The final conversation Dr Dre had with Eazy-E before he died
Eazy-E is the figure that, to true fans of hip-hop, needs no introduction. A founding member of N.W.A., he was a pivotal figure in the West Coast rap scene, bringing gangsta rap into the mainstream of the American – if not even global – stage, fusing raw and gritty storytelling of his Compton upbringing with cool, calm, if not even deadpan delivery.
The “Godfather of Gangsta Rap”, as he’s been referred to, first formed NWA with Dr Dre and Ice Cube in 1987. You don’t need me to tell you that their debut studio album, Straight Outta Compton, is considered one of the most influential albums ever.
Unfortunately, as is so often the case in the industry, NWA broke up, with Eazy-E reportedly falling out with Ice Cube and Dre, who launched their own respective solo careers in music.
After the disbandment, Eazy-E also established his solo music career as both artist and label head, leaning heavily into diss tracks of which Dr Dre and Ice Cube were the primary targets. His label was more successful than his musical output: his label, Ruthless Records, mentored artists such as Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
In an interview conducted by The Hollywood Reporter, which included several major names in hip-hop, including Dre and Ice, the former discussed his final conversation with Eazy before his tragic and untimely death in 1995.
“Now I actually had a conversation with Eazy before he passed away,” Dre said, addressing the group. “I think I was on a video set, I don’t remember which one it was. But somebody just randomly came up and handed me a cell phone and said you guys should talk right now.”
“So I got on the phone and it was Eric,” Dre said, referring to the rapper by his birth name. “And you know, we started talking about the mistakes we had made in the past, and potentially getting back together and making another record…”
Eazy-E’s death in 1995 was a genuine shock across the music industry, especially within the hip-hop world. In February of that year, he was hospitalised with what was initially believed to be merely asthma, only to be diagnosed with AIDS, at the peak of the crisis.
Just weeks later, at age 30, he passed away from complications related to the disease. The speed of his illness and the shock of its nature stunned fans and artists alike, especially since Eazy had maintained a tough, almost untouchable public image throughout his public career. And before his death, he reconciled with several former rivals, including Dr. Dre and Ice Cube.
“We was on great terms,” Ice Cube said of Eazy-E in an interview with Billboard. “We had finally got it all the way back to where it felt like not just a truce – not just going along to get along because we in the same space – but we was actually enjoying each other and talking about old times and laughing at how we did on the bus or making records. It felt like that the last time I seen him. I thought we were really about to get N.W.A. back together and rekindle everything back up. And then he passed away.”
He was buried in Whittier, California, and over 3,000 people attended his funeral, including former N.W.A. manager Jerry Heller, and former N.W.A. member DJ Yella.