The trailer for the hotly anticipated biopic on the rise of seminal gangsta rap group N.W.A. has been officially whipped out. The cinematic teaser for Straight Outta Compton premiered at the Grammy Awards overnight, and features a black-and-white intro by original members Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, who are shown cruising through their old California neighbourhood and reminiscing about their roots.
“Our music was like our weapon,” the now 45-year-old Ice Cube says. “What a lot of people don’t realise about N.W.A. is it’s non-violent protest.”
The trailer also features surprise cameos from rappers The Game and Kendrick Lamar, who also grew up in Compton. “When I think of NWA it wasn’t music to me,” Lamar says. “It was like a real lifestyle.”
Directed by F. Gary Gray, Straight Outta Compton is due to hit Aussie screens on August 13th. It features a host of relatively unknown actors in the top-billed roles, including Ice Cube’s son O’Shea Jackson Jr playing the part of his old man, Jason Mitchell in the role of Eazy-E, and Corey Hawkins as Dr Dre.
While the biopic has recently been marred by headlines surrounding Suge Knight’s alleged hit-and-run, supposedly sparked by an altercation on the film’s set, the premiere of its official trailer will hopefully restore much of the focus back where it should be, on the film itself. Check it out below.
UPDATE: Straight Outta Compton is out on Blu-Ray January 19.
