Eric Lynn Wright, best known by his stage name as Eazy-E. He is an American rapper who performed solo and in the hip hop group, N.W.A. Eazy E has a net worth of $8 million in 2017. Wright is affectionately called “The Godfather of Gangsta Rap”.
He was born to Richard and Kathie Wright in Compton, California. After dropping out of high school in the tenth grade, he supported himself primarily by selling drugs before investing in Ruthless Records and becoming a rapper. When Ruthless artist Ice Cube wrote “Boyz-n-the-Hood”, Dr. Dre, Cube, and Eazy formed N.W.A. After DJ Yella, MC Ren, and Arabian Prince joined the group, N.W.A released N.W.A. and the Posse. In 1988, they released their most controversial album, Straight Outta Compton. The group released two more albums and then disbanded after Eazy released Dr. Dre from his contract.
Eazy-E’s Early Life and Career
Eazy-E was born, Eric Wright on September 7, 1963 in Compton, California. Wright dropped out of high school in tenth grade, but later received his GED. He supported himself primarily by selling drugs, and at the age of 23, Wright had allegedly earned as much as $250,000 from dealing drugs. Striving for a better life, he ventured into the hip-hop scene where his popularity grew rapidly. He started recording songs in the mid-1980’s in his parent’s garage and by 1987, Eazy-E was a member of the group N.W.A. with Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, MC Ren, and Arabian Prince. N.W.A. was formed when Ruthless Records signees, Dr. Dre and Ice Cube wrote “Boyz-n-the-Hood.” The group’s compilation album “N.W.A. and the Posse” was released on November 6, 1987 and would go on to be certified Gold in the US. Eazy-E’s debut album,” Eazy-Duz-It,” was released on September 16, 1988 and featured 12 tracks. It sold over 2.5 million copies and reached number 41 on the Billboard charts. He went on to build a successful career with N.W.A. writing and performing hit songs, including seven of the eighteen songs on the hit album, “Niggaz4Life”. In 1991, N.W.A. began to split up after Jerry Heller became the band’s manager. Heller appeared to look after Eazy-E’s interests ahead of the other band members and Dr. Dre eventually asked Eazy to release him from the Ruthless Records contract. Eazy refused and the impasse led to a heated feud between the two band mates. The feud eventually led to Dre’s release from Ruthless Records, but Dre continued to attack Eazy in his track, “The Chronic”, with Eazy firing back with the EP, “It’s On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa”.