Eazy-E

Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records.

He is often referred to as the "Godfather of Gangsta Rap".

Eric Wright was born to Richard and Kathie Wright on September 7, 1964, in Compton, California, a Los Angeles suburb once noted for high crime rates and gang culture.

His father was a postal worker and his mother was a grade-school administrator.

Wright dropped out of high school in the tenth grade, but later received a general equivalency diploma (GED).

Wright supported himself mainly by selling drugs, and introduced his cousin to the illicit occupation.

Wright's music manager Jerry Heller recalls seeing Wright selling marijuana, but not cocaine.

Heller would claim that Wright's "dope dealer" label was part of his "self-forged armor".

Wright was also labeled as a "thug".

Heller explains: "The hood where he grew up was a dangerous place. He was a small guy. 'Thug' was a role that was widely understood on the street; it gave you a certain level of protection in the sense that people hesitated to fuck with you. Likewise, 'dope dealer' was a role that accorded you certain privileges and respect."

He started recording songs during the mid-1980s in his parents' garage, thus starting Ruthless Records.

The original idea for Ruthless Records came when Wright asked Heller to go into business with him.

Wright suggested a half-ownership company, but it was later decided that Wright would get eighty percent of the company's income and Heller would only get twenty percent.

According to Heller, he told Wright, "Every dollar comes into Ruthless, I take twenty cents. That's industry standard for a manager of my caliber. I take twenty, you take eighty percent. I am responsible for my expenses and you're responsible for yours. You own the company. I work for you."

Along with Heller, Wright invested much of his money into Ruthless Records.

Heller claims that he invested the first $250,000 and would eventually put up to $1,000,000 into the company.

N.W.A's (also named as "the world's most dangerous group" ) original lineup consisted of Arabian Prince, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, and Ice Cube.

DJ Yella and MC Ren joined later.

In 1986, at age 22, Wright had allegedly earned as much as US$250,000 from dealing drugs.

However, after his cousin was shot and killed, he decided that he could make a better living in the Los Angeles hip hop scene, which was growing rapidly in popularity.

Born and raised in Compton, California, Wright had several legal troubles before founding Ruthless in 1987.

After a short solo career with frequent collaboration with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, they joined, forming N.W.A, later that year.

The compilation album N.W.A. and the Posse was released on November 6, 1987, and would go on to be certified Gold in the United States.

The album featured material previously released as singles on the Macola Records label, which was responsible for distributing the releases by N.W.A and other artists like the Fila Fresh Crew, a West Coast rap group originally based in Dallas, Texas.

N.W.A's debut studio album, Straight Outta Compton, was released in 1988.

Controversial upon release, it is now ranked among the greatest and most influential albums ever.

Eazy-E's debut album, Eazy-Duz-It, was released in 1988, and featured twelve tracks.

It was labeled as West Coast hip hop, gangsta rap and, later, as golden age hip hop.

It has sold over 2.5 million copies in the United States and reached number forty-one on the Billboard 200.

The album was produced by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella and largely written by MC Ren, Ice Cube, and The D.O.C. Both Glen Boyd from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and MTV's Jon Wiederhorn claimed that Eazy-Duz-It "paved the way" for N.W.A's most controversial album, Straight Outta Compton.

Wright's only solo in the album was a remix of the song "8 Ball", which originally appeared on N.W.A. and the Posse.

The album featured Wright's writing and performing; he performed on seven songs and helped write four songs.

During N.W.A's splintering, largely by disputes over money, Eazy-E became embroiled in bitter rivalries with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, who had departed for solo careers in 1989 and 1991, respectively.

Ice Cube left N.W.A in 1989 because of internal disputes and the group continued as a four-piece ensemble.

N.W.A released 100 Miles and Runnin' in 1990 and Niggaz4Life in 1991.

A diss war started between N.W.A and Ice Cube when "100 Miles and Runnin'" and "Real Niggaz" were released.

Ice Cube responded with "No Vaseline" on Death Certificate.

The group released its second and final studio album, Niggaz4Life, in 1991, and soon after disbanded.

Resuming his solo career Eazy-E released two EPs, yet he remained more significant behind the scenes, signing and nationally debuting the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony from 1993 to 1994.

He died from HIV/AIDS-related illness in 1995.