Often hailed as the “Godfather of Gangsta Rap,” Eazy-E rose to prominence as a pioneering figure in the genre, shaping the course of hip-hop with his groundbreaking work as a member of N.W.A along with his successful career as a solo artist and record executive with his label Ruthless Records.

Born Eric Lynn Wright on September 7, 1964, in Compton, California, Eazy-E grew up in the CPT, where he became a member of the Kelly Park Compton Crips and began distributing drugs. In 1986, he invested the money he made on the streets of Compton to found the record label Ruthless Records, partnering with manager Jerry Heller.

The first significant act signed to Ruthless Records was the group N.W.A (Niggaz Wit Attitudes), which Eazy-E helped assemble as the group featured Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella, and Arabian Prince. Eazy-E and N.W.A were pivotal in popularizing gangsta rap in the late 1980s with Eazy’s debut single “Boyz-n-the Hood”, his album Eazy-Duz-It and N.W.A’s debut album Straight Outta Compton. Their music was raw and unapologetically graphic, reflecting the harsh realities of life in the streets of Los Angeles. Their music was so raw and unapologetic that N.W.A’s song “Fuck tha Police” got them a letter from the FBI, which Eazy and the group used to frame themselves as “the world’s most dangerous group.”

On Ruthless Records, Eazy executive produced acclaimed projects such as The D.O.C.’s No One Can Do It Better, Michel'le’s self-titled debut album, Above the Law’s Livin' Like Hustlers, and J.J. Fad’s “Supersonic”—the popular 1988 single that gave the label their first gold record. N.W.A took a major hit with the departure of Ice Cube in 1989 due to financial reasons, leading to disses between him and the group culminating with Cube’s classic “No Vaseline” in 1991—the same year N.W.A released their second and final album, EFIL4ZAGGIN. Dr. Dre left after the album’s release to start Death Row Records after citing the same financial reasons Cube gave when he left the group. This led to an exchange of disses between Dre (“Dre Day”) and Eazy (“Real Muthaphuckkin' G’s”) between 1992 and 1995.

After the breakup of N.W.A, Eazy-E continued to lead Ruthless Records and maintained his influence in hip-hop with successful solo projects and signing new artists, most notably a group from Cleveland, Ohio named Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, who released several multi-platinum albums on Ruthless. However, Eazy’s life took a sudden and unexpected turn when he was hospitalized in February 1995 and died weeks later on March 26, 1995 from complications related to HIV/AIDS. He was only 30 years old.

Eazy’s death was particularly striking due to the swift progression of his illness, which led to widespread speculation and conspiracy theories suggesting that Eazy-E might have been deliberately infected with the virus, though there was no concrete evidence to support these claims. The abruptness of his passing and the mysterious circumstances surrounding it left a lasting impact on his fans and the music community, overshadowing the end of his prolific career. Bone paid tribute to Eazy in 1996 on their single “Tha Crossroads”, which hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, reached double platinum status in the US, and won a Best Rap Performance By a Duo or Group Grammy Award in 1997.