The upcoming movie Straight Outta Compton tells the story of how the rap group N.W.A rose to fame in an America plagued by controversies over police brutality, racial injustice, and economic inequality in the late '80s and early '90s.
N.W.A founding member Ice Cube (né O'Shea Jackson), – who was just 19 when the hit single "F--- Tha Police" ignited a furor in 1988 – says things haven't improved enough. "I would've hoped they would have, but I wasn't counting on anything," he tells PEOPLE in the magazine's new issue.
Following the high-profile deaths (including those of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice and Freddie Grey) involving police over the past two years and the protests that followed, Ice Cube, now 46, says the biopic is "relevant today even though it's talking about things that happened 20 years ago."
His take on the controversy over police treatment of minorities: "We got to hold these officials, authority figures and officers accountable when they break the law. No more trying to hide it, cover it up, or excuse it. The solution is, to put body cameras on all these police, and make it a federal offense to tamper, erase, or obstruct the camera and the footage. Then we'll see things start to slow down.""
When N.W.A.'s "F--- Tha Police" first hit the airwaves, it sparked a powder keg of controversy, prompting one of the earliest uses of the "Parental Guidance" sticker, and signaling a watershed moment for the recording industry. Despite all attempts at censorship, the song became a battle cry for disenfranchised urban youth who felt unfairly targeted by the police.
Law enforcement officers were outraged, and sometimes forbade the group from performing the song on tour. When N.W.A ignored instructions from the Detroit Police Department to scrap "F--- Tha Police" from their set list, they were all promptly arrested mid-performance. This sparked a riot from fans, who threw bottles and garbage at police while chanting the song's chorus.
[h/t : people.com]
