I have often found rap music difficult to relate to. The lyrics of so many rap songs seem to me to glamorize crime and promote immoral behavior, and I have tended to wonder why anyone finds this type of music to be “cool.” The songs by the group N.W.A, that the film “Straight Outta Compton” depicts, fit in pretty much exactly with the idea that I had of the rap music. As such I expected that I would not particularly enjoy the film. However, I found the movie to be riveting and enlightening.

As someone who has never intentionally listened to rap music or grown up around people that listened to it, I had minimal exposure to its community and the stories of the artists. “Straight Outta Compton,” however, provided a captivating account of some of those very stories. Although it is not unheard of, it was incredible to witness through this movie, the rise of a group of people living in the poorest conditions, some with criminal backgrounds, to the pinnacle of success. Not only did these guys have to overcome their economic situation, but also the culture they lived in, where violence, even deadly violence, seemed almost commonplace and being imprisoned was not an unordinary event. Even after the group became successful, the movie showed that the group never really left trouble and violence behind with the struggles of contracts and money. Watching the unbelievable story of these men unfold, I think, gave me a new perspective to view rap music in, at least parts of it. It’s almost no wonder that rappers seem to use crime and violence as common themes in their music, as some have experienced it throughout their lives. I can now see the possibility that rap songs do not necessarily glamorize crime and misbehavior to make it seem “cool,” but rather to reach out to the people that experience that those things in their daily lives. While I may not listen to any more rap music now than before I saw “Straight Outta Compton,” I think that I now appreciate better where it comes from.