Thursday, February 18, 2016

Oscar Prevue 2

  By Tom Phillips

"Straight Outta Compton"
Confession -- When it comes to artistic awards, I'm not a big fan of affirmative action. So when African-Americans were snubbed in the Oscar nominations this year, I didn't join the outrage at first. My question was, did African-Americans do anything worthy of a major award?

The answer is, as NWA might put it -- Fuck Yes! "Straight Outta Compton" is full of foul language, violence, illegal substances, squalor, prejudice, ignorance and disrespect for women.  It's like walking into the mean streets, messy homes and hip recording studios of LA's ghetto in the 1980s, where rap music became an art form and a a vehicle for rebellious free speech.