The Boyz-N-The-Hood are back August 14th (Straight Outta Compton)

Here’s the Red Band Trailer: http://youtu.be/YVKjM2YYKXA

Back then, Ice Cube, Dr.Dre, Eazy-E, MC Ren, and DJ Yella were calling their personal style of rap “reality rap” because they tackled topics that directly affected their lives and weren’t afraid to be completely honest about it. “We were trying to make records that can go on the radio; and when we started doing mix tapes, which we knew wasn’t going on the radio, thats when we really started to talk about the neighborhood,” Ice Cube told Rolling Stones Magazine. Rapping about living in the hood and what was going on in their lives at that time made their sound so ruthlessly real. So real, it made the media bring their “reality rap” to the masses as “hardcore gangsta rap”. Ice Cube told Rolling Stone that “Music was their only weapon. Our music really displayed the good, the bad and the ugly. A lot of people can take the good and the bad, but they don’t want to hear about the ugly; and we didn’t mind putting the ugly right out there.” It was Eazy who saw the potential in bringing their sound to everyone. He was a “smart cat” as Ice Cube called him, as he was the brains behind their marketing. N.W.A. paved the way for a lot of hip-hop groups and solo artists straight into the music industry.

Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy-E’s widow, Tomica Woods-Wright, came together to produce “Straight Outta Compton”, the biopic about the legacy N.W.A. has left and the power their music still has on an entirely new generation. Ice Cube didn’t want to take the time to teach a director about N.W.A. so he wanted to choose a person who knew the culture and persona of the group. F. Gary Gray, the director of cult-classic “

Friday

“, is taking on this film and we couldn’t be any happier about that. Ice Cube told Rolling Stone that the only other person he would have considered for the job was John Singleton. Singleton most definitely would have worked his magic, but for this movie, a little touch of

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is what we really want, am I right? In the film we get to see a lot of personal moments in the studio between the members of the group and Ice Cube wanted it to be as realistic and true as it could be. Guys like Eazy-E had such a sense of humor, and studio time for these young guys was crazy, loud and raunchy. Boys will be boys; and that’s where the actors come in. Most of the cast is not well-known which could mean many things for this movie, but after watching the trailer, it’s hard to doubt the talent and passion of the young men the casting director chose to use.

Playing Dr. Dre is Corey Hawkins. He played very small roles in “Iron Man 3” and “Non-Stop” with Liam Neeson but this young man is quite accomplished on the stage. He made his Broadway debut in the 2013 revival of Romeo and Juliet playing the role of Tybalt opposite Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad. He also graduated from the prestigious Julliard School with The John Houseman award. During the filming process, Hawkins went to dinner with Dr. Dre a few times and talked about the character. “I don’t want you to try to copy my mannerisms or the way I speak, I just want you to embody the character and turn it into what you feel it is, and I’ll let you know if you’re doing something wrong.” The artistic freedom Dr. Dre gave Hawkins helped him become more comfortable during the process.

Playing Ice Cube is his son O’Shea Jackson Jr. That’s right people, Ice Cube Jr. is playing Ice Cube! O’Shea has no prior acting experience but Ice Cube believes he was born to play this role. Judging from the trailer, it looks like he’s right. He was literally born to play this role. He looks like him, raps like him and even moves like him. After the filming of the movie, Jackson Jr. went on to professionally study acting as a craft, so we can assume that he did an amazing job. Ice Cube must be proud.

Playing Eazy-E is Jason Mitchell. Mitchell is known mostly for his small role in “Contraband” with Mark Wahlberg, but he will be known for this role after this movie drops in August. Eric Wright Jr. – the son of Eazy-E who records under the name of Lil Eazy-E – was reported to be quite upset at the fact that Ice Cube brought on his son to play himself in the film and did not allow Lil Eazy-E the chance to assume the role of his father as well. But Lil Eazy-E broke the rumors and told Rolling Stone that he did in fact feel he was perfect for the role as he grew up in his grandmother’s house (the house that gave birth to N.W.A.) and lived that culture like no one else has. However he has embraced Mitchell, and even invited him to his grandmother’s house, making himself available to him. “I reached out to him to give him the support and any advice he needs. He has a big burden on his shoulders to bring forth the character and legacy of my father and the legacy of N.W.A period,” he told Rolling Stone. Mitchell, along with Jackson Jr. have a lot on their plate but they seem to be doing just fine. Dr. Dre told Rolling Stone that watching Mitchell play Eazy-E in the hospital scenes when he finds out about his AIDS almost brought him to tears.

The young men called upon to play these hip-hop legends have a lot to prove. N.W.A. was not just a gangsta rap group, they were an image. They were icons that represented teenage frustration in a world so corrupt. In the words of their agent Jerry Heller in the trailer (to be played by Paul Giamatti) “Let me tell you what I see here: a lot of raw talent. Swagger. Bravado. People are scared of you guys. They think you’re dangerous, but the world needs to hear it.” And we don’t know about you guys, but we’re going to be bumping N.W.A. all day everyday until this movie comes out because as Eazy said, this music is for everyone. If you’re from the hood, N.W.A. is for you. If you’re from the burbs, N.W.A. is for you. If you’re starving, struggling, marginalized, angry, or frustrated N.W.A. is for you. Countdown to

August 14

starts now!