“Aaliyah” Biopic Star’s Next Role Is N.W.A. Biopic, “Straight Outta Compton”

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Alexandra Shipp just took on the role as the late R&B singer Aaliyah in Lifetime’s Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B. So what’s next for the small-screen starlet? She’s stepping into another real woman’s shoes in the forthcoming N.W.A. biopic, Straight Outta Compton — the wife of Ice Cube, Kim.

“When Cube left N.W.A. he moved in with Kim and they’ve been inseparable ever since,” Shipp tells ABC News Radio.

The actress says it was easy to transition from playing an R&B singer to a rapper’s wife.

“Kim is kind of like Aaliyah in the sense that she’s very confident and sexy in the way that she holds herself,” she explains. “You know, they’re from two completely different coasts. Whereas Aaliyah is East Coast, Kim is West Coast, and that’s a different kind of sexy.”

Shipp spent a lot of time with the couple to prepare for her role. “You can tell just by being around Cube and Kim that they are a power couple. She is his right-hand man and vice versa. And you can tell that they’re unshakable,” she says.

Shipp stars opposite Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr., who is portraying his father in the biopic.

“He’s hilarious and he’s so much fun,” Shipp says of Jackson. “What a great family. Can I just say? For kids who grow up in Los Angeles and for everyone to be in the business per se [they’re] great people.” 

Straight Outta Compton hits theaters August 14, 2015.

Follow @ABCNewsRadio
Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio