In just over a week the N.W.A. biopicStraight Outta Compton is slated to hit theaters nationwide as thousands of rap fans and those wanting to learn more about one of the genre’s top groups history and legacy will be in attendance.

The film’s director, F. Gary Gray, recently sat down with HipHopDX Features Editor Andre Grant and was asked about numerous things including police brutality. Gray says that the Compton collective shined a light on the subject and feels we’re progressing toward justice as time moves on.

“I feel two ways about it,” he said via a segment of today’s (August 3) DX Daily. “The more things change the more they stay the same and that’s pretty sad but I am optimistic. N.W.A. shined a light on what was going on with law enforcement and now we have guys like you and the media and headlines that are shining a light on what’s going on and I think because of that, change is coming.”

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F. Gary Gray also described how much work he had to do in order to get the movie’s actors in proper shape to begin shooting.

“They had to learn how to rap, they had to learn how to walk, learn how to talk, I had them gain weight,” he said. “I had them do performance lessons, I even had to record the album Straight Outta Compton. I recorded the album.”

Today also revealed that DJ Premierwould be making a music appearance on the soundtrack for the album. DJ Rhettmatic took to Instagram to confirm the collaboration between the two legendary producers.

Watch the full DX Daily segment below:

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