N.W.A. Discuss Career Controversies, Why ‘Detox’ Was Never Released & Social Anxiety in Rolling Stone

As N.W.A. prepare for the debut of the Straight Outta Compton biopic, the legendary rap group hits another milestone by landing on the cover of this month's Rolling Stone. In the tell-all article, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and the group share their history of controversies, successes and regrets.

Cube discusses the inspiration behind the group's famous songs. "You had to see why we did the music. You know, not just 'we were young, angry n-----s out of South Central, but why did we make those kind of records? We were living in the middle of dope dealing, gangbanging, police brutality, fucking Reaganomics, and there was nowhere to escape," he explains.

On the personal front, Dre opens up about his treatment of women and addresses the 1991 incident when he assaulted Dee Barnes and allegations of physical abuse by then-girlfriend Michel'le. "I made some f---ing horrible mistakes in my life," says Dre. "I was young, f---ing stupid. I would say all the allegations aren't true -- some of them are. Those are some of the things that I would like to take back. It was really f---ed up. But I paid for those mistakes, and there's no way in hell that I will ever make another mistake like that again."

The Aftermath Entertainment founder also speaks on the status of his long-awaited album Detox and shares that the project was never close to being completed (despite ongoing rumors). "I had between 20 and 40 songs for Detox, and I just couldn't feel it. Usually I can hear the sequence of an album as I'm going, but I wasn't able to do that. I wasn't feeling it in my gut. So I really thought I was done being an artist."

Eventually the film's soundtrack, Compton, would serve as Dre's third release. You can check out The Boombox review of the project here.

While the N.W.A. biopic gives a more intimate look at Dr. Dre, he's kept a low-profile for years, choosing to stay behind the scenes rather than embrace the limelight. "I have social anxiety," he admits. "I don't like being in the spotlight, so I made a f---ing weird career choice. That's the reason for my mystique and why I'm so secluded and why everybody knows nothing about me. I think it added to the character in the movie because people get a chance to see behind the curtain."

Straight Outta Compton arrives in theaters Friday (Aug. 14).

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