Some call 2pac the greatest rapper of all time, for others it’s Biggie, Eminem, JayZ, and for still others it’s even artists who have stayed underground. However, it is Eazy E who is considered the godfather of gangsta rap. He was a record producer, rapper, and entrepreneur who first became famous as a member of N.W.A., a group whose former members included people like Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.
Eazy E Biography
The world will continue to know him as Eazy E, but as Eric Lynn Wright, the rapper was born in Compton, California, on September 7, 1964, the son of a postal clerk’s father, Richard Wright, and a primary school administrator, Katie Wright.
The rapper, who would later become famous for his fame, also grew up in Campton, a suburb known for its crime and violence. While starting school, he soon dropped out in 10th grade and became involved in drug dealing. His close friends later revealed that although they knew he was selling marijuana, he was not involved in drugs such as cocaine.
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To stay away from the life of crime, he chose rap music, which he believed was less risky and more lucrative than drug dealing. Eventually, together with Jerry Heller, he founded the label Ruthless Records, under which he released his first album Eazy Does It.
Soon after, he formed the group Niggaz Wit Attitudes (N.W.A), which later made gangsta rap popular. N.W.A. had Arabian Prince, DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and MC Ren as former members at different times. The group later released two albums, Straight Outta Compton (1988) and Niggaz4Life (1991). There was also N.W.A. and the Posse, which was released in 1987.
His next album Str8 off tha Streetz by Muthaphukkin Compton was released in 1996. His extended tracks are 5150: Home 4 Tha Sick (1992), It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa (1993), and Impact of a Legend (2002).
Who are Eazy E’s Wife and Children?
Before he died in 1995, Eazy E married Tomica Woods, whom he met in 1991. Although she didn’t know who he was when they first met, their paths crossed again and again and soon they started dating.
Tomica Wright, born in 1969, has been responsible for Ruthless Records since the death of her husband. The label she restructured and fought so hard to keep is one of the most famous hip hop records, which has produced star groups such as Bone Thugs ‘n’ Harmony and the Black Eyed Peas.
Eazy E has 11 children. With Tomica Wright, he has twin children, Dominick and Daijah Nakia, who was born 6 months after their father’s death.
The other children of the N.W.A. star are Eric Darnell Wright Jr. known as Lil Eazy-E, Erin Bria Wright who was born to him by Tracy Jarnagin, Marquise Wright (Yung Eazy), Baby Eazy-E, Raven Wright who was not in the spotlight, Elijah Wright and David Wright. The other three are not known.
How Did He Die
The death of most stars is never without one or two conspiracy theories, and the case of Eazy E is no different. Although the cause of his death has been officially registered as AIDS, many believe much has remained unsaid. Eazy E announced on 16 March 1995 that he had contracted the disease, and on 26 March 1995, he died of it.
The question that arose was how he could have died of AIDS just one month after the announcement that he had been infected with AIDS. However, very few people knew that he had been struggling with the supposed asthma since the beginning of 1994.
Many others, who believed that he actually died of the disease, think that the godfather of gangsta rap probably didn’t get infected through sex. The rapper’s son, Yung Eazy, believes that his father was killed by Suge Knight.
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Jerry Heller, the manager of N.W.A., also believes that Suge Knight Eazy may have infected Eazy E by injecting him with the infected blood of someone who had the disease. For this reason, he said that his greatest regret was stopping the late rapper from killing Suge Knight when he trusted him to take him out.
However, the main question that many people keep asking themselves is how someone with the kind of wealth that Eazy E controlled could die of AIDS that could be overcome. After his death, Eazy E was buried on April 7, 1995, and more than 3,000 people attended the funeral in Whittier, California.
Net Worth
According to his son, the godfather of Gangsta Rap Eazy E had a net worth of $50 million before his death. Among other assets he had, his music label Ruthless Records is said to have been worth nearly $15 million before the rapper’s death.