Straight Outta Compton Page #5

Dre smiles, chuckles -- He’s clearly beyond exhausted.

DRE:

Cops will throw a nigga in jail for

anything.

At Eazy’s car, Dre and Eazy pound hug.

EAZY:

Lonzo just left you here, huh?

DRE:

Guess he’s sick of bailing my ass

out.

Dre kneels down on the pavement, takes his shoelaces from the

police property bag and casually starts lacing his sneakers.

But Eazy clocks a couple POLICE OFFICERS eyeballing him and

Dre. Clearly, he’s not comfortable here. Hops into the car.

EAZY:

Mind gettin’ your funny lookin’ ass

in the car before they arrest you

for some other dumb sh*t?

22.

Eazy gestures like, we in front of the police station! Dre

realizes. My bad. Hops in. Keeps lacing his sneakers...

EAZY (CONT’D)

Man, I was thinkin’ about what you

said last night.

DRE:

Yeah, and..?

EAZY:

It’s interestin’ -

DRE:

Interestin’? Tell me this, how long

you think that sh*t you doin’ gonna

last, huh? You ever heard of a

happy ending in that game?

EAZY:

Sh*t, man, this all comin’ from the

nigga I just bailed out.

DRE:

Listen, if you can slang dope, you

can slang records. You got a mind

for this sh*t, E.

EAZY:

Okay so what then -- That nigga

last night? Is that what we doin’?

DRE:

What, Cube? Nah, he in a group

right now, got some other business

goin’ on. But I got this group

called H.B.O. from the east coast.

Dope voices, and Cube wrote a song

for ‘em that’s crazy.

Eazy considers for a long moment as we -

19 INT. LONZO’S STUDIO - DAY 19

Dre sits in front of a huge MIXING BOARD, adjusting the

levels on a hard-driving BEAT.

A small CREW of Kangol-wearing RAPPERS (HOME BOYS ONLY, aka

HBO) are gathered around, reading pages we recognize as

CUBE’S LYRICS with befuddled expressions.

HBO 1

What the f*** is “Gankin”? And

what’s a “6-4”?

23.

CUBE (O.S.)

It’s a car. A ‘64 Impala.

Everyone turns to look at CUBE, off to the side, annoyed.

CUBE (CONT’D)

Gankin’s when somebody jacks you.

Ain’t a big deal. Just sounds

better that way.

Another HBO dude chimes in -

HBO 2

I dunno, too much cussin’ to get

radio play. And honestly, nobody

gives a f*** about Compton --

Dre interrupts from the board, no back down in him.

DRE:

Y’all got somethin’ to say about

Compton? Cause we might have a

problem up in this b*tch.

Nobody says a thing. Deafening silence. Then:

DRE (CONT’D)

Then do the lyrics. We losin’ time

and I’m losin’ patience.

The vibe is tense, unpleasant. Finally:

HBO 1

This ain’t us. I ain’t f***in’ with

this Jheri curl bullshit -

CUBE:

F*** you then. Wearing a Kangol

don't make you L.L. Cool J nigga,

remember that.

HBO 1 CRUMPLES the Lyrics sheet into a ball.

HBO 2

Yeah. Now what?

CUBE:

What you wanna do, mark ass nigga?

Cube and the HBO dudes square up, swelling and huffing --

Without hesitation, Eazy gets up, stands beside Cube. Dre

whips off his headphones and flanks Cube from the other side.

These dudes have each other’s back, ready to throw down.

24.

The HBO clowns start exiting, talking sh*t.

Eazy wanders back over to the couch, plops down, sighs:

EAZY:

Well there goes the talent. Don’t

know a whole lot about the music

game, but we can’t start a label

without talent.

The three of them chuckle. Eazy sighs, shakes his head.

EAZY (CONT’D)

Okay, I put up my money -- I held

up my side of the deal, Dre. When

you gonna deliver your side?

DRE:

Well sh*t, why don’t you get on the

mic and try it?

EAZY:

What? Fool, I ain’t no rapper.

Off Eazy’s unsure look -

DRE:

You already spent the money.

Don’t you get it? Man, this song is

all about you! This song is about

Eazy-muthafuckin'-E! Now get in

the booth. Let me deliver my side

of this sh*t.

20 INT. LONZO’S STUDIO - LATER 20

ON EAZY, self-conscious in the booth, light beaming on him.

Dre gets up from the board, DIMS THE LIGHTS way down low --

EAZY:

F*** you doin’?

DRE:

Just lemme produce. Get

comfortable, man.

Eazy takes a breath, huddles over the mic. He puts his Locs

sunglasses on, pulls his baseball cap low -- so low you can

barely see him (which is exactly the point).

Dre sits behind the board with Cube. STARTS UP THE BEAT and

cues Eazy -

25.

EAZY:

(dry, flat)

Cruisin’ down the street in my 6-4 -

Cube winces. Dre STOPS the track.

DRE:

Hit that first beat hard. CRUISE-in

down the street. CRUISE-in.

When Eazy tries it again, it almost sounds worse --

EAZY:

Cruisin’ down the street in my 6-4 -

CUBE:

That ain’t it...

EAZY:

Get that dry-ass Jheri curl outta

here, maybe I can concentrate.

CUBE:

You kickin’ me out?

Dre looks at Cube. Nods. Go.

CUBE (CONT’D)

Aiight. I'm just sayin’...

Cube exits. Then -

DRE:

Just gimme the words.

EAZY:

Nigga what?

DRE:

Say that sh*t with me --CRUISE-in -

EAZY:

(animated)

Dre, you know this sh*t is

hopeless, right?

DRE:

That! See how you just said that

sh*t? Like you believe it!

26.

EAZY:

‘Cause I do.

DRE:

So say this sh*t like you believe

it. Like it’s muthafuckin’ Sunday

and you cruisin’ down the street in

that dope-ass 6-4. Feel that sh*t,

like its ya own words.

The frustration on Eazy’s face is apparent.

EAZY:

You really gonna make me do this,

huh?

Yup. Eazy frowns. Takes a moment to compose himself...

EAZY (CONT’D)

Aiight, f*** it. Let’s do this.

Dre starts the track again -- ONLY THIS TIME, HE DOES SO ONE.

COMPONENT. AT A TIME. BUILDING THE SONG AS IF FROM SCRATCH.

EAZY vibes with it. Can’t f***in’ help it. Sh*t is dope.

Finally, once THE BEAT IS FULLY REALIZED, Dre CUES him -

EAZY (CONT’D)

Cruisin’ down the street in my 6-4.

Dre grins. Much better. Stops the track.

DRE:

Hell yeah! That sh*t was tight.

Only 59 more lines, E. But we gonna

get through it. Hit that next line -

Eazy groans, pulls his hat even lower, as we -

21 INT. LONZO’S STUDIO - MANY HOURS LATER 21

There’s a sense of ceremony here. Cube, Eazy, YELLA, REN,

Jinx, DOC and few girls wait with palpable anticipation as -

DRE PUSHES PLAY on the freshly completed TRACK. It starts

THUMPING from the speakers: It’s BOYZ N THA HOOD.

Pride and a sense of purpose swell in each and every one of

them as LONZO POPS IN. Listens, skeptical.

The song stops and no one says a word. They know this is

something special. Finally:

27.

YELLA:

Lonzo, what you think?

LONZO:

That some waste of time sh*t right

there and trust me, it ain’t gonna

work. Won’t get no radio play.

DRE:

You never know-- We might do a

radio version and take it up to

KDAY and see what happens.

LONZO:

This reality rap is never going to

work, Dre. You need to hurry up and

rap this sh*t up and finish that

slow jam I had you working on. I'm

serious, Dre! Hurry up with this...

DRE:

Yo, I don’t know about working on

this slow stuff anymore. After this

I’m going to work on songs with

DOC.

Reveal DOC in the background.

LONZO:

It’s not a request, Dre.

Lonzo scowls at Dre, exits in a huff. Yella goes to Dre, eyes

wide with excitement -

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