Straight outta Compton, and straight to the big screen: on Twitter, Ice Cube confirmed that an N.W.A. biopic will be released on August 14, 2015.
Straight Outta Compton will tell the story of how the hip hop group rose to fame in the late 1980s and helped put gangsta rap on the map. Ice Cube will be played by his son, Hollywood newcomer O'Shea Jackson, Jr., while Marcus Callender (Blue Bloods, Elementary) and Jason Mitchell (Dragon Eyes, Contraband) will star as Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, respectively. The film is set to be shot in Compton.
There are still key roles that need to be filled; on Twitter, Ice Cube shared that they are still looking for their MC Ren and DJ Yella. He also told MTV News that he will be "totally involved" in the film from start to finish. "I'm engulfed in it," he said. "This is our legacy, you can't play with this, there's no cutting corners."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.