Eazy-E is the stage name of Eric Lynn Wright, an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and music entrepreneur from Compton, California. He is closely associated with the development of West Coast rap and gangsta rap, and he plays a central role in the rise of N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records.

Career

Wright begins his music career after a period marked by legal troubles. He founds Ruthless Records in 1987 and first pursues a short solo career before joining with frequent collaborators Ice Cube and Dr. Dre to form N.W.A later that year. As the group’s leader, he helps bring gangsta rap into the mainstream through the group’s hard-edged lyrical style and its confrontation with censorship and controversy.

N.W.A releases its debut album, Straight Outta Compton, in 1988. The record is controversial on release but later becomes widely recognised as one of the most influential rap albums. The group later issues a third and final studio album, Niggaz4Life, before internal conflict leads to its split. After disputes involving manager Jerry Heller and disagreements over artists’ contracts, Eazy-E remains a major figure in the business side of rap as well as in performance.

Solo work and label activity

During N.W.A’s breakup, Eazy-E returns to solo work and releases two EPs. His feud with Dr. Dre continues after a diss track on Dre’s solo album The Chronic, prompting Eazy-E to respond with the EP It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa, which includes “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s” and “It’s On”. That release also contains photographs of Dre from his earlier years with World Class Wreckin’ Cru.

Beyond his own recordings, he remains influential as a behind-the-scenes executive. He signs and helps introduce Bone Thugs-N-Harmony nationally between 1993 and 1994. He also works as a rap mogul, with Ruthless Records functioning as an important platform for his wider influence in hip-hop.

Death and legacy

Eazy-E is admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles with a severe cough and is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. He announces the illness publicly shortly before his death. He dies in 1995 from AIDS-induced pneumonia and is buried at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California. His final album, Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton, is released after his death.

He has 11 children, including Eric, who later records as Lil Eazy-E.