“Straight Outta Compton” is the kind of movie that manages to serve multiple purposes. On the surface it is a normal biopic, the stereotypical rise and fall (and sometimes rise again) story of a musician or group of musicians, but it also gets into deeper societal issues that unfortunately still resonate today. Racial tensions, unfair policing, government censorship, the power of The Truth, it is all here in this tale of a group of rappers who tapped into a raw nerve in this country and became one of the biggest things going on in all of pop culture.

The opening scene of “Straight Outta Compton” is a grabber, as Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell) is involved in what appears to be a gun deal going south, and just as the tension becomes unbearable, here comes a fully militarized police squad knocking down the door of this drug house in the hood, and Eazy has to ghetto parkour his way out of that house before the police catch him, and as he gets away, the title card SLAMS on to the screen in huge letters, saying “Straight Outta Compton,” immediately telling you that this shit is serious.

This is what makes this movie really work because they take the time to really establish their neighborhood and the nature of their lives, the poverty, the struggle, the self doubt, the crime, this is all important to understand, so that when Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins) and O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) start talking about “reality rap,” we know what reality they are talking about. When we see them get harassed and almost arrested by the police foe the umpteenth time for literally standing while black, and then the very next scene is Ice Cube showing everyone his lyrics for “Fuck the Police,” we totally get why he would go that route, we all know what has compelled him to express himself in such a manner.Continue Reading …