The Defiant Ones

I enjoyed watching "The Defiant Ones." It's a kind of mini-series on the parallel-ish careers of Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine and what led them to sell Beats by Dre for big bucks. It's got some interesting material on the rise and troubles of NWA and the various musical permutations of its members that came after, a fun origin story from Eminem, and a peek inside the rollercoaster ride reality that is success. At one point, as things get really troubled with rival rappers feuding, Iovine wonders: "Am I defending free speech or am I funding Hamas?" While the investigation is frequently gritty, it mostly ignores the more troubling aspects of both their privates lives and sheds little light on what fundamentally makes each man tick -- beyond that he's a hustler. The second half of the last episode is the weakest, turning into something of an ad for their shared product. But, whatever. We don't really get them, after all, but it's fun to bear witness to how they made it there.