Eazy-E's life was brief and eventful. Born Eric Lynn Wright in 1964, Eazy-E's story began on the streets of Compton and ended in 1995 in Los Angeles. In the years between, Eazy-E changed the rap world. Seemingly nothing can touch the unassailable legacy of Eazy-E, the godfather of gangsta rap.
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00:00Eazy-E's life was brief and eventful.
00:03Born Eric Lynn Wright in 1964, Eazy-E changed the rap world.
00:08Seemingly nothing can touch the unassailable legacy of Eazy-E, the godfather of gangsta
00:13rap.
00:14Eric Wright
00:15Eric Wright, otherwise known as Eazy-E, was born in Compton, California, a dangerous place
00:20to come of age in the 80s.
00:21After dropping out of high school in the 10th grade, he reportedly became a drug dealer
00:25in order to survive.
00:27Wright's future manager, Jerry Heller, wrote in his memoir,
00:30"'You had to have a role.
00:31You had to be thug, playa, athlete, gangsta, or dope man.'"
00:35In the mid-80s, Wright set up a makeshift music studio in the garage of his parents'
00:39home, where he made his first recordings.
00:41He formed Ruthless Records with Jerry Heller in 1986, partly funding the company with money
00:46he made from dealing drugs, according to Vibe.
00:49He soon began collaborating with two local musicians who would come to be known as Dr.
00:53Dre and Ice Cube.
00:55"'As long as it's violence, this is gonna be rap music, gangsta rap music, or whatever.'"
01:02They called themselves N.W.A.
01:05In 1988, N.W.A.'s album Straight Outta Compton went double-platinum and pulled gangsta rap
01:11into the public spotlight.
01:12"'But despite being banned in many places, N.W.A. sold three million copies of their
01:17Straight Outta Compton album.'"
01:19The rap group gained more infamy after the FBI issued N.W.A.'s distributor a warning
01:24letter after the release of F**k the Police.
01:27Controversy followed N.W.A. like a shadow.
01:30A few members faced criminal charges in the early 90s, including Dr. Dre, who became embroiled
01:35in a legal scandal after attacking rap artist and TV personality Dee Barnes, then a host
01:40of a rap show, in 1991.
01:42"'They grabbed me by my hair and started slamming me up against the wall.'"
01:49Dre also submitted to house arrest after assaulting a record producer and a police officer.
01:54Meanwhile, Eazy-E found another way to court criticism.
01:57In 1991, he attended a fundraising lunch for then-President George H.W. Bush and even donated
02:03to his cause.
02:04"'Before the Republicans realized it was all a computer foul-up, Eazy-E just sent in the
02:09money and was made an official member.'"
02:11"'Basically what I did is I paid $1,500 for a million dollars worth of prep.'"
02:16N.W.A. didn't last.
02:17In 1989, Ice Cube left the group after a dispute about royalties.
02:22The rap group continued releasing music without him, with several tracks attacking Ice Cube
02:26for his perceived betrayal.
02:28Cube responded in turn, criticizing N.W.A., Jerry Heller, and Eazy on a number of solo
02:34tracks, most notably on No Vaseline.
02:37In 1992, Dre also became unhappy with Ruthless Records.
02:41He and fellow N.W.A. member The D.O.C. left to join Suge Knight's label, Death Row Records.
02:47"'Suge tried to destroy my record company with the help of others, Dre.'"
02:53Only six years after Eazy-E had started N.W.A., the rap group was over.
02:58"'What happened with N.W.A.?
03:00Basically the breakup, I think it was like egos, I don't know.'"
03:03As early as 1994, Eazy began experiencing the symptoms of an apparent bout of asthma.
03:09It wasn't until early 1995, however, that he finally checked himself into the Cedars-Sinai
03:14Medical Center in Los Angeles.
03:16To his surprise, the doctors diagnosed him with AIDS.
03:19"'A hardcore rapper who celebrates sex, crime, and violence in his music is in a hospital
03:25tonight with AIDS.'"
03:26Eazy's condition worsened quickly.
03:28Knowing the end was near, he issued a statement to fans, warning them to, quote, "'Learn about
03:33what's real when it comes to AIDS,' and signing off with a final message, "'Just remember,
03:38it's your real time and your real life.'"
03:40In 2016, his son, Lil Eazy-E, recalled his father's final moments in an interview with
03:45VladTV.
03:46"'I went to see him, and really more so just him kind of crying than me crying, so you
03:53know what I mean?
03:54It was no more than a word.'"
03:56Eric Wright's spirit lives on in his seven children, including his daughter, rap artist
04:00E.B. Wright, who began working on a documentary about her father's life in 2013.
04:05In 2015, she told the website Dat's Hot,
04:07"'Yeah, I mean, I'm just pretty much gonna touch on every little thing that people wanna
04:11know about and things that people don't even know that they wanna know about yet.
04:14It's gonna be very jaw-dropping, absolutely.'"
04:17That same year, Eazy-E was the subject of the Oscar-nominated film Straight Outta Compton,
04:22which charted the rise of N.W.A. and was dedicated to Eazy.
04:26Actor Jason Mitchell portrayed him in the film.
04:28"'Not only do I get to re-humanize him, but I also get the ultimate challenge as an actor
04:34to really embody that person.'"