Hip-hop and street culture — though never a major focus of the franchise save in GTA: San Andreas — has always been an integral part of the GTA series. There have always been main characters in GTA games who were gangsters, and there was always a faction styled in this way. As chance would have it, a pretty darn successful biopic has been conquering the box office recently and it's about hip-hop and street culture and police violence in the 80's, focusing on popular hip-hop group N.W.A, and its rise and its fall. The film is titled "Straight Outta Compton", which is also the group's most iconic song. Following the release of the film, youtuber Animal Robot remade the original music video of the 1988 song.
The N.W.A is often credited with popularizing the gangsta-rap and West Coast hip-hop genres, which were fledgling at the time. The group had a rather turbulent history, with contract disputes, members leaving, management cheating, quarrels and reunions, which provided ample material for the universally praised film... which itself is mired in controversy. All of this, including the members' still-going successful careers, started with one song: Straight Outta Compton.
Compton is a city in Los Angeles county famous for its role in the popularization of West Coast hip-hop. Many famous rappers began their career in this city, and its name is referenced with extreme frequency in the genre's lyrics. Part of Los Angeles' agglomeration zone, it is fitting to recreate the song "Straight Outta Compton" in GTA V, seeing as Los Santos is based primarily on the City of Angels. With GTA V protagonist Franklin stepping in as Ice Cube, the video created with the Rockstar Editor is a tad more action packed and boosted with good old GTA flavored violence, the video manages to remain strikingly authentic.
Have you guys seen "Straight Outta Compton"? What did you think?
