One of the most important figures in telling the story of N.W.A did not participate in the making of the forthcoming Straight Outta Compton biopic on the group, which is due in theaters August 14.
Eazy-E, who was a member of the group and released N.W.A’s material on his Ruthless Records, died in 1995 due to complications from AIDS.
But the other members of the group – Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella – saw first-hand what Eazy-E brought to the table as a businessman.
“Eazy was a genius when it comes to entertainment and promoting and understanding what people want,” Ice Cube says in an interview that is premiering exclusively on HipHopDX.
Eazy-E, Rap’s Pioneering Businessman
Launched in the mid-1980s, Eazy-E’s Ruthless Records was one of Rap’s most significant labels, releasing noteworthy material from J.J. Fad, Eazy-E, N.W.A, The D.O.C., Above The Law, Michel’le and Bone thugs-n-harmony, among others. With Ruthless, the Compton, California artist had the first nationally successful record label owned by a rapper and essentially created the model for the rapper as businessman.
“What Rosa Parks did for the civil rights movement, Eazy-E did for Hip Hop,” Phyllis Pollack, a publicist who represented Eazy-E, told me during a 2005 interview I conducted with her regarding Eazy-E for the Los Angeles Times. “Right now everybody claims to have a label, but Eric [Wright, Eazy-E’s given name] was the first Hip Hop artist to really make this work on the level he did.”
F. Gary Gray, who directed Straight Outta Compton, says that Eazy-E’s impact was profound.
“The world would be different if he didn’t exist and when you shoot these scenes,” he says in the video exclusive to HipHopDX, “you just try to get it as right as you possibly can.”
Straight Outta Compton Is The Story Of N.W.A’s Members
While it focuses on the story of N.W.A., Straight Outta Compton also follows the lives and careers of the group’s members. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, in particular, rocketed to superstardom after they each left N.W.A, Ice Cube in 1989 and Dr. Dre two years later. Ice Cube (“No Vaseline”) and Dr. Dre (“Fuck wit Dre Day [And Everybody’s Celebratin’”]”) both released scathing diss records aimed, in large part, at Eazy-E.
Noethtless, both Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were reportedly talking with Eazy-E before he passed away about reuniting N.W.A. It was an idea left unrealized once Eazy-E died in 1995.
The other members of N.W.A says that Straight Outta Compton properly potrays Eazy-E.
“I wish he was here to see this,” MC Ren says in the exclusive video clip, “because if he were here seeing this, he would love it.”
Adds DJ Yella: “It’s just sad that he couldn’t be here, but there’s some joy coming out of it. Plus, they making him a legend in the movie.”
While Ice Cube and Dr. Dre are among the most successful and influential artists in rap history, they both say that Eazy-E was pivotal to N.W.A’s succes.
“Eazy is the reason why this thing really worked,” Dr. Dre says in the exclusive clip.
“He’s one of the most courageous dudes I ever met,” Ice Cube adds in the video, “and hopefully this is a tribute to him and what he built.”
Watch the exclusive N.W.A Straight Outta Compton clip below:
Respect to Eazy E he was a real G. Dr Dre and ice Cube are 2 frauds who never sold drugs etc.
Also Dr Dre never produced a beat without his production team. Strangely all the Stans think he is the best producer ever. Listen to The Chronic and then listen to George Clintons music Dr Dre stole a whole sound.
yep, big Hutch, Warren G, and a whole lot of Pfunk. Listen to Ice Cubes verses on that NWA album, talking about being a gangster and shooting people with shotguns when you know he did none of that. No coincidence that the gang lifestyle took off nationwide at the same time. Now we supposed to look at Cube like hes something cause he makes wack ass disney movies when he enticed generations into that lifestyle…on a lie.
Eazy was a genius when it comes to entertainment and promoting and understanding what people want,” Ice Cube says in an interview that is premiering exclusively on HipHopDX.
What did Eazy-E promote NWA/Bone nothing? Dont act if Eaze-E was a genius. If he would live now he would be a strugglin rapper with weak albums and no sales and a strugglin record label. He wasnt a Russel Simmons
Do your homework. You are the epitome of ignorant. Too many people in the game owe their start to that man from NWA to the black eyed peas… Knowledge is power, stupid.
He was ready to bring up latino rappers from norwalk and surrounding areas before he got sick. Its still an untapped market worldwide that would of blew up with his marketing and promoting.
Well he did establish a market for gangster rap, which last time I checked, made a fuck load of people rich…..so there’s that.
The hate is thick!!!! U lunchin fool
You a bitch I see
Straight Bitch Blasts white ass bitch
@ Daimyo Johnson
Tell em why you mad son? You dumb fuck: gangsta rap was already invented by Ice-T and Schoolly D. What did Eazy-E? He invested some drugmoney in a raplabel. Probably never heard of Jerry Heller??? He was the brain!
hmmm I wonder why Eazys nickname is the “Godfather of Gangsta Rap” dumbass
Shut your bitch ass up muthafucka ice t stared off doing break dance music bitch and schooly d never was big as NWA or Eazy sound dumb ass fuck u must be a white boy bitch cuzz u sound like a hating bitch
Eazy was genius. He already made big moves while he was alive and was about to make bigger ones before he died. Bone thugs was just the beginning. Dude was real good business man and knew the game. And if he was still alive today, he might have been rapping but more than likely he would’ve been behind the scenes in the business making moves.
Niggas make me sick, before he got sick and die, Ice Cube bail on the nigga, Dr. Dre bail on Eazy E and talk mad trash about him, now he is a Genius, i will say he is for tearing you niggas ass hole apart and robbing all you’ll niggas, how easily they forget they were saying he was the worse man, only person i love to hear say that is Mc Ren he never bail on eazy E.
Dre = Selfish greedy hypocrite house negro.
Cube = Hypocrite and fake. Said Burn Hollywood but now makes corny Hollywood movies. Still tries to convince kids he’s hard by frowning in pictures when in reality he’s not hard at all.
Ren = Seems like a real down to earth guy.
don’t get It twisted just because cube didn’t pull the trigger doesn’t mean he wasn’t in the streets heavy
believe it or not but dr.dre is gay n eazy e fucked dre in da ass
Eat a dick you dumb white hating bitch