Eazy-E's Influence on Hip Hop

A look at the Compton G's legacy on his birthday.

Eazy Lives On - September 7th marks the birthday of gangsta rap pioneer Eazy-E. In celebration of his life, let's take a look at several contributions that the Compton G gave to the rap game that are still going strong today.— Michael Harris (@iceblueva)(Photo: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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Eazy Lives On - September 7th marks the birthday of gangsta rap pioneer Eazy-E. In celebration of his life, let's take a look at several contributions that the Compton G gave to the rap game that are still going strong today.— Michael Harris (@iceblueva)(Photo: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Ruthless Takeover - Long before Bad Boy, Cash Money, Death Row and Roc-A-Fella were household names, Eazy-E was forging the road for future hip hop entrepreneurs and Black owned labels. Eazy’s Ruthless Records was a benchmark for future hip hop moguls. (Photos from left: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Ruthless Records)

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Ruthless Takeover - Long before Bad Boy, Cash Money, Death Row and Roc-A-Fella were household names, Eazy-E was forging the road for future hip hop entrepreneurs and Black owned labels. Eazy’s Ruthless Records was a benchmark for future hip hop moguls. (Photos from left: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Ruthless Records)

Supersonic Bound - Prior to N.W.A blowing up and making history, one of Eazy's first groups was J.J. Fad. The Ruthless Records trio was the first female rap group to receive a Grammy nomination and their project Supersonic was certified gold and helped spawn future female MCs. (Photos from left: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage, Ruthless Records)

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Supersonic Bound - Prior to N.W.A blowing up and making history, one of Eazy's first groups was J.J. Fad. The Ruthless Records trio was the first female rap group to receive a Grammy nomination and their project Supersonic was certified gold and helped spawn future female MCs. (Photos from left: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage, Ruthless Records)

Gangsta Tales - Ice Cube and Eazy had their issues; but Cube has always given “The Godfather of Gangsta Rap” his props for giving him his break. Eazy knew Cube's pen game was no joke and had Cube write a majority of his 1988 debut Eazy-Duz-It. N.W.A success followed and the Don Mega has been on hip hop’s Mt. Rushmore ever since.(Photos from left: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

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Gangsta Tales - Ice Cube and Eazy had their issues; but Cube has always given “The Godfather of Gangsta Rap” his props for giving him his break. Eazy knew Cube's pen game was no joke and had Cube write a majority of his 1988 debut Eazy-Duz-It. N.W.A success followed and the Don Mega has been on hip hop’s Mt. Rushmore ever since.(Photos from left: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage, Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images)

Photo By Photos from left: Ron Galella

Doctor's Advocate - Dr. Dre was a struggling artist with an androgynous look in World Class Wreckin' Cru before Eazy-E came along. After being left in jail by his former crew leader, Eazy posted his bond and the two went on to create history. Thanks to Eazy and his bail money, Dre was able to become the hip hop pillar he is today.(Photos from left: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Angela Weiss/Getty Images for City Of Hope)

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Doctor's Advocate - Dr. Dre was a struggling artist with an androgynous look in World Class Wreckin' Cru before Eazy-E came along. After being left in jail by his former crew leader, Eazy posted his bond and the two went on to create history. Thanks to Eazy and his bail money, Dre was able to become the hip hop pillar he is today.(Photos from left: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Angela Weiss/Getty Images for City Of Hope)

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Midwest Presenter - Eazy can be credited for breaking two groundbreaking acts. After N.W.A disbanded, the Compton G helped solidify the Midwest’s rep when he unveiled Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Following the release of their major label debut, Creepin' on Ah Come Up, in 1994, featuring the hit single “Thuggish Ruggish Bone,” Bone ruled the charts with a slew of platinum albums. Their 1996 hit “Tha Crossroads,” which was dedicated to Eazy, won them a Grammy. (Photos from left: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Stephen Lovekin/WireImage)

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Midwest Presenter - Eazy can be credited for breaking two groundbreaking acts. After N.W.A disbanded, the Compton G helped solidify the Midwest’s rep when he unveiled Bone Thugs-N-Harmony. Following the release of their major label debut, Creepin' on Ah Come Up, in 1994, featuring the hit single “Thuggish Ruggish Bone,” Bone ruled the charts with a slew of platinum albums. Their 1996 hit “Tha Crossroads,” which was dedicated to Eazy, won them a Grammy. (Photos from left: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Stephen Lovekin/WireImage)

Bridging the Gap - From Dr. Dre to Ice Cube, Eazy was always able to recognize talent. Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am consistently pays homage to Eazy, who signed his first group, The ATBANN Klann, to Ruthless Records. Although their album was never released, after Eazy’s death, will took the game he learned from his mentor and proceeded to build his own empire with B.E.P. (Photos from left: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

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Bridging the Gap - From Dr. Dre to Ice Cube, Eazy was always able to recognize talent. Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am consistently pays homage to Eazy, who signed his first group, The ATBANN Klann, to Ruthless Records. Although their album was never released, after Eazy’s death, will took the game he learned from his mentor and proceeded to build his own empire with B.E.P. (Photos from left: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Gangsta Harmonies - If it wasn’t for Eric Wright, Michel’le wouldn’t be an R&B diva. The Cali songstress released her self-titled, double platinum debut in 1989 on Ruthless Records and Eazy proved his label was more than a home for just gangsta rap. (Photos from left: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage, Rachel Murray/Getty Images for TV One)

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Gangsta Harmonies - If it wasn’t for Eric Wright, Michel’le wouldn’t be an R&B diva. The Cali songstress released her self-titled, double platinum debut in 1989 on Ruthless Records and Eazy proved his label was more than a home for just gangsta rap. (Photos from left: Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage, Rachel Murray/Getty Images for TV One)

The Inspiration - Prior to John Singleton dropping his classic cinematic debut Boyz n the Hood, which starred former N.W.A member Ice Cube, Eazy forged his way into the rap arena with his 1987 hit “Boyz-n-the-Hood” which also depicted life in the Los Angeles streets. Singleton told MTV that the script was originally written for all of N.W.A, who were one of his influences for making the film.(Photos from left: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Columbia Pictures)

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The Inspiration - Prior to John Singleton dropping his classic cinematic debut Boyz n the Hood, which starred former N.W.A member Ice Cube, Eazy forged his way into the rap arena with his 1987 hit “Boyz-n-the-Hood” which also depicted life in the Los Angeles streets. Singleton told MTV that the script was originally written for all of N.W.A, who were one of his influences for making the film.(Photos from left: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Columbia Pictures)

Advocate Against Police Brutality - Police brutality has been spotlighted heavily over the past few years but Eazy-E and N.W.A were among the first artists to bring awareness to America’s dirty little secret. Their 1988 rebellious anthem “F**k tha Police” was a vivid story that served as a play-by-play account of rogue police officer tactics prior to smartphones.(Photo: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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Advocate Against Police Brutality - Police brutality has been spotlighted heavily over the past few years but Eazy-E and N.W.A were among the first artists to bring awareness to America’s dirty little secret. Their 1988 rebellious anthem “F**k tha Police” was a vivid story that served as a play-by-play account of rogue police officer tactics prior to smartphones.(Photo: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo: Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Eazy Loves the Hood - Eazy-E rocked the hip hop community and the world when he announced that he had AIDS in 1995. The true G that he was, Eazy wanted people to learn from his death. In his last public statement, he revealed that he was very promiscuous and that safe sex wasn’t on his mind most of the time and he wanted to show the hood how serious the disease was. “I’m not saying this because I’m looking for a soft cushion wherever I’m heading, I just feel that I’ve got thousands and thousands of young fans that have to learn about what’s real when it comes to AIDS. Like the others before me, I would like to turn my own problem into something good that will reach out to all my homeboys and their kin. Because I want to save their a***s before it’s too late.”(Photo: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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Eazy Loves the Hood - Eazy-E rocked the hip hop community and the world when he announced that he had AIDS in 1995. The true G that he was, Eazy wanted people to learn from his death. In his last public statement, he revealed that he was very promiscuous and that safe sex wasn’t on his mind most of the time and he wanted to show the hood how serious the disease was. “I’m not saying this because I’m looking for a soft cushion wherever I’m heading, I just feel that I’ve got thousands and thousands of young fans that have to learn about what’s real when it comes to AIDS. Like the others before me, I would like to turn my own problem into something good that will reach out to all my homeboys and their kin. Because I want to save their a***s before it’s too late.”(Photo: Raymond Boyd/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)