The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.

The only effort high school student Greg Reed exerts is pursuing the beautiful and unattainable Cinny Hawkins. But when he realizes that that way to win Cinny's heart is through academics, Greg starts hitting the books.