The 2015 biopic ‘Straight Outta Compton’ dramatizes the group’s experience with police harassment as a catalyst for writing “F*** Tha Police,” but the real events unfolded differently. According to Terry McDermott’s L.A. Times article, ‘Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics,’ the actual story is more nuanced:
Initially, when Ice Cube presented the lyrics for “F*** Tha Police” to Dr. Dre, Dre wasn’t interested and asked to hear something else. It wasn’t until Dre and Eazy-E were caught shooting paintballs at people at Torrance bus stops that Dre reconsidered and decided to move forward with the song.
This account is supported by Alonzo Williams of World Class Wreckin’ Cru, who shared his perspective in the HBO series ‘The Defiant Ones’:
He describes Eazy and Dre driving down the Harbor Freeway, firing a paintball gun out the window and causing chaos on the road.
Dr. Dre later recalled,
“Ten, fifteen minutes after that, the police were behind us, pulling us out of the car at gunpoint, making us lie face down on the freeway. They were really aggressive, and rightfully so.”
Ice Cube has admitted that his motivation for writing “F*** Tha Police” was personal:
“He and Eazy were out causing trouble, and Dre had to check himself into jail every weekend. As a teenager, weekends with Dr. Dre meant clubs, parties, and hip-hop—until he had to go to jail, and suddenly all the fun stopped. We were bored, back on the block, doing nothing. I was frustrated that everything came to a halt, so I wrote ‘F*** Tha Police‘ out of that feeling. It was just too much.”