The Original Boyz N The Hood Concept That Never Happened
Columbia Pictures
By Lyvie Scott/March 31, 2022 11:32 am EST
“He was scarily, crazily, absolutely, and completely confident,” recalled Stephanie Allain, then a script reader for the studio. Singleton was firm on directing the film himself, despite never directing a feature before. “I wasn’t going to have somebody from Idaho or Encino [Los Angeles] direct this movie,” he later said of his position. “Boyz n the Hood” was his story; he’d drawn direct inspiration from his formative years in South Central LA. He’d written his script while listening to N.W.A. and Eazy-E albums. Singleton was committed to depicting that perspective as authentically as possible — and for the filmmaker, it all began with his cast. A cast that would radically change.
The core four
An appearance from the remaining members of N.W.A. was out of the question — they were, of course, entrenched in a years-long feud with Cube. The contention went on to inspire a hidden diss within the film, where a man wearing a “We Want Eazy” shirt tries to steal Dooky’s gold chain and gets a vicious beating as a result.
“He gave me a ride home one night when I was stranded in Hollywood. It was January of 1990. He plays the beats to this record, and he says it’s his new solo record, going to be called ‘AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted.’ And then I said: ‘Remember that script I told you about? I wrote it.’ Seven months after that we were working on the movie. And we always tell that story, because we were just two dudes with dreams and a small jeep riding on the freeway in South Central, talking about what we wanted to do.”
“That was Ice Cube’s first day of production,” Singleton told Vice. “I called him up and told him to bring all his N.W.A. paraphernalia to the set. And then all of a sudden the crackhead walks out and his shirt says, ‘We Want Eazy.’ Cube laughs, and I say, ‘Y’all gonna whoop his ass!’ I did that — that was me!”
