"Straight Outta Compton" -- a remarkable, must-see film (@ComptonMovie)

Last night I had the pleasure of seeing Straight Outta Compton and the movie was awesome! I laughed. I cried. I wanted to stand up in the aisle and c-walk. I felt so many feelings, but pride was high on the list.

I was born in the mid 80s and raised in the suburbs of Chicago, so I was too young to understand N.W.A.'s impact during their prime, but the movie did a wonderful job telling the story in a captivating way. The cast of mainly newcomers allowed me to easily see them in their roles as members in N.W.A. It should also be noted that Ice Cube's son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., did a stand-out job playing the role of his dad. Nepotism was NOT at work as O'Shea proved his worth and ran with the role.

I can't speak to the overall "accuracy" of the film and what was included vs. left out, but keep in mind that they're trying to condense over 20 years of history into a roughly 2 hour film. You can only do so much. I promise that you'll enjoy the movie, find it both refreshing and timely, and walk out of the theater glad you came.

This isn't about supporting black films, but supporting the art of story telling and telling stories that NEED to be told.

A few things I walked away learning (no spoilers):

1) I didn't realize how much Ice Cube wrote! His talent is remarkable.
2) Dr. Dre was gifted from the start and blessed with the ability to really nurture the talent in himself and others.
3) Eazy-E was never a real musical talent, but he had SO much raw business talent, hustle, and personality!
4) Suge Knight was always a dusty ass dude whose only talent was the art of intimidation.


Icing on the cake? Check out the interview Kendrick Lamar (one of my favs) did with N.W.A.