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Eazy-E

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Eric Wright (September 7, 1963 – March 26, 1995) from Compton, California, who was better known as Eazy-E, was an American rapper, hip hop producer, and record executive who initially rose to fame as a member of the group N.W.A. Eazy-E's lyrical and vocal style is instantly recognizable by his relatively high-pitched voice and his lyrics focusing on guns, drugs, the police, violent acts against those who disrespect him, and abundant sexual activity.

Life and music

Eazy-E was born in Compton, California, to Richard and Kathie Wright in 1963. As a teen, he was bussed from South Central Los Angeles to Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California. During those years, he was a Kelly Park Compton Crip from South East Compton and began selling drugs such as marijuana, PCP, mushrooms, ecstacy, cocaine and heroin[citation needed]. Following this period, he used his drug profits to start a record label, Ruthless Records, with his business partner, Jerry Heller. He recruited Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince. |Img = eazy-e.jpg Eazy-E's first solo album "Eazy-Duz-It" went double-platinum, selling 2.7 million copies[citation needed]. This album had three hit singles: "We Want Eazy," "Eazy-Er Said Than Dunn," and "Boyz-N-The-Hood." In 1989, Ice Cube left N.W.A. amid allegations that Eazy-E and Heller were reaping an undue share of the group's profits at the expense of the other members.

Eazy-E's creative vision was not always shared by his fellow N.W.A. members. Dr. Dre was especially critical of the direction Eazy-E was leading the group[citation needed]. Eazy-E wanted to portray a rough, realistic image using stark production and minimal beats; Dre preferred to incorporate more mainstream elements into his production. Their sound and image continued to evolve. The subsequent period saw the release of EPs (both group and Eazy-E solo efforts) as well as side projects from The D.O.C. For the final N.W.A. album, Efil4zaggin (1991), Some of the lyrics provoked outrage from many critics and conservative circles, but that only increased the group's predominately male, white suburban audience. Eazy-E included even more of the elements which Dr. Dre considered cartoonish, such as the use of pistols and shotguns in videos for Always into Somethin' and Appetite for Destruction. These differences of opinion led to a break-up and, citing economic differences, a feud erupted between the two stars.

Eazy-E also rapped along side with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

Dr. Dre & Death Row rivalry

In August 1991, Eazy-E filed a state court complaint against Dr. Dre, Death Row Records executive Suge Knight, and D.O.C. alleging that the defendants used "duress" and "menace" to get Eazy-E to void his exclusive contracts with Dre and The D.O.C.[citation needed]. In October of the next year Ruthless Records sued Dr. Dre's Death Row Records and accused Dre's label of racketeering. The suit was dismissed on August 9, 1993, and is currently under appeal[citation needed]. During this feud with his former friend Dr. Dre, Dre blasted Eazy-E in his famous solo debut The Chronic, most notably in the hit single "Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')". In response, Eazy-E released a second solo album, It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa which was eventually certified double platinum and sold over 2,000,000 copies.

One of the videos from the album shows Dre during his days as a member of The World Class Wreckin' Cru, dressed in drag and wearing eyeshadow, lipstick and sequins. Eazy-E dissed him and Tha Dogg Pound in other songs such as It's On, Wut Would U Do, and Ole School Shit. This rivarly with Death Row Records and Dr. Dre carried well into 1994.

Criticisms

Eazy-E was heavily criticized by many rap fans in Los Angeles, especially in Compton, after vocally supporting Theodore Briseño, the only non-white police officer to take part in the Rodney King beating[citation needed]. Eazy-E was also criticzed for attending a Republican Party fundraiser. Eazy claimed:

So what they did was picked my name off for giving donations and they sent me an invitation to come down there, an invitation that said "We want to invite you to the Republican's party". I'm not no fuckin' Republican you know, so I went down there. When we went down there, and as soon as I got off the plane, we had CNN and all these people like Eazy-E gangs member drug dealer.. and they just blew it up. Basically, what I did was paid $1,500 for $1,000,000 worth of press.

[citation needed]

Death

In 1995, Eazy-E entered the hospital with what he believed to be bronchitis. He was diagnosed with AIDS, and almost immediately announced his illness to the public. He died soon after, on March 26, 1995 at approximately 6:35 PM at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He had made peace with Ice Cube, but never got the chance to make amends with Dr. Dre. However, Dre believes that their history together overshadowed the feud. Four years later, Dr. Dre publicly discussed the death of Eazy in the song "What's the Difference" from 2001 with his lyrics, Eazy, I'm still wit you. Fuck the beef, nigga I miss you. And, that's just bein real with you[1].

The words "HIV pussy having Motherfucker" and "Eazy come, Eazy go" appeared on Doggystyle, which was released 16 months before Eazy revealed he had AIDS, some people believe this means Snoop Dogg had a part in Eazy's death. However, saying that someone had HIV was a slang term in the early/mid-1990s.

Legacy

File:EazyE-2006.jpg
Eazy-E

Eazy-E's influence lives on through the new generation of West Coast rappers. Two posthumous albums were released, Eternal E in 1995, and Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton in 1995. Both releases proved to be successful. Following Eazy's death, his record label was taken over by his wife, Tomica Wright. It is currently a division of Epic Records. Ruthless Records has also found considerable success with Above the Law, MC Ren, Brownside, Kokane, Dirty Red, Slow Pain, Leicy Loc, Domino, B.G. Knocc Out & Dresta and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. The latter group has dedicated a few of its songs to Eazy, mainly their 1996 Grammy Award winning single "Tha Crossroads" and also their peformance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards.

Eazy's oldest son, nicknamed "Eazy-E, Jr." or "Lil Eazy-E", released a documentary about his father entitled The Life and Times of Eric Wright. Another documentary called Impact of a Legend was produced and sold along with the CD of the same name.

Today, many of Eazy-E's rare and posthumous materials have been remixed by fellow Compton rapper The Game, notably Still Cruisin' and Still Cruisin Part 2 (featuring 50 Cent). The combination of Eazy's rare vocals and original material from The Game became an underground hit and helped The Game early in his career[citation needed]. The track has appeared on several mixtapes including G-Unit Radio Part 8. "How We Do (Remix)" is another rare track featuring 50 Cent. The Game often mentions Eazy-E in his songs, most notably on his album The Documentary.

In 2001, post-grunge band Dynamite Hack released "Boyz-N-The-Hood", a cover of the 1987 original written by Ice Cube and performed by Eazy-E. Eazy-E is also mentioned in the songs "Pass Me By", "The Staleness", and "Terrible" by Insane Clown Posse.

Rapper South Park Mexican has released a song called "Boyz On Da Cut" which is a Houston, TX version of Eazy-E's Boyz-N-The-Hood

Before Eazy-E died, he was to make music with artists Guns N' Roses, Tupac Shakur, Brownside, Scarface, Dirty Red, Brotha Lynch Hung, Kid Frost and Bizzy Bone[citation needed].

The character of Ryder in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was modeled after Eazy-E, as the game is set during the early 1990s, the high-point of Eazy's career.

Eazy's son Lil Eazy is set to make his debut album Prince of Compton as well as featuring friends like Ice Cube, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and production by Dr. Dre out on June 2006.

In July of 2006 In Loving Memory (Eazy-E Tribute Album) will be released, but available only on the official Myspace of Eazy-E. The album will contain a few unreleased tracks and tribute tracks.

Discography

Albums

Album cover Album information
 
 Eazy-Duz-It
File:5150.jpg
 5150 Home 4 Tha Sick
 
 It's On (Dr. Dre) 187Um Killa
 
 Str8 Off Tha Streetz Of Muthaphukkin Compton
File:Eternal e.jpg
 Eternal E
File:Impact eazy.jpg
 Impact Of A Legend
File:Eternal2005.jpg
 Eternal E - Gangsta Memorial Edition
In Loving Memory

Singles

From Eazy-Duz-It

From 5150: Home 4 Tha Sick

  • 1992 "Only If You Want It"
  • 1992 "Neighborhood Sniper"

From It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa

  • 1993 "Real Muthaphuckkin G's" #45 Billboard Hot 100
  • 1994 "Any Last Werdz"

From Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton

  • 1995 "Just tah Let U Know" #30 UK Chart

Posthumous material

  • 2005 "Still Cruisin'"

References

  • Burbank, Luke (March 6, 2006). "Terror, Hope on the Streets of Compton, Part 2". National Public Radio.
  • Lil Eazy, Semtex (DJ) (March 2005). "Special radio presentation devoted to Eazy-E". BBC Radio.
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