“Glamorized gang violence and guns” may be what police called rap group NWA in the prime of their music. But in the movie “Straight outta Compton” you see how a group of seven would-be musicians out of Compton, California struggled to create art while others – such as police, gangs, faulty management, and personal conflicts – try to tear them down.

The movie is simply spectacular. If you aren’t familiar with the story behind the NWA and its members, the movie provides an in depth look into the lives of each member. These include Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice cube, DJ Yella, D.O.C, Antoine Carraby, and Arabian Prince. It even has some very interesting cameos from other classic rap artists (although I won’t spoil them for you).

The film starts off examining the birth of the group, then blossoms into much more than a small group of teenagers messing around. They become the representatives of rap culture and early gang unity in the streets of Compton. The movie follows a duration of at least eight years, starting in the late 80s when Eric Wright, AKA Eazy-E, begins the group with nothing but drug money, then continues throughout the rise and fall of the group.

As the movie progresses you’ll see the group get signed to labels, go through the glitz and glamor, and yet still manage to get kicked out of almost every hotel they stay in. As they begin the concert tour circuit, Ice Cube begins to doubt whether long time group manager “Jerry” can be trusted.

The movie gave me a new found respect for the music of N.W.A, because they wrote what they saw and wrote their life experience. So when you see a title like “f*** the police”, you realize that their seemingly unnecessary crudity is born out of things they went through growing up. I recommend this movie to fans of old rap music, but I also recommend this movie to people that like new rap to see how it all started. Not so fond of rap? Then this movie is not for you. But for a rap lover like myself, it scores 5 out of 5 perfectly produced records.