LA Times · Aug 13, 2015
'Straight Outta Compton's' music tracks sample culture's infancy
N.W.A in 1989, clockwise from top left: DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, Eazy-E, Ice Cube. (Los Angeles Times)There's a shot early in the new film about rap group N.W.A, "Straight Outta Compton," that shows a teenaged Andre Young lying on his back at home, surrounded by records.
It's a quick moment. Albums encircle the artist now known as Dr. Dre, a selection of funk, soul and early rap by James Brown, Roy Ayers, Zapp, Parliament-Funkadelic and others that both inspired the platinum producer as he became a household name and helped soundtrack big chunks of "Straight Outta Compton."