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Some see it as an opportunity, while others believe it is a chance to show how far a troubled community has come.
But all are in agreement: “Straight Outta Compton” has put the American city on the world map – for better or worse.
Directed by F Gary Gray, best known for his music videos, the biopic about the pioneering rap group NWA traces the roots of the young men’s rage against mostly white police in their gang-ridden home of Compton and other parts of the Los Angeles area.
The film, which opened in the United States on August 14, has been a surprise hit with cinema-goers and has topped the North American box office in its first two weekends in theatres.

“It’s not a movie, it’s a commercial for my business,” joked Hodari Subadu, who organises guided tours of Compton and says he has seen an uptick in interest in what he does.
Lonzo Williams – a music producer and owner of nightclubs who was instrumental in the rise of NWA and one of its original members, Dr Dre – was delighted at the exposure too: “It’s going to make me a celebrity!”
“They use their creative license to make it work,” he said of the film which depicts him at the beginning, adding he has a book in the works “that’s going to explain all these details.”
Williams, a gold chain around his neck, says the gangsta rap genre that has become synonymous with Compton has been something of a poisoned chalice.
“It gave a very bad reputation to the city,” he concedes. “When we listened to some songs, it seemed that the streets were littered with bodies.”
Masai Minters – a counsellor at the University of California, Los Angeles and a proud Compton native – agrees the city, the hometown of a new generation of rappers such as Kendrick Lamar and The Game, is not always fairly represented in music or film.
“We’ve got a great neighbourhood,” he says, driving along pretty streets adorned with well-kept gardens.
“My parents have been living here since 1959. There are some very stable, comfortable and successful families in Compton. I feel very safe.”
But it was not always like that, especially in the 1980s, when NWA began making its name.
Watch: The official movie trailer for Straight Outta Compton

Filmmaker Jo Brown, a friend of Minters, said: “At the time NWA started, the city became infected by a conflict between the Crips and the Bloods.”
“They created a violent atmosphere throughout the community. Gangsta rap was born out of that and as things became more violent in Compton, the music started to reflect that,” says Brown, pointing to the walls of a building tagged with symbols of the still-active gangs.
For music expert Greg Everett, gangsta rap originated elsewhere in California – the points to Ice-T, who came from Los Angeles.
“But NWA put Compton on the map and the focus became on Compton.”
Times might have changed for the better in Compton to some extent, but some say what gave rise to gangsta rap – anger at perceived police brutality and discrimination – is as relevant as ever.
Last year’s killing of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman in Ferguson, Missouri triggered protests in the United States and was the first in a series of high-profile similar incidents over the past 12 months.
“It hasn’t changed one damned bit,” said Minters.
“It’s still the same problems we’re facing now: jobs, police brutality. It is very difficult for young blacks.”

Everett agreed, saying that the film “tapped into something very important, especially for African Americans with police violence, et cetera”
Others, like Corey Takahashi, a journalist and professor at Syracuse University, say Compton is a very different place these days.
For one, it has become predominantly Hispanic, while violent crime is down markedly since NWA  first made its mark.
“In 1989, the city recorded 86 homicides; it only had seven this year. Violent crime has gone down 50 per cent and crime is down 71 per cent over the last 20 years,” said Takahashi.


'Straight Outta Compton' biopic about pioneering rap group NWA puts notorious US city on map

The biopic about the pioneering rap group NWA (pictured) traces the roots of the young men’s rage against mostly white police in their gang-ridden home of Compton and other parts of the Los Angeles area. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Los Angeles County Sheriff deputies stand outside the Bianchi Theaters during an advanced screening of "Straight Outta Compton". Photo: AFP

NWA put Compton on the map.  Photo: SCMP Picture

State of emergency declared in Ferguson after a teenager is charged with shooting at police

Police take a mug shot of a protester who was detained in Ferguson. Photo: Reuters

Protesters hold up signs on top of a closed business in Ferguson. Photo: Reuters

‘They did not realise there was a crisis with police… And now they do’: How Ferguson changed US race relations

Demonstrators march to mark the first anniversary of the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri. Photo: AFP

A protester waves upside-down American flags on top of a car outside the police department. Photo: Reuters

"[Activists] have done a great job of bringing all these issues to bear. Photo: AFP

Rap mogul ‘Suge’ Knight charged with murder in hit-and-run

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department photographer checks the scene of an accident involving former rap music mogul Marion "Suge" Knight (inset) at a parking lot in Compton, California in this January 29, 2015 file photo. Photo: AP

Dr Dre was once accused of bringing Compton into disrepute but now he's hailed as the area's first billionaire

Rapper-producer Dr Dre was born Andre Young in Compton. Photo: Getty Images

Hip hop's first billionaire? Dr Dre closes in on US$3.2 billion headphones deal with Apple

Dr Dre wears his signature Beats headphones. Photo: Reuters

Dr Dre wears his signature Beats headphones. Photo: EPA

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