Dr. Dre and Ice Cube Talk About How 'Hard' It Was to Make N.W.A. Biopic

The former N.W.A. members shared that people are "still complaining" about 'Straight Outta Compton.'

November 7, 2026

(L-R) Ice Cube and Dr Dre. — Stewart Cook/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images

Key Takeaways

Dr. Dre and Ice Cube reflected on making Straight Outta Compton on Cube and Mike Epps' Listen & Laugh podcast, with Cube describing the challenge of squeezing "10 years into two hours."
Cube said they fought the production company to give MC Ren and DJ Yella dialogue: "You can’t put them in the movie as just background."
The pair praised Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley for understanding their commitment to getting the story right; the 2015 biopic grossed over $200 million worldwide.

Dr. Dre and Ice Cube have shared that it was no easy feat to co-produce 2015 N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton.

The former N.W.A. group members discussed the F. Gary Gray-directed movie on the premiere episode of Cube and Mike Epps' new podcast Listen & Laugh, which aired on Friday (November 6).

The movie starred Corey Hawkins, O'Shea Jackson Jr., the son of Ice Cube, as the Death Certificate rapper, while actors Jason Mitchell, Aldis Hodge and Neil Brown Jr. rounded out the lead cast.

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"You know how hard it is to make a biopic, though," Cube said around the 58-minute mark of the episode above. "We still got people complaining about the one we made not knowing how hard it is to shove 10 years into two hours."

The rapper added that since the film's premise was about "four different people," former N.W.A. members resorted to "fighting" with the production company to make sure the script was fair.

"They didn't want [MC] Ren to have lines. They didn't want [DJ] Yella to have lines. And we was like, 'You can't put them in the movie as just background,'" Cube explained.

"But listen to that though. Why don't you want them to have lines? Who are you? You weren't even there," Dr. Dre interjected.

Cube acknowledged that since the production team consisted of people who've "made a lot of movies," they couldn’t "tell everybody’s backstory," although N.W.A. fans were invested in a balanced storyline.

Dr. Dre went on to compliment Straight Outta Compton distributor Universal Pictures and the company's chairwoman, Donna Langley. "She understood that we was super passionate about this story. You know, we couldn't get it wrong," Cube said.

Elsewhere in the episode, Dr. Dre recalled being in the Universal office with Gray, and overhearing an executive trying to frame a scene that his character would be in.

"I'm like, 'N***a, I'm right here,'" the rapper and producer joked. "'Wouldn't it be better if I tell you what Dre would do in this scene?'"

Straight Outta Compton was a hit upon its August 2015 release, grossing over $200 million globally.