N.W.A. origin story Straight Outta Compton has been bubbling under in development for six years, with Boyz N The Hood’s John Singleton attached to direct at one point. The final iteration has F. Gary Gray of Friday fame calling the shots and, as this new trailer shows, a fair few of them will feature beats. MASSIVE beats.
There are also character banners for DJ Yella (Neil Brown Jr.), Dr. Dre (Corey Hawkins), Eazy-E (Jason Mitchell), and Ice Cube (O'Shea ‘son of Cube’ Jackson Jr.) and MC Ren (Aldis Hodge). N.W.A. purists will note the absence of original member Arabian Prince, though he left the outfit before its year was up. **Straight Outta Compton **picks up in the mid-’80s with a group of talented and ambitious musicians, spearheaded by Dre and Cube, articulating their experiences of life on Compton’s mean streets through the explosive medium of rap. Their rise to fame and occasional notoriety came hand in hand with huge success (nine million records sold) and internal frictions that eventually saw the outfit disband.
Cube and Dre have produced this one, so expect a solid focus on the music. Keith Stanfield will show up as Snoop Dogg, with R. Marcus Taylor as Suge Knight and Rogelio Douglas Jr. as Public Enemy's Chuck D. Paul Giamatti plays Jerry Heller, N.W.A.'s visionary manager.
Straight Outta Compton will be straight into UK cinemas on August 14.