This day (March 26) in 1995, rapper Eazy-E died from complications of AIDS. He was only 31.
The rapper, whose real name was Eric Wright, rose to fame as part of the gangsta rap posse N.W.A with Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella.
Eazy-E also found success as a solo artist, perhaps best known for his debut single "Boyz-in-the-Hood," which featured lyrics by Ice Cube and production by Dr. Dre. Although the song wasn't a huge chart hit - it stalled at No. 50 on the Hot 100 and No. 14 on Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart - it was influential. Its title inspired the similarly named 1991 film, which starred Ice Cube and Cuba Gooding Jr. And, Alternative rock band Dynamite Hack had a hit with their cover of the song, which reached No. 12 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks in 2000.
Wright was also a record label executive, having founded Ruthless Records with N.W.A manager Jerry Heller. The label found success with a number of artists including J.J. Fad, The D.O.C., Michel'le, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and others.
The latter group was the most successful act to emerge from the Ruthless Records camp, with their 1995 album, E. 1999 Eternal, serving as a tribute to their mentor Eazy-E.
In an interview for the Billboard Book of Number One Albums, Krayzie Bone spoke about Eazy-E, who was credited as the executive producer of the album that hit No. 1 five months after his death. "He had a copy of the album before he died," Krayzie Bone revealed. "He knew it was going to end up on top."
It was the second time Eazy-E was credited on a chart-topping album. He was also still leading N.W.A when the group's 1991 album EFIL4ZAGGIN topped the chart. That success came after Ice Cube left the group to pursue a solo career.
"At first they thought we couldn't do it without him, so we had to prove we could," he said. Some critics complained that when N.W.A lost Ice Cube, it also lost its conscience, as the material on EFIL4ZAGGIN was even more graphic and shocking than the previous effort, as evidenced by song titles like "I'd Rather F--- You" and "Findum, F---um & Flee."
"We just did whatever we felt like doing," explained Eazy-E. "A lot of people were afraid to put it on wax, but we didn't give a f---." And the group also didn't mind the negative reviews. "Publicity is publicity," Eazy-E said. "It doesn't matter if it is good or bad. It's all good to me."
