On March 26th, 1995 the world lost a legend in hip-hop who was apart of the controversial yet renowned rap-group N.W.A, and who is also considered as, along with N.W.A counterparts, the ‘Godfather Of Gangsta Rap’ and as “one of the most controversial figures in gangsta rap.” Whether you consider ‘Gangster Rap’ as an unhealthy sub-genre of Hip-Hop or as a great addition to the culture, it cannot be ignored the impact, the boldness and the groundbreaking qualities of the forthright rap song, ‘Fuck The Police’ which would lead to the ‘no-barriers’ quality of hip-hop along with other hard-hitting hip-hop groups at the time such as Public Enemy and the Geto-Boys. Eazy-E was one of the founders of N.W.A and was also one of the first too reach solo success with classics such as ‘Boyz-N-The-Hood’ and ‘Eazy-Duz-It’. Soon after the release of the pioneering and redefining , ‘Straight Outta Compton’, Eazy released his debut album, ‘Eazy-Duz-It’ on Ruthless Records with the help of N.W.A members Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and MC Ren. Whilst Eazy-E received little support from radio and television, he was cherished by the hip-hop community and the wider world due to his appealing charisma.
Eazy brought great variation to N.W.A but following the departure of Ice Cube, things just got worse for the group from there. After the departure of Ice Cube, N.W.A consisted of rapper’s Dr. Dre, MC Ren & Eazy-E and on the EP ‘100 Miles and Runnin’ the group took shots at Ice Cube regarding his departure which resulted in a conflict and feud between Ice Cube and N.W.A with both parties responding to each other back and forth. Dr. Dre eventually wanted departure himself from the group and from Ruthless Records to go with Suge Knights Death Row Records and when Eazy refused things escalated. Dr. Dre ended up leaving by force and released a song titled ‘Fuck Wit Dre Day’ which took shots at Eazy-E and not only resulted in a conflict and feud between Dr. Dre and Eazy-E but led to the collapse of N.W.A.. Whilst Dr. Dre sided with Death Row Records, Eazy-E stuck with Ruthless and Jerry Heller and released a couple of EP’s titled, 5150: Home 4 tha Sick and It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa which both included a number of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg diss tracks, most notably “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s’.
Eazy-E later died due to “complications from AIDS” one month after his diagnosis, on March 26, 1995, at approximately 6:35 PM at the age of 31. It is said that in his last week he had made amends with both Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg and not long after his death, Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton was released. Eazy-E was praised by many, both Rappers and Critics alike, and will always be remembered for his wide impact on the hip hop Community and his distinctive style which has inspired many.
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