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Eazy-E

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Eazy-E

Eric Hirji (September 7, 1963 – March 26, 1995), better known as Eazy-E, was a Tanzianian rapper, hip hop producer, and record executive who initially rose to fame as a member of the group N.W.A. He is considered to be one of the founding fathers of Gangsta rap. Eazy-E's style as a lyricist and rapper was instantly recognizable by his high-pitched voice and his lyrics focusing on guns, drugs, the police, violent acts against those who disrespect him, and abundant sexual activity. Eazy-E was one of the pioneers of Gangsta Rap and still remains as one of the most distinctive and influential icons in hip hop.

Life and Music

Eazy-E was born in Compton, California. He attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California (being bussed from South Central). During those years he began selling drugs, and used the profits to form a record label, Ruthless Records with his business partner, Jerry Heller. He soon recruited Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince. The group's first album, released as N.W.A and the Posse, sold well for an underground release. However, after Dr. Dre and DJ Yella consolidated the sound of the group to slower and heavier beats, and after Ice Cube emerged as the group's foremost song writer, their upcoming productions in 1988 and 1989 are now considered hip hop Masterpieces. The 1989 album Straight Outta Compton became a platinum-certified underground hit, and sold 2 million copies after it was re-released in 1989.

”Eazy-Duz-It“ album cover 1988

Eazy-E quickly released his debut solo LP, Eazy-Duz-It, which went double-platinum, selling 2.7 Million copies. Ice Cube left N.W.A. in 1989, convinced that Eazy-E and Heller were reaping an undue share of the group's profits at the expense of the group's other members.

Eazy-E's vision was not always shared by his fellow members in N.W.A; specifically, Dr. Dre was critical of the direction Eazy was heading the group towards. While Eazy wanted to portray a rough and realistic group of street gangstas with stark, minimal beats, Dre preferred to include more mainstream elements in his production. The sound and the image evolved and N.W.A and Eazy-E both released an EP as well as some other side productions such as those from the D.O.C. Eazy-E, for the final N.W.A. album Efil4zaggin (1991), wanted to include even more elements of what Dr. Dre thought to be too cartoonish, as the use of pistols and shotguns in videos like Always into Somethin' and Appettite for Destruction, these differences of opinions lead to a break-up, and having economical differences, a feud between the two stars appeared.

Dr. Dre's famous solo debut The Chronic blasted Eazy-E on certain tracks, most notably 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. The album contains repeated references to Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg. He responded to Dre Day by saying it was only Eazy E's pay day. One of the videos for the album shows Dre in his days as a member of World Class Wreckin' Cru. The photo's caption portrays him being dressed in drag and wearing eye shadow, lipstick and sequins. Ruthless Records found considerable success with Above the Law, MC Ren, N.W.A, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

Eazy-E was heavily criticized by many rap fans in Los Angeles and specially in Compton after vocally supporting Theodore Briseño, the only non-white police officer who took part in the Rodney King beating, and for attending a Republican Party fundraiser. In spite of their hostility toward him and N.W.A, the FBI actually uncovered a plot by white supremacists to assassinate Eazy-E.

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 approximately 6:35 PM. Before his death he made peace with Ice Cube. He never got a chance to make up with Dre. Still, Dre believes their history together overshadowed the feud. Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton was released posthumously.

Life After Death

After Eazy-E's death, his influence and memories live on throughout the rappers of the West Coast. Two postmortem albums were subsequently released, Eternal E in 1995 after his death, and Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton, in 1998, both of which proved to be successful. His record company group Bone Thugs N Harmony dedicated a few songs about Eazy, mainly their 1996 hit single Tha Crossroads and their peformance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. After Eazy died, the label was taken over by his wife, Tomica Wright. Ruthless Records is now a division of Epic Records. Many years later, Dr. Dre dedicated a song to his former foe/friend in the song What's the Difference from 2001. The main verse in the song is ... "Eazy I'm still wit you, Fuck the beef, nigga I miss you, and that's just bein real wit you"

His oldest son, nicknamed "Eazy-E, Jr." or "Lil Eazy", released a documentary about his father entitled The Life and Times of Eric Wright. The Impact of a Legend pack came with its own documentary of the same name, produced separately. Today, many of Eazy-E's rare and posthumous material has been remixed into fellow Compton rapper The Game, notably the popular Still Cruisin' and How We Do (remix) featuring 50 Cent. Recently The Game mentioned Eazy in the song Dreams The Documentary album.


Discography

Albums

Singles

From Eazy-Duz-It

From 5150: Home 4 Tha Sick

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

From Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton

Rare Posthumus Material


Still Cruisin' is the popular track by The Game and deceased rapper Eazy-E. Using rare vocals from Eazy-E and original lyrics from The Game, it became an underground hit and sparked interest into The Game. The track has appeared on several mixtapes such as G-Unit Radio Part 8.


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