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Two of the original members of the controversial rap group N.W.A., Ice Cube and DJ Yella sat down with NewsOne Now host Roland Martin to talk about the new film, Straight Outta Compton.

Cube, as he is affectionately known by many in the hip-hop community, described the N.W.A. biopic as “a slice of American History.”

“Not only does it shows the group’s rise and all the things that went on with us personally — why did we create this kind of movie — what was the streets like — how did it feel,” he said.

Ice Cube continued, saying Straight Outta Compton is a “story about brotherhood, it’s a story about David verse Goliath. It’s got all these different extras that makes you feel like you’re right there.”

In essence, Straight Outta Compton is a precursor to what we are seeing in present day America — the ongoing tensions between the Black community and the law enforcement officials tasked with  monitoring our neighborhoods.

Martin, host of NewsOne Now said in watching the film, he felt as thought he was viewing “a documentary about present day America,” versus a movie about what was happening during the late 80’s and early 90’s.

“You can watch this film and and go ‘Whoa, I’m looking at what’s still real in America in 2015,'” said Martin.

Ice Cube responded to Martin’s assessment saying:

“In growing up … it don’t start or end with us — I looked at the riots of ’65 as a kid and what happened and before that with Selma all these things that we grew up learning.” He continued explaining police abuse in American has been “a constant, it’s never let up.”

“We’ve never had a day of peace or rest” from the impact of police misconduct said Ice Cube.  “The movie shows that we had a problem then and unfortunately we still got this problem today and what are we going to do about it?,” he added.

In continuing his comments about the film and the groups controversial history, Cube said, “There was a lot of people in high places who just wanted us to be quiet, wanted us to be silent.”

Looking back retrospectively, the gangsta rapper tuned actor said, “All of our records aren’t positive, happy-go-lucky records. We talked about the good, the bad and the ugly in our community and we was brutally honest and a lot of people just didn’t like it.”

Watch Roland Martin, Ice Cube and DJ Yella discuss the Hip Hop biopic, Straight Outta Compton in the video clip above.

Straight Outta Compton premieres in theaters Friday, August, 14. Make sure you check out the movie that speaks to the foundation of one of the most important groups in the history of music. Don’t forget to get your own personalized Straight Outta Compton meme at www.straightouttasomewhere.com.

Be sure to watch “NewsOne Now” with Roland Martin, weekdays at 9 a.m. EST on TV One.

Subscribe to the “NewsOne Now” Audio Podcast on iTunes.

SEE ALSO:  

NewsOne Now: “Straight Outta Compton” Preview

“Straight Outta Compton” Director F. Gary Gray Discusses Police Abuse & The Rise Of N.W.A.