Straight Outta Compton: fact-checking the film … with Ice Cube
Ben WesthoffDid Dr Dre really DJ in a lavender puffer jacket? What was Fuck tha Police really inspired by? And was an NWA reunion really in the cards? We sit down with Ice Cube to sort the true say from the hearsay
Ice Cube and Dr Dre’s debut performance
In the film: Cube and Dre’s first show together takes place at a cramped local club called Dooto’s. Dre’s already a regular there – DJing in a puffy, lavender jacket – and warns Cube that the crowd will be tough. But they quickly warm to the performers as Cube raps Gangsta Gangsta. Eazy and MC Ren observe the proceedings as well, a pair of Crips in a crowd of mostly Bloods.
In reality: The show actually happened at erstwhile Compton skating ring Skateland, whose kiddie pleasures were indeed belied by the overwhelming presence of Bloods. “I would tell him that with this crowd you’d better get up and rock, because if you didn’t, they’d throw these full cups at your ass,” Dre told Rolling Stone. Cube did perform Gangsta Gangsta, but otherwise mostly did naughty parodies of popular tracks, like turning Salt N Peppa’s I’ll Take Your Man into I’ll Fuck Your Friend. Dre’s effete costumes, meanwhile, were reserved for his first group World Class Wreckin’ Cru, who are entirely absent from the film.
The truth according to Ice Cube: “It was a rough crowd. I was anxious to go on. I wasn’t sure what we had created was gonna work. I knew we were ready, and that we were good, but still you never know how you’re gonna be accepted by a crowd.” But it came off? “Yeah, we killed that shit. It was great. Audience was into it. They was riding on every punchline.”
The genesis of Fuck tha Police
In the film: Taking a break from recording one day at their Torrance studio, NWA steps outside, when a pair of cops – one white and one black – begin harassing them for no reason. They put the guys on the ground, until Jerry Heller intervenes, threatening to call the mayor. Soon afterward Cube writes some lyrics, Dre gives his approval, and they quickly begin recording Fuck tha Police.
In reality: In his memoir Ruthless, Jerry Heller describes a scene similar to the one outside the recording studio, called Audio Achievements. “‘On your knees, hands behind your neck,’ one officer said, approaching Yella … with a bit more energy, the other cop began barking orders at Eazy and Dre. I was befuddled. ‘What’s going on?’”. But Cube had the concept for Fuck tha Police long before Dre was on board, despite Dre’s own frustrations with law enforcement. In fact, owing to traffic infractions, in early 1988 Dre was confined to jail on weekends, allowed out only during the week, to work.
The truth according to Ice Cube: “He didn’t want that song out while he had to go back and forth in the county. But when he was off of that little stint, when I brought the idea back up, he was down to do it.” What inspired you to write the song? “We were sick of being harassed by the police, just because we was young and black. [LAPD chief] Daryl Gates had declared a war on gangs. And if you think every black kid is a gang member, that means there’s a war on every black kid you see.”
If you think every black kid is a gang member, that means there’s a war on every black kid you seeIce CubeCube leaves NWA
In the film: Not long after Cube sees Eazy and Heller brunching on lobster and champagne, Heller calls him into a hotel room and presents him with a contract. If he signs, he’ll also receive a $75,000 check. Cube asks to show the contract to a lawyer, but Heller insists lawyers just muck everything up. Cube then announces he’s leaving the group.
In reality: Cube thought it was ridiculous that Eazy, who owned NWA’s label Ruthless Records, and Heller, their manager, were driving luxury cars and living in mansions while he still lived with his parents. But departing NWA was not an easy decision. He secretly consulted with publicist Pat Charbonnet (who isn’t portrayed in the film), who facilitated his solo deal with Priority Records.
The truth according to Ice Cube: “Pat Charbonnet was very instrumental in me recognizing that the situation with Ruthless and Jerry Heller just wasn’t right. Just by her being so smart about the business, I ended up naming her my manager, and the first person she went to was [Priority’s] Bryan Turner. She said: ‘Cube’s solo, you want to give him a deal? Or if not we’re going to go get it somewhere else.’ So he stepped up, and I’m glad he did.”
New Music Seminar brawl
In the film: Cube and his new group Da Lench Mob arrive at the 1990 New Music Seminar – a New York industry showcase – where they are suddenly attacked by unidentified assailants. A bar-room style brawl commences.
In reality: Cube’s dispute was with Above the Law, a Ruthless-signed group partly tasked with filling Cube’s void when he left the label. He and their rapper/producer Cold 187um had already scrapped at an Anaheim show earlier that year, and Cube brought along Da Lench Mob partly as protection. It indeed was a wild showdown, with tables flying and shiners administered. But Cube wasn’t really involved; when it began, he was speaking on a panel.
The truth according to Ice Cube: “It was thick in the air. I was more upset that we came all the way to New York – finally getting the respect we deserve – and we fucking up their seminar.” Da Lench Mob and the Zulu Nation both had your back, right? “Yeah, everybody had my back that day. Me, I wasn’t worried, I was more upset that we came out there and fucked their shit up.”
An NWA reunion?
In the film: Towards the movie’s end, Eazy asks Cube about reuniting NWA. Cube says he’s down if Jerry Heller isn’t involved, and Eazy fires the manager shortly after. Eazy then brings the reunion idea to Dre, who is 100% on board. As Eazy lays dying in hospital of Aids, Dre sobs while telling him about the amazing new tracks he’s made for the group.
In reality: Eazy and Cube did in fact speak of an NWA reunion at New York nightclub Tunnel, not long before the former learned he had Aids in 1995. But there was a major stumbling block: Dre hadn’t committed to it. In fact, Cold 187um says he wasn’t slated to produce any new NWA tracks.
The truth according to Ice Cube: “I told Eazy I was down to [reunite NWA], I thought it was a good idea. He was in his feud with Dre at the time. I told him if he could work that out, call me, and I’d be ready to go. He had told me that he had fired Jerry Heller. That’s the only reason I told him I would do it. I told him I couldn’t work with Jerry Heller.”
Straight Outta Compton is released on Friday in the US and is out in the UK on Friday 28 August
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