Andrea Berloff, who wrote Oliver Stone’s true-life movie “World Trade Center,” is tackling the story of seminal rap group N.W.A.
Berloff is writing “Straight Outta Compton,” the story of the rise and fall of the Compton, Calif.-based group, whose initials read Niggas With Attitude. The members included drug dealer turned label founder Eazy-E, young disc jockey Dr. Dre and the politically bent Ice Cube, plus MC Ren and DJ Yella.
Another member, Arabian Prince, left N.W.A. before the group released the ground-breaking “Straight Outta Compton” album in 1988. The album, which featured the title track as well as “Fuck tha Police,” introduced gangsta rap to the world and triggered sales of 9 million units.
As the group rose, however, egos and jealousies surfaced.
Cube left in 1990 over royalty disputes, went solo and warred with the group via songs. All grappled with violence, charges of anti-Semitism, misogyny and homophobia, and even more infighting, this time between Eazy-E and Dr. Dre.
Eazy-E’s death, from AIDS-related causes, set the ex-members on a reconciliatory path. Cube has gone on to a successful career as an actor and producer, and Dre has become a top music producer.
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