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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". 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. 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. The group released its third and final studio album, '' Niggaz4Life'', in 1991, and soon after disbanded. During N.W.A's splintering, largely by disputes over money, Eazy-E became embroiled in bitter rivalries with fellow group-members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, who had departed for solo careers in 1989 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Straight Outta Compton
''Straight Outta Compton'' is the debut studio album by rap group N.W.A, which, led by Eazy-E, formed in Los Angeles County's City of Compton in early 1987. Released by his label, Ruthless Records, on August 8, 1988, the album was produced by N.W.A members Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince, with lyrics written by N.W.A members Ice Cube and MC Ren along with Ruthless rapper The D.O.C.Kory Grow"N.W.A's 'Straight Outta Compton': 12 things you didn't know" ''Rolling Stone'' website, Penske Business Media, LLC, 8 Aug 2018. Not merely depicting Compton's street violence, the lyrics repeatedly threaten to lead it by attacking peers and even police. The track "Fuck tha Police" drew an FBI agent's warning letter, which aided N.W.A's notoriety, with N.W.A calling itself "the world's most dangerous group."McDermott, Terry (April 14, 2002)"NWA:Straight Outta Compton pt 1" ''Los Angeles Times''. Reprinted at Hip Hop News. Retrieved August 15, 2015. In July 1989, despite its scarce r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lil Eazy-E
Eric Darnell Wright (born April 23, 1984), better known by his stage names Lil Eazy-E and Lil Eazy, is an American rapper. He is best known for being the son of Eazy-E. He is the president of Rich & Ruthless Records, an entertainment and business firm for musicians and entertainers. He and his brother E3, formally known as Baby Eazy-E, also founded Rich & Ruthless Cannabis, a cannabis grower and supplier. Career Lil Eazy E was born Eric Darnell Wright in Compton, California on April 23, 1984, and is the son of popular rapper Eazy-E. Wright was mostly raised by his grandmother, however on the weekends he would see his father. He was 10 when his father succumbed to HIV/AIDS. In 2003 he entered the rap scene with his mixtapes and songs he would write. He would later be signed to Virgin Records. On September 13, 2012, it was reported that Lil Eazy-E was reportedly in contract negotiations with Death Row Records. Previously signed to Virgin Records in the mid-2000s, the new deal with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruthless Records
Ruthless Records was an American record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California in 1986, where all of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1997. Several artists on the label such as N.W.A, Eazy-E, MC Ren, The D.O.C., Michel'le, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony have released RIAA certified albums. History N.W.A days The label's first successful single was Eazy's "Boyz-n-the-Hood". It also released singles by underground California acts Frost and J.J. Fad. The label's first album was N.W.A's ''Straight Outta Compton'', which was eventually certified Triple Platinum by the RIAA. Immediately following this was the release of Eazy's solo debut, ''Eazy-Duz-It''. As the six members went on tour in support of their project, some began to voice their displeasure with the financial situation at Ruthless. According to group member MC Ren, it was a common opinion that N.W.A manager and Ruthless co-founder Jerry Heller w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niggaz4Life
''Niggaz4Life'' (also known as ''Efil4zaggin'' as per album cover art, stylized in all caps and horizontally mirrored) is the second and final studio album by gangsta rap group N.W.A, released on May 28, 1991. It was their final album, as the group disbanded later the same year after the departure of Dr. Dre and songwriter The D.O.C. to form Death Row Records; the album features only four members of the original line-up, as Ice Cube and Arabian Prince had already left the group in 1989 and 1988 respectively. ''Niggaz4Life'' debuted at number 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200, but in its second week peaked at number 1. In 1992, several months after the release of the album, N.W.A released a video named '' Niggaz4Life: The Only Home Video'', which chronicled the making of the album and its three music videos, "Alwayz into Somethin'", "Appetite for Destruction" and "Approach to Danger". In 2002, the CD was re-released in two formats. Both had the EP ''100 Miles and Runnin''' appended to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Heller
Gerald Elliot Heller (October 6, 1940 – September 2, 2016) was an American music manager and businessman. He was best known for his management of West Coast rap and gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A and Eazy-E. He rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s representing Journey, Marvin Gaye, Van Morrison, War, Eric Burdon, Crosby Stills & Nash, Ike & Tina Turner, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Otis Redding, the Who, REO Speedwagon, Black Sabbath, Humble Pie, Styx, the Grass Roots, and the Standells, among many others. In the mid-1980s, he worked with R&B and hip hop acts like Michel'le, World Class Wreckin' Cru, J. J. Fad, The D.O.C., Egyptian Lover and LA Dream Team. Heller was instrumental in the emergence of West Coast rap music when he managed Ruthless Records with Eazy-E and discovered, signed or managed the likes of N.W.A, The Black Eyed Peas, Above the Law, The D.O.C. and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Dr. Dre brought The D.O.C. and Above the Law to Ruthless in its early days ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dresta
Andre DeSean Wicker (born April 18, 1970), better known by his stage name Dresta (sometimes Gangsta Dresta), is an American rapper. He is best known for collaborating with Eazy-E on the 1993 single "Real Muthaphuckkin G's". He is the older brother of rapper B.G. Knocc Out, who is also featured on the song. Together, they released their only studio album ''Real Brothas'', in August 1995, which peaked at #128 on the ''Billboard'' 200. In 1996, the pair appeared on the remixed version of the South Central Cartel song, "Knock on Wood". Early life Andre Wicker was born and raised in Nutty Blocc in Compton, California.BG Knocc Out & Dresta ''Rap Pages''. Retrieved on 2009-07-27 He and his brother Arlandis Hinton, also known as B.G. Knocc Out, became Nutty Blocc Compton |
West Coast Rap
West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast region of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records and the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, and others. History Early years Several events laid the foundations for West Coast hip hop, long before the emergence of West Coast rappers such as Mellow Man Ace, Too Short, Kid Frost, Ice-T and Eazy-E—or even before the emergence of rap itself. According to Syd Caesar, "a cataclysmic event helped give rise to it out West: the Watts riots of 1965." In 1967, Budd Schulberg founded a creative space in Los Angeles entitled Watts Writers Workshop, intended to help the people of the Watts neighborhood and provide a p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kokane
Jerry Buddy Long Jr. (born March 10, 1969), better known by his stage name Kokane, is an American recording artist best known for his distinctive vocal style and numerous guest appearances, such as on Snoop Dogg's ''Tha Last Meal''. Early life Long Jr. was born on March 10, 1969, in the Bronx, New York City, the son of Motown composer Jerry B. Long Sr. and singer Debra Long. His family soon relocated to Pomona, California, where he would grow up surrounded by his father's work and later joined the gang 357 Gangster Crips. He started his career at Eazy-E's Ruthless Records in 1989, co-writing songs for N.W.A and Above the Law, before releasing his first album, '' Addictive Hip Hop Muzick'', in 1991. Career He began his career as a vocalist in the mid-1980s before eventually signing to Eazy-E's Ruthless Records label in late 1989. His debut album, '' Addictive Hip Hop Muzick'', was released in 1991, on which he was credited as "Who Am I?" to avoid infringing on laws which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cold 187um
Gregory Fernard Hutchison (born August 4, 1967), known as Big Hutch and Cold 187um, is an American rapper and producer, and leader of the rap group Above the Law. He currently records for his self-founded label. Biography Hutchison is the nephew of late R&B singer Willie Hutch. Above the Law signed to Ruthless Records in late 1989, releasing their debut album, ''Livin' Like Hustlers'', in 1990. The album was overseen and co-produced by producer Dr. Dre, who would soon leave the label and start up Death Row Records, and featured members of the group N.W.A. Cold 187um contributed to the success of Ruthless after Dre's departure and the breakup of N.W.A. During his tenure on the label he produced for Eazy-E's '' 5150: Home 4 tha Sick'' and '' It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa'', MC Ren's ''The Villain in Black'' among other projects. Hutch and his group parted ways with Ruthless in 1996. In mid-1999, the producer was brought in by Suge Knight to replace Daz Dillinger as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Compton, California
Compton is a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county and, on May 11, 1888, was the eighth city in Los Angeles County to incorporate. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city had a total population of 96,456. It is known as the "Hub City" due to its geographic centrality in Los Angeles County. Neighborhoods in Compton include Sunny Cove, Leland, downtown Compton, and Richland Farms. The city has a high poverty rate and is generally a working-class community. Furthermore, Compton is known for its high crime rate. History The Spanish Empire had expanded into this area when the Viceroy of New Spain commissioned Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo to explore the Pacific Ocean in 1542–1543. In 1767, the area became part of the Province of the Californias ( es, Provincia de las Californias), and the area was explored by the Portolá expedition in 1769–1770. In 1784, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Priority Records
Priority Records is an American distribution company and record label known for artists including N.W.A, Ice-T, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Big L, Silkk the Shocker and Westside Connection. It also distributed hip hop record labels including Death Row Records, Hoo-Bangin' Records, No Limit Records, Posthuman Records, Rap-A-Lot Records, Rawkus Records, Roc-A-Fella Records, Ruthless Records and Wu-Tang Records. According to '' Billboard'', "few record labels were as important to the rise of West Coast hip hop as Priority Records." Company history Beginnings (1985–1996) The Los Angeles-based company (with no ties or relations to a previous Priority Records label that was a subsidiary of what was then CBS Records) was formed in 1985 by three former K-tel executives: Bryan Turner, Mark Cerami and Steve Drath. Initial funding was provided by R-tek, a company headed by former K-tel board members: Ray and Harold Kives, and their company took an initial 50% ownership in Priority. Priority ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gangsta Rap
Gangsta rap or gangster rap, initially called reality rap, emerged in the mid- to late 1980s as a controversial hip-hop subgenre whose lyrics assert the culture and values typical of American street gangs and street hustlers. Many gangsta rappers flaunt associations with real street gangs, like the Crips and Bloods. Gangsta rap's pioneers Ice-T in 1986, and especially N.W.A in 1988 and the rise of Tupac Amaru Shakur in 1992. In 1992, via record producer Dr. Dre, rapper Snoop Dogg, and their G-funk sound, gangsta rap took the rap genre's lead and became mainstream, popular music. Gangsta rap has been recurrently accused of promoting disorderly conduct and broad criminality, especially assault, homicide, and drug dealing, as well as misogyny, promiscuity, and materialism. Gangsta rap's defenders have variously characterized it as artistic depictions but not literal endorsements of real life in American ghettos, or suggested that some lyrics voice rage against social oppression ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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