Ice Cube on 'Straight Outta Compton:' 'I've been dreaming about this for over 20 years'
theGRIO REPORT - Ice Cube and DJ Yella talked to theGrio about working on the upcoming N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton.
Ice Cube and DJ Yella talked to theGrio about working on the upcoming N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton.
“It’s been in my head ever since I started to do movies, so I’ve been dreaming about this for over 20 years,” Ice Cube told theGrio.
Cube, one of the film’s producers, credited director F. Gary Gray with getting everyone on the same page. The two first teamed up 20 years ago for Ice Cube’s first film, Friday.
“Once we brought in Gary Gray, I think that made things easier,” Cube said. “You know, that brought Dre along, then Ren and Yella. It just started, you know, once we got one good piece, all the good pieces started to take shape.”
Ice Cube and DJ Yella, as well as Dr. Dre and MC Ren, worked with the actors who were selected to represent their younger selves. Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., took on the role of his father and was joined on-screen by Jason Mitchell (Eazy-E), Corey Hawkins (Dr. Dre), Neil Brown Jr. (DJ Yella) and Aldis Hodge (MC Ren).
“I mean it was great seeing new talent flourish and grow up right in front of our eyes portraying us,” said DJ Yella. “You know, his son did, I mean what can can we say? Excellent job. Excellent. And all of them did excellent jobs.”
“They had a little burden on them,” Yella added. “They had to be us.”
“It was great to see them relive it,” said Cube. “A little surreal. I felt like I was in that Back to the Future movie sometimes.”
The new film follows the highs and lows of the five young men who joined together to form the revolutionary rap group N.W.A. The west coast rappers made headlines nationwide with their unapologetically honest lyrics and depiction of street life. Although N.W.A. formed in the mid-80’s, the social issues they addressed are still relevant today.
Straight Outta Compton hits theaters this Friday, August 14.
