i don't see any post up from this weekend
the 25th of this month marks his passing from aids in 1995
or is it the 26th?
i forget. i was in the hospital just gettin' out of surgery
groggy as fuck when i saw it on the tv in a quick sound blip
that he had passed....

Which is a shame.

I remember I posted about him here maybe 5 years ago, lamenting that he was someone who deserved to be mentioned, in terms of impact on rap music, among the others, and I got laughed out the building.

But dude was a visionary.

So many of the labels that came to fortune in the 90's were following the Ruthless formula.

And people forget, it wasn't just N.W.A. or Bone Thugs that he had a hand in (which, in itself, is enough to make him noteworthy).

J.J. Fad were huge, he put out the first Above The Law album (damn near a classic from where I sit), and of course, was the first to try and put B.E.P. on.

I've always wondered how much of his lack of recognition is the manner in which he died. He didn't go out in a glamorous (by media and fan standards) way. Dude slipped up and was the posterboy for a disease that was very misunderstood and downright scary at that time.

Also can't help but wonder what kind of career he would have had if he had stayed alive.

Musically, I don't know how much he had left. It's On went double platinum, and it's hard to judge the success, or lack there of, of Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton because it came out so long after he passed. However, as a mogul? He seemed to have his finger on the pulse still.

had he not passed. And I agree with everything you said.

and eff it man, Eazy is one of my favorite rappers, even if he has a number of wack lines to his name. His voice alone was comedy.

That star quality that cannot be taught, bought, or transfered, regardless of how hard one tries. He was a personality and a half, for sure.

We now live in a rap era where people openly say, they're not rappers, they're hustlers, and no one thinks twice about it.

Eazy E was the epitome of that. Dude became an artist because the ones he had signed to him didn't show up to the studio, and they said, shit, why not.

Hate the word but agree completely that "swag" is a necessary part of being a quality MC. If you don't have it or lose it, your lyrics can still be tight but it just ain't the same...

Common is my example. On a song like "No Competition" or "Hungy" he had dope lyrics AND swag.

In a lot of his later works, he still got tons of lyrics but the swag is gone and it's noticeable.

Dre Day HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURT. Along with "No vaseline." So folks saw him as a shady character that they lost respect for. And to add AIDS at that time? Ehh

Relative to DR and Cube and even say Quik or Pac?

Was his music as respected and bumped?

My impression from afar was that he was considered old news and no longer buzz worthy? Correct?

Feels like at that time, Snoop and Dre COMPLETELY ran shit....with Cube being right behind. Their camp started to run shit as well, and Quik was starting to get big. I don't know if the older folks, or hood folks, were bumpin Eazy a lot at that point..but the kids weren't, since he wasn't making any hits and had NOTHING on the radio at the time that was new. You weren't even hearing "Boyz n da hood" n those songs much at that time because they were in that stage of "too new to be classic, but not modern enough to get played." I don't even remember hearing "Real Compton City G's" that many times on radio, especially not on daytime countdowns n that...but I know that some folks were on his side at the time, just not people I knew back then.

Now when he came with Bone? I think folks were ridin with him. We loved the verse on "For the love of money" for sure. When he died, I think we had sympathy for him, and the "Crossroads" love was huge...so basically, Bone basically gave him a 2nd wind, even after death.

After his death, he did become somewhat of a legend and he gained some respect, although it was too late. So when you see paintings and shirts of West Coast legends, he's AAAAAALWAYS on there. But it was almost as bad as 50 Cent killing Ja Rule in 92-93...he just wasn't able to compete.

I forgot about this. This was some G shit lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOnZ3YtA1Q0

That shit is hard.

And that "COMPTON" at the beginning? Doooope.

Musically, Dre and Snoop were on a much higher level than Eazy by this point, but that album still had some jams.

because that video was hilarious, the "CLICK CLICK Dre CLICK CLICK Snoop, CLICK CLICK Death Row" was a great moment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtaCReubaYQ

Kind of weird considering how he went out.

But still rings 20 years later. That beat? Yoooo.

almost lost it. Forgot how dope/fun this song was

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMiiCkFn_cs

i had just finished watching New York Undercover and got the news he had passed.

couldn't believe it then and still can;t.

my homeboy swears up and down a goverment needle was injected into Eazy. he never says things like that and Eazy's death is a mystery IMO.

Eazy is swept under the carpet for two obvious reasons

Hip Hop is about Bravedo and sexuality and the way he died ain't fashionable to talk about 1)

and the other obvious one he was a Brother with some Juice. had some money and masters and unlike Puffy and Suge and some of these other cats who came later and had umbrella deals, Eazy E was sitting on payday even when he wasn't sitting on a pay day if you feel me?

getting a dollar off of every chronic album sold a practice that Suge Knight intercepted on snoop dogg BTW

not to mention Eazy had won with his own label, won with NWA, Won with his own solo career, spin off acts like Mea'chelle, JJ Fad and he had other things down the pike.

Eazy was a Money making machine,however he peaked too soon. fast forward to what you see Puffy, Suge, J prince, Irv Gotti, Luke Campbell, Master P, Baby Williams, Jay Z, Damon Dash, SOuljah Boy,etc..

all that goes back to the ground hustle that Eazy E laid down.

when you think about it he showed you the conversative brand of Hip hop and sold it back.

Him, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube were/are more in step with Clarance Thomas than President Obama when you see how things have unfolded and molded together over the years. IMO

I know ruthless was started with drug money, just curious.

But I wonder how strong his ties were considering Jerry Heller and the JDL involvement during the DR beef.

http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.16485/title.bg-knocc-out-alleges-eazy-e-was-murdered-recalls-showdown-with-nate-dogg