Straight Outta Compton (DVD REVIEW)
DVD
Review
by Kam Williams
DVD Revisits
Rise and Fall of Groundbreaking Rap
Group
Back
in the Eighties, the CIA began orchestrating the introduction of
crack-cocaine to African-American communities all across America,
starting with the South Central L.A. By the middle of the decade, the
epidemic had turned Compton into a godforsaken wasteland rife with
drug addiction and crime.
Thus,
it should come as no surprise that when a young Ice Cube (O'Shea
Jackson, Jr.) teamed up with MC Ren (Aldis Hodge) to write songs,
they'd reflect the reality of what they'd witnessed growing up in the
'hood. In 1988, together with Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), Eazy E (Jason
Mitchell) and DJ Yella (Neil Brown, Jr.), they released “Straight
Outta Compton,” the debut album of N.W.A., aka Niggaz with
Attitudes.
The
controversial group pioneered a seminal sub-genre of rap revolving
around black-on-black violence, misogyny and police brutality. While
detractors criticized their glorification of ghetto dysfunction,
proponents countered that N.W.A. was merely telling it like it is.
Despite
that first CD's going double platinum, Cube soon departed to embark
on a solo career, ostensibly after being ripped off by their manager,
Jerry Heller (Paul Giamatti). In fact, he subsequently threatened to
“put a bullet to his temple” in a tune where he also suggested
his former bandmates “get rid of that devil” because they
couldn't be gangstas “with a white Jew tellin' you what to do.”
Meanwhile, his abandoned homeys promised Cube via lyrics that they
would “f*ck you with a broomstick.”
Ironically,
they would all eventually wise up and come around to agree with Cube,
most notably, Dre, who finally left Ruthless Records in 1991 to sign
with his bodyguard Suge Knight's (R. Marcus Taylor) new label, Death
Row Records. Eazy E would remain loyal to Heller the longest, leaving
not long before he died of AIDS at just 31 years-of age.
All
of the above is recounted in vivid fashion in Straight Outta Compton,
a gritty raptrospective that unfolds like an extended episode of
VH1's Behind the Music. Directed by F. Gary Gray (Law Abiding
Citizen), the film does seem to be celebrating the sort of depraved
behavior that might lead to an early death.
For,
between off-stage and concert performances of N.W.A. hits. we're
basically being treated to such sights of these hedonistic pop stars
as “drowning in pussy” in a hotel room littered with groupies,
settling their differences with adversaries at gunpoint, and being
arrested after ignoring orders by the authorities to stop performing
the incendiary F*ck the Police.“
The
cinematic equivalent of a nostalgic fanzine designed with die-hard
devotees of gangsta' rap in mind.
Good (2
stars)
Rated R
for violence, drug use, pervasive profanity and ethnic slurs, graphic
sexuality and frontal nudity
Running time: 147 minutes
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Home Entertainment
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