Films > DVD Reviews

Straight Outta Compton

21/12/15

I say, I say, I say. Here’s a hearty larf: Why does Snoop use an umbrella?

Fo drizzle.

Thank you. One reason I really like this joke is that it’s about hip hop and I get it. I’m down with the fact that “rhyme” can be a verb these days. I may be kindov a Goth - the whitest of all the music peoples - but even I know that there’s a guy called Snoop , and a really important guy called Dr Dre who, I seem to remember, now makes overpriced earmuffs. Embarrassingly, that’s pretty much the extent of my knowledge of hip hop, so I came to Straight Outta Compton as a tabula rasa; an empty cup ready to be filled with the strength of street knowledge.

And by Jove, I think I like it. Straight Outta Compton is exactly my kind of music biopic: a sweeping, Scorsese-style ensemble affair, jammed with great performances and social significance. If I’d made this film, I would’ve called it ‘Hoodfellas’ or somesuch. But I didn’t make it, I simply watched it. And now I know all about West Coast hip hop pioneers Niggaz Wit Attitudes, and I’ve heard most of the seminal album from which this film takes its title. And it’s just really smashing.

Honestly, though. SOC is a very fine film whether you’re a rap aficionado or not, and you should watch it at your earliest convenience. Until then, ponder this if you please: What tool does Snoop use for masonry work?

A chizzle (chisel).