Brand of the Day: Straight Outta Compton & N.W.A
“Straight Outta Compton” has now officially hit cinemas worldwide after opening in Los Angeles last night followed by a UK release today.
The film chronicles the rise of iconic rap group N.W.A as they emerge from the streets of Compton in the mid-1980s and revolutionise Hip Hop culture with their music.
The film has received widespread critical acclaim including a rating of 87 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes and 8/10 on IMDB. The timing of the its release is strikingly potent in light of its focus on police brutality and racial tension, themes which are reverberating today with the race fuelled demonstrations against police tactics in Ferguson, Missouri.
Here’s more on the Straight Outta Compton film and the N.W.A brand
Beats by Dre rolled out a social campaign in the form of a meme generator which allows users to add their own spin on the ‘Straight Outta...” logo by replacing Compton with anything of their choice.
This #StraightOuttaCompton meme is legit, couldn't help but share it. #shrek pic.twitter.com/Z9b3jVGAws
— Ken Herrera (@kenherreragroup) August 8, 2015
The actors playing the group re-recorded N.W.A's entire Straight Outta Compton album with producer Harvey Mason Jr. to help them get into character.
The actor playing Ice Cube in the film is actually Ice Cube’s son, O'Shea Jackson Jr. He had never starred in a film before however and had to spend two years working with an acting coach.
Easy E’s son, Eric Wright Jr, auditioned for the role of his father however he was rejected. Ice Cube explained the decision to cast someone else was down to his lack of experience, saying: “He goes from selling dope in Compton to fighting for his life in a hospital bed. So we needed to find an actor with a lot of range. And we just couldn’t use just anybody.”
Former Death Row Records owner, Suge Knight, is portrayed in the film by R. Marcos Taylor. It’s rumored that Dr. Dre never asked Knight’s permission to use his image in the film. Apparently this led to an altercation between the pair on January 29 during filming and resulted in Knight storming the set, running over two men in his pickup truck and fatally wounding one. He is being charged with murder.
