Written by H2H Member, Leroy:
After watching Ice Cube’s “Straight Outta L.A.,” I felt compelled to write something about it, but I was left confused. Thinking I might’ve missed something pertinent, I wanted to know the opinion of someone who was on the other side of the Raider move to LA by reading what Any had to say about the piece, and my initial reaction was confirmed:
Ice Cube and Snoop Dogg
This isn’t a compelling, historical take on how the city of L.A. and the Raiders franchise came together to have a wonderful but brief relationship. No, this is one part Ice Cube Autobiography, one part short history of gangsta rap, and one part open sports love letter from a fanboy. Nowhere does it come together cohesively though.
First off, let me say as a black male who grew up at the time of gangsta rap’s explosion into prominence, I value what NWA did for the musical landscape. It’s in my veins, and to this day, I still bump classic such as “Automobile” and “Alwayz Into Somethin’” from time to time with pride. It was part of the soundtrack of our lives growing up in what, admittedly, wasn’t the gang capital of the world by far, but gang life and violence was something unavoidable in my adolescent/teen years. So this isn’t some square with an inherent bias against gangsta rap here. I love it to this day, even if I can’t listen to it in the car as much anymore with a six year old in tow.
I also loved the Raiders. My first memories of football are of Marcus Allen and the Raiders whipping the Redskins in the Super Bowl. I was three, almost four at the time when I caught a glimpse of the coolest uniform/logo combination I’d ever seen while Allen was making his signature run. As I grew older, I learned more of how great they were in the late 70′s and early 80′s and by the time they brought in Bo Jackson (and requisite Tecmo Bo, which put L.A. on par with San Francisco in what is still, to me, the greatest football video game of all time, Tecmo Super Bowl), I was completely enthralled by this team that took pride in being rough, tough, and put a premium on speed. Al Davis was the coolest owner, and every kid playing ball in the street wanted to call their team the Raiders, with dreams of growing up and playing in that legendary Silver and Black.
Snoop Dogg goes as far as saying Raider Nation began due to NWA essentially marketing the team by wearing their paraphernalia as often as possible. I’m sorry, but I knew the Raiders, and their colors/logo, was the coolest in sports by far, long before NWA. When we saw MC Ren, Yella, Cube and Co. in their Raiders’ gear, it was almost an afterthought to us: it’s their home team, and there’s a lot of black in their color scheme. They wouldn’t look the part in a purple and gold Lakers’ jacket, now would they? Hell, MC Ren said as much on the video.
Raider Nation had long been established, at least in Oakland by far. Across the country we adored the Raiders as well, much more than even the home team Falcons. NWA just happened to use the Raiders image to boost their profile, and the result was the Raiders logo was made more popular. That said, let’s be clear that the Raiders logo did more for NWA than the other way around. It’s not even close. The Silver and Black gave NWA a national identity, the Raiders had long established one by that point. I can understand Snoop saying the Raider Nation was born in L.A. at that time, and did boost the national profile in some ways, but that’s about it. The brand itself was already powerful.
Ice Cube proudly states, “The Raiders will always belong to L.A.” He can’t truly believe that. The Raiders belong in Oakland, even if they don’t even belong to Oakland. If anything, Al Davis has made it apparent the Raiders belong to…Al Davis. His eccentric proclivities and migrant nature are on full display here, even spending time spotlighting Davis agreeing to move the Raiders to Irwindale (really, Al? The “Irwindale Raiders?”) when he had a deal in place to build a stadium in a rock quarry of all things. When asked why he benched Marcus Allen, he gives that classic Al Davis stare and hisses to Ice Cube “I’m not telling ‘ya.”
Seriously, the man is insane. At least we confirmed that from this film, if we haven’t already.
Ice Cube chronicles their rise and fall in LA, from the Super Bowl victory to when their version of Raider Nation was busy attempting to kill each other in the stands. Oh yeah, breaking news: police brutality and gangs were bad in L.A. at the time. Cube attempts to paint the picture that the Raider Nation, consumed with fury over Rodney King and the day to day living situation had imploded to where Davis had enough and needed to do what he felt was best by taking his franchise out that environment. I think that gives Davis too much credit, and so does he, essentially saying, “I just wanted a stadium.”
Therein lies the true heartbreak of this film: If Oakland is the faithful, longtime spouse in this relationship with the Raiders, then Los Angeles was the better looking, flashier short term fling, only Ice Cube doesn’t know/refuses to admit it. The Raider Mystique was born and bred in Oakland, a rough and tumble town whose image matched that of their team perfectly, even more so when compared to the pristine image of the adjacent city across the bay and their 49ers.
HBO Films had a special about the Raiders and A’s of the 70′s and 80′s, and it was spectacular in exploring the depths of Oakland’s devotion to the Raiders. L.A. could never match that, as was pointed out in the Ice Cube film, because even with the L.A. Raider Nation, L.A. is simply “too Hollywood.”
Honestly, after watching this, one feels bad for both the fans in L.A. and Oakland, as both do deserve more loyalty than Davis has displayed.
All in all, this was a valiant attempt by Ice Cube to blend the Raiders’ explosion in popularity to the growth of gangsta rap, but it ultimately views like a man reminiscing over a girlfriend that never stayed loyal to him, eventually leaving for good to be with the one she was initially with.
Ironically, while viewing the absolutely horrid “Silver and Black Attack’ music video (Howie Long likes to sit on running backs, by the way) as the credits roll, one is left wondering if the title of the movie wasn’t directly referring to Davis’ approach to fan appreciation.
2.5/5 stars.
