Straight Outta Memory
Like most Americans this past weekend, I spent 2 hours and 22 minutes of my time at one of the longest-standing remnants of organized crime in America — the movie theaters — and watched Straight Outta Compton. Seriously, how has there not been an RICO investigation into movie theater owners? To go to the movies is to actively participate in extortion but it is something we continue to do despite having to take out a new line of credit each time you want to go. Anyway, this past Friday I offered up my monies to watch a rap biopic on NWA, the iconic rap group that pioneered Gangsta rap and established a West Coast presence in the largely East Coast stronghold on rap/hip-hop. It was not exactly that.
There was a lot of rap and it was definitely a biopic, but NWA doesn’t seem like the primary focus. A more appropriate title of this film could be: Straight Outta Memory: Dr. Dre’s Fuzzy Recollection on the Early Days of NWA, NWA as told by Dr. Dre, or simply The Dr. Dre Story. What I’m saying is that the movie seems a little… what’s the word I’m looking for? Biased? Skewed? Disney-ish? Whatever it is, this movie is clearly about Dr. Dre and we’re lucky he was catapulted to fame through NWA otherwise I’m not sure NWA would’ve been in this movie about NWA.
This doesn’t mean that the movie is bad. Straight Outta Compton is actually a really good movie and I implore you to watch it. Personally, this is one of those films that I actually want to sneak through the cracks and win an Academy Award or a Golden Globe or both one time for the ‘hood. And not just for the music either. Straight Outta Compton is a rather interesting period piece in that in largely takes place in the early nineties which is recent history for us. Not to mention, the early nineties were kind of bland, style wise, for men (which there are a lot of in this film) so it might be difficult portraying a man’s style differently in 1986 and 1993. Ice Cube’s character (which I’m sure you already know was played by his actual son who is actually his doppelganger) displays a style switch by simply cutting off his Jheri Curl. Eazy-E seems to transition his Jheri Curl into cornrows just before his death. The outfits were pretty much the same, though. For all the talk of gentrification, Compton and other ‘hoods of Los Angeles haven’t changed much aesthetically. There are very much parts of South Central that look the same as they did in 1986, which is both the year NWA formed and the year that I was born. Secondly, the ‘hood still loves the standard Dickie’s, G Nikes, Chuck Taylors, white tees, and the colors red, blue, and black. So going into the movie I was really curious about how, exactly, they’d transform me back into the late-eighties/early-nineties — a time period that I vaguely remember, aesthetically speaking — without me thinking that all they did was slap on some wigs. The cinematography is actually brilliant. NWA is known for wearing all black, or to quote the movie, “Raider gear”. At times, it feels like you’re watching a movie in black and white with an ill VSCO filter. Other times, its colors are vivid and gritty. There aren’t many cool angles because that is not what director F. Gary Gray is known for. Had this been a Hype Williams film, I am certain every thinkpiece you’ve read would be talking more about the cinematography and less about NWA. This is probably why this isn’t a Hype Williams film. It is still, however, something cool to look at for 2 hours and 22 minutes.
What F. Gary Gray does excel in as a director is invoking comedy at just the right moment. There are a lot of those moments. This movie is funny. You would not think that a movie about NWA or any hardcore gangsta rappers would be a comedy. Gangstas are not supposed to have fun, or laugh, or be multi-dimensional human beings like the rest of us. Gangstas are just supposed to gang. But not in this movie. Even when the characters get stoic, like when the remaining members of NWA hear recently departed Ice Cube’s “No Vaseline” for the first time, they are still funny. Eazy-E is hilarious. Ice Cube is hilarious. DJ Yella is hilarious. MC Ren is hilarious. Even The D.O.C., a character who has like 5 lines the entire film is hilarious. But you know who doesn’t find anything funny in this movie? Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre is the Shaft of NWA. He is so serious. All the time. Except when Ice Cube is kicking a half-naked girl who was just giving Eazy-E fellatio out of a hotel room orgy. Everyone thought that was funny.
And since we’re talking about women now, I’d like to bring up that there are an abundance of naked or almost women straight from your Instagram feed and onto your silver screen of all shades and colors. Remember a few years ago before the producers even had a chance to secure the main cast and they sent out a casting call for a party scene? Where girls were to be cast by an alphabet caste system and the “A” girls all had to be shade Beyoncé or lighter? No? Okay well here’s an article where you could read up on that. Anyway, I don’t recall seeing an overabundance of “A” girls on the screen in the final cut. The skin tones were well-balanced. This is something I appreciate as I live in Silicon Valley and have a very small chance of seeing black people outside of my own family in any shade within my daily life. But you know the woman I didn’t see, not even once? Not during the whole entire 2 hour and 22 minute movie?
Michel’le.
How do you make a movie about Dr. Dre disguised as a movie about NWA and not mention Michel’le? Michel’le! Now, if you’re simply reading this piece and have not seen the movie or know very little about NWA and Dr. Dre, then you might be wondering why I’m so pissed at the glaring omission of Michel’le. Let me explain.
Michel’le is low key clutch to the success of West Coast Gangsta Rap. Why? Michel’le sung all them damn hooks. Why did she sing all of those damn hooks? Because Dr. Dre was her boyfriend and, eventually, fiancée. I’m guessing she wasn’t mentioned because Dr. Dre took making beats a little more literally with Michel’le and physically abused her for years. Michel’le eventually broke things off with Dre only to move on to, and eventually marry, Suge Knight but that is a different article for another day. Did you know that? Did you know that Dr. Dre used to enjoy beating women. Sure, he may have had Ice Cube write a rap or two about it (because we all know Dre has probably never written a rap on his own in his life) and you might have heard them and casually brushed them off as “just rap”. It wasn’t just rap. It was real. In fact, Michel’le only has that Reebie Jackson nose job because Dr. Dre beat her so badly that, after being broken so many times, she needed reconstructive surgery.
“Why would Dre put me in it? If they start from where they start from, I was just a quiet girlfriend who got beat up and told to sit down and shut up.”
—Michel’le
The thing is, you can’t make a movie about Dr. Dre disguised as a movie about NWA during the years 1986–1996 and not include Michel’le. You just can’t skip over her but have Nicole, Dr. Dre’s wife of 20 years, in the film despite her coming around at the tail end and getting even less screen time than The D.O.C. You just can’t do that. Michel’le is fucking important here. Her hooks are iconic and legendary and something you all should know.
Just so you don’t think I’m some super R&B enthusiast who would even know about obscure background singers from the 80s turned powerhouse vocal soloists (I am), I’m not the only person who noticed the glaring omission of Michel’le. VLAD TV sat down with her in an interview and asked her about it to which she replied, “Why would Dre put me in it? If they start from where they start from, I was just a quiet girlfriend who got beat up and told to sit down and shut up.”
Michel’le, if you’re reading this, that is simply not true. A large part of the success of NWA, and later Death Row, is due to you singing DOWN on those hooks. You helped make Ruthless Records radio-friendly. You helped Ruthless Records gain female listenership. You helped make Dr. Dre become the success that he is today. And you most certainly should have been included in the Dr. Dre movie disguised as an NWA movie. There are quite a few of us who have never forgotten you.
