you really want to be technical, I’ve been doing my research for 20 plus years on my character.” To that, Ice Cube added, “What I did with him, I just wanted to give him all the ammunition he needed. I wanted to let him know what I was thinking at the time, my perception of everybody.”

On bringing Jerry Heller to the film, Gary admits Paul Giamatti was his first choice and was lucky enough to keep him on board. On prepping for his character, Gary mentioned Giamatti did his homework, including using as guide a book written by Jerry Heller titled “Ruthless, and a lot of those details of his relationship with Eazy-E and Ruthless Records were in there.” Cube described Jerry’s character as a great opportunity to cast a well-respected actor. “We knew that we were doing this movie with a lot of unknown faces and that if we didn’t have somebody with some weight, none of ya’ll would take the damn movie serious,” he quipped. “We felt like it was important and for Universal.” He also said that while Jerry is the villain of the story, “he was always a champion for the group. When it was about N.W.A vs. the world, Jerry Heller would jump out front and fight. Now, dealing with us individually was a different story. But as far as being a champion for the group, he always fought for our right to be who we are. And we wanted to show him and show his humanity.”  

Straigh Outta Compton penetrates the emotions of what these five men went through, including the humiliation and police brutality and exploitation. How their brotherhood, personal, and life struggles contributed to their rhymes and their everlasting history. Ice Cube said, “It’s amazing that after all this time that the group still provokes thought, controversy. It still provokes the same energy that it did back then. So that’s kind of remarkable. We did a lot to change the texture of entertainment in a lot of ways if you think of how entertainment was before N.W.A compared to how we are after N.W.A, and I just think we just opened it up for artist to be themselves.” He expressed that the movie is not just about the where and the when, “but why did we do this kind of music. People gotta understand that [is] where we come from that forged N.W.A.”

Back in the 1980’s police brutality was real. While things may have changed, it’s no secret these issues still exist. “We understand that cops have to be a little heavy handed with criminals, but we don’t understand why they got to be that way with citizens,” expressed Ice Cube. “Ultimately, most of the incidents were just situations that could happen to anybody at anytime and when the audience know that, that we’re not criminals and they see that happening to us, it feels like it could happen to them or to their neighbors, and that’s why we did these songs. It wasn’t because we don’t like the police. If somebody break into my house, I am calling the goddamn police,” and that’s what led the group into creating the music. 

Gray concluded, “The violation was there. I experienced it. I grew up in the same time and roughly the same area and it was important to know why a 16-year-old would write these lyrics.” Pointing out N.W.A shined a light on these issues before the Internet and camera phones emerged, he admitted, “I’m actually optimistic because of the headlines...That pressure is being put on our leaders, pressure is being put on our law enforcement to change, and now they are in the spotlight.”

Straight Outta Compton opens in theaters Friday, August 14.