Straight Outta Compton will surely introduce new audiences to Compton — it will, at least, inspire some quick Google Maps searches. To anyone familiar with N.W.A, the five rappers who created a legacy with the release of their 1988 album Straight Outta Compton and later inspired the film of the same name, Compton is the city that birthed "gangsta rap" and gave the world Dr Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren and DJ Yella. To others. Compton is now known as LA's less glamorous neighbor, a Southern California city plagued by gang violence since the rise of the Bloods in the 1970s. But, before N.W.A and other rappers from Compton came along, the city wasn't nearly as recognized.
"Now you care. You heard what's goign on in the hood and you're interested. Now Compton means something to you. Now you pay attention. We were able to shed light on some of the bullshit that was going down. We presented it in a way that you could digest, comprehend and sympathize with what we were going through," Ice Cube said in a Billboard interview the impact of Straight Outta Compton.
Since N.W.A's rise from Compton in the late '80s, the south LA city has been home to countless aspiring rappers hoping to follow in their footsteps. Those dreamers included The Game and Kendrick Lamar, both of whom have contributed to the promotion of Straight Outta Compton .
Lamar has kept his Compton roots front and center throughout his career, and the rapper even collaborated on a track with Dr Dre titled "Compton" on his 2012 mixtape, Compton State of Mind:
"Now we can all celebrate, we can all harvest the rap artist of NWAAmerica target a rap market, it's controversy and hateHarsh realities we live in, made our music translateTo the coke dealers, the hood rich and the broke niggas that playWith them gorillas that know killers that know where you stay"
Compton hasn't just turned out exceptional musicians, the city is also home to all star athletes, including Serena Williams, and her sister Venus Williams — their sister, Yetunde, was shot and killed in Compton in 2003.
NBA star Baron Davis is also from the Compton area of South Central, and he once recalled being shot at while playing basketball at a local park as a kid. "One time, me and my friends were playing, and two dudes got into it. One dude was not from our neighborhood. Next thing you know, 10-15 minutes later, we're shooting at the basketball court, and bullets are coming from both directions. You're dribbling up the court and just, like, dodging bullets. You hear, 'Pow! Pow! Pow!' And you're dodging bullets. And you run behind the school building. This was a shootout at an elementary school," Davis told ESPN.
Actors Niecy Nash and Anthony Anderson were also raised in Compton, as was Selma director Ava DuVernay.
As Straight Outta Compton and so much more shows, the city is responsible for many of today's most successful members of the entertainment world.
