![]() ![]() R&B vocalist Michel'le gave the label one of its most distinctive sounds and is arguably responsible for its breakout success. Ruthless Records, the label of N.W.A., Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, and others, was not an exclusively male empire. Dre and Ice Cube, and mourned again the loss of a young Eazy-E-all members of the early '90s group-it was all too easy to forget the part of the story that had been omitted from the film. As audiences embraced the revival of a young Dr. The urban soundtrack of black male resistance-to police brutality and economic and racial inequality-resonated across the two decades that had elapsed since the hip hop group first gained prominence. ![]() After all, the story of NWA is simply incomplete without the story of Michel’le.When Straight Outta Compton appeared in theaters in 2015, it brought the music and story of N.W.A. While it’s likely that Surviving Compton won’t endure like Straight Outta Compton, owing to its smaller budget and platform, if there were any justice in the world the two films’ DVDs would be sold as a bundle. Mirroring the arc of films like the Tina Turner biopic What’s Love Got to Do With It? the story ends with Michel’le’s affirmation of self, and before the final credits we receive great news: she’s recording a new album and touring again. A surprisingly sincere Jamie Kennedy, meanwhile, plays recently deceased NWA manager Jerry Heller, who somehow comes off better than anyone else. The performances of Rhyon Nicole Brown (as Michel’le) and R Marcos Taylor (reprising his Straight Outta Compton role as Suge Knight) are particularly strong. Suge promises her a fresh start, both personally and professionally, and they too have a child together, but eventually his violent tendencies sabotage everything. Despite her early success she never reaches her singing potential, partly because she’s stuck raising Dre’s child in his absence. She endures Dre and Suge’s abuse for the promise of money, fame and – most importantly – love. Michel’le’s character, as a young girl, is taught by the women in her life that men beating women is normal, and should be tolerated. Other details – that NWA were marijuana fans, or that Suge Knight intimidated Tupac Shakur and bossed him around – are entirely false.īut the soul of the story rings true. It depicts the squeaky-voiced South Central native Michel’le being plucked from obscurity from a job folding clothes at the mall to sing with Dr Dre’s first group, but neglects a funny detail I uncovered – that her initial stage name was Baby, and she walked around with a pacifier around her neck. To be sure, Surviving Compton glosses over many details. A Ruthless rapper named Tairrie B also maintains that Dre beat her.) (Dre pled no contest to beating Barnes, and received probation, while Johnson was granted a restraining order against him. The film largely echoes Michel’le’s accounts to me, though she never went to police with her allegations – unlike other women including television host Dee Barnes and Lisa Johnson, the mother of three of Dre’s children who alleged he beat her many times, including while she was pregnant. I extensively interviewed Michel’le and other survivors of Dre’s alleged abuse for my new book Original Gangstas: the Untold Story of Dr Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap, and investigated their claims. The question many viewers will have after their viewing: is the film accurate? Michel’le’s next love interest – Suge Knight, by now Dre’s arch rival – doesn’t come off much better. He’s otherwise portrayed as a cheating, boozing manipulator who neglects her once he becomes famous. But Surviving Compton nonetheless contains numerous chilling sequences of Dre beating her, and even one where he shoots at her. Prior to its release, Dr Dre’s lawyers threatened legal action against the film-makers if the movie contained scenes of him assaulting her, which he denies. ![]()
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