N.W.A, which stands for Niggaz Wit Attitudes was an all American Hip Hop group from Compton, California. The group consisted of MC Ren, DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E and Ice Cube. They were considered to have been the earliest and most significant popularizers of gangsta’ rap on the West Coast. The rap group sparked up a lot of controversy with their explicit lyrics that glorified drugs, gang violence and disrespecting women. N.W.A was well known for expressing their feelings with songs like “Fuck Tha Police” and Gangsta Gangsta”.

In 1989, Ruthless Records released their first studio album called Straight Outta Compton which sold 750,000 copies even long before they decided to go on tour. Their debut album Straight Outta Compton marked the beginning of new gangsta rap era.

This past Monday, August 10, I had the pleasure of attending the screening in Hollywood at the Arclight Theater on the behalf of 24 Hour Hip Hop. I have to give it up to the members of the movie, it was by far one of the best movies that I have seen in the past year. Normally biopics don’t do justice to the story, but they definitely nailed it with this one!

Even if you aren’t into the hip hop culture, this movie will give you a different perspective on it. For those of you who were too young to remember this era, Gray uses archival footage to sketch out the height epidemic of the crack era. The F. Gary Gray’s film is a feast for hip hop connoisseurs. The N.W.A movie strives to look picture perfect and conventional. This movie is surprisingly funny, it even included a few references from the hit movie, “Friday”.

This movie couldn’t have came at a better time with August 9 marking the one year anniversary of the Michael Brown shooting, in which he was unarmed and gunned down by a police officer. This movie briefly touches on some historic events that will raise a few questions, like has things really changed since 1989? That’s a question many of us still do not have any answer for.

N.W.A has changed entertainment and how we view music today. Only if we can get that type of music back in the hip hop World today. I don’t want to give too much away, but I will say that the movie depicts their humble beginnings all the way up until the death of Eazy E and Dr. Dre starting the Aftermath. Straight Outta Compton will hit #1 at the box office. I can almost promise you that. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Special thanks to producer Bill Strauss and his publicist Hilda for inviting us to the premiere.

– @NadiaWorsleyPR