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Music

Watch an Exclusive First Look at ‘Straight Outta Compton’

See a ten-minute special on the making of this much-anticipated N.W.A. biopic.

Music biopics can often be… how do we put this politely… godawful. There are so many pitfalls they can fall into. Either they can put too much importance on an insignificant artist and glorify them to an absurd degree, or even worse, they can fail to do justice to an influential figure who deserved better. Straight Outta Compton, on the other hand, looks to be extremely promising and hits that rare cinematic balance. From its previews, we’ve seen glimpses of this definitive story of N.W.A., and now, in this exclusive HBO First Look, we see more about the making of it and how it all came together.

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This peak at Straight Outta Compton indicates that the film will do two things—humanize the West Coast rappers in the context of their rise to fame and the environment that created them, and focus on the indisputable cultural impact they had on America. Here, we see the members of N.W.A. being very hands-on with this project, and not to mention Paul Giamatti in a gray wig and some bare ass at the 1:30 mark. Truly, something for everyone!

Straight Outta Compton, as if you didn’t know, is in theaters on August 14.