He dropped out of high school in the tenth grade and made money for years in ways that could be described, at best, as quasi-legal. And while the album isn’t the history-making, genre-warping masterpiece that Straight Outta Compton is, it’s a valuable document from one of hip-hop’s most daring, brazen capitalists, unafraid of anybody and sensing his time had come.Įazy was born Eric Wright in Compton – of course – in 1964. But just a month after its release, Eazy, the mastermind behind the group and its label, Ruthless Records, returned with another LP: his solo debut, Eazy-Duz-It. It irreversibly changed the course of the genre and gave the West coast the sort of commercial cache that had previously been limited to New York. There’s no question that the N.W.A album, from which the movie takes its name, is one of the most essential records in the history of rap and American pop culture at large. But by 2015, when N.W.A was further immortalized in the movie Straight Outta Compton, which became an international hit, their impact – and Eazy’s – had become undeniable. Part of this was by design: Eazy and the rest of N.W.A were banned from many radio stations when they debuted, and the charts did not exactly account for non-traditional forms of distribution. Despite being one of the songs that best typified early gangsta rap – especially the variety that sprawled out from the West coast to validate the experiences or capture the imaginations of young people around the country – its success was not exactly measurable. R.I.When “Boyz-n-the-Hood” finally made the Billboard charts, Apple was rolling out its fifth generation of iPhones, the Barack Obama presidency was winding down, and Eazy-E had been dead for more than 20 years. The high speed, drum-tastic beat of 2 Hard Mutha’s and roaring bass, frequent claps and twinkly synths of Boyz-N-The-Hood (Remix) are just two examples of this.įor my conclusion, rather than giving a long, drawn out, detailed reiteration of the summary, I’m going to substitute it with the following. However, rather than being slow-moving, they are uptempo, matching Eazy-E’s rapping style. Dre beats, all the tracks on the album are of the same typical West coast gangsta rap format in terms of sound. Dre produced the entire album (with some help from DJ Yella.) Rather than the typical, chill G-funk Dr. In addition to that, early in his career – before N.W.A broke apart – Eazy-E had lots of firepower on the boards. Nobody Move, Boyz-N-The-Hood (Remix), and Chapter 8 Verse 10 are all examples of this, as he tells tales of an armed robbery, life in Compton, and a driveby (respectively) full of vivid images. Never the lyrical wiz, Eazy-E more often than not, relied on his story-telling abilities to compensate for that. This style probably helped him gravitate to his comically inclined, but gangsta lyrics – “Take out the security guard, with the strap in my hand/Yea he’s wearing a badge but he’s just an old-ass man” –as it just somehow fit the mold. Combine that with his smooth, uptempo flow, his rapping style was a favorite amongst hip-hop fans. But as Eazy said, “I don’t give a f*ck.” With some help from the N.W.A crew, Eazy-Duz-It is a great solo debut effort from the E.Įazy E’s whiny, nasally, teenager voice was a staple of his rapping style. He and his Ruthless cohorts were hated by middle-to-upper class America for their violent, sex-craving, drug-obsessed, bleak outlook on life. Probably should have added something about the Dre beats somewhere in here too…huh…?Įazy-E’s (practically) patented voice and his gangsta lyrics made him a lovable figure within the scope of rap, but not so loved outside it. Review Summary: Eazy-E’s prevailing ‘hood nigga’ mentality, vulgar sense of humor, and storytelling abilities make Eazy-Duz-It a gangsta rap classic.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |