Former N.W.A. rapper and South Central Los Angeles native Ice Cube is a legendary rapper and is widely considered one of the forefathers of gangsta rap. Alongside Dr Dre, MC Ren and Eazy-E, he made history as a member of the iconic 1980s Compton hip-hop collective.
However, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the lyricist (real name O’Shea Jackson) revealed that it wasn’t just Dr Dre’s production that contributed to the success of N.W.A., but instead unveiled that it was Dr Dre in collaboration with Eazy-E that created the magic and insinuated it was a meeting of two great minds.
Eazy-E passed away in 1995 due to AIDS, and although the two had their differences, the pair had no bad blood before he died. In 2015, ahead of the release of Straight Outta Compton, the N.W.A. biopic, Jackson explained the skill and intelligence Eazy-E brought to the table as a businessman.
Explaining the late rapper’s savvy insight, Jackson stated, “Eazy was a genius when it comes to entertainment and promoting and understanding what people want. Eazy is the reason why this thing really worked.” The deceased icon (real name Eric Wright) was the individual who vocalled N.W.A’s breakout record, ‘Boyz-N-Tha Hood.’
Speaking about what Wright would be doing had he not passed, Jackson stated, “Eric would have his hand in something, something that is fresh! I think he would still be producing groups. He had Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony when he passed away, and I still think he’d be on that road. Finding the next new talent.”
He continued, “And it wouldn’t just be musical talent, I think he would be dribbling and dabbling in movies by now and all forms of entertainment because he was just such a visionary on what it should be and if he could get the right people around to create that then he’d be still in the mix!”
You can hear Jackson talking about Eazy-E in the video below.
