Eric “Eazy E” Wright would’ve turned 50 on September 7, and he’s been gone for almost 20 years now. But the indelible mark that the Compton native left on the world of hip-hop cannot be denied. From his founding of N.W.A. and Ruthless Records to his mentorship of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Eazy’s legacy was cemented long before he lost his life to AIDS complications at the age of 31.
In an interview with BET.com, Eazy’s son, rapper Lil Eazy E, and his daughter, Erica Wright, spoke about their father and his legacy. Lil Eazy dismissed the idea that artists pay appropriate tribute to the gangsta rap godfather.
“You just think of the words of homage and it’s like what it really is,” Lil Eazy-E said. “You see what I’m saying? ‘Cause a rapper took his verse and threw it in a song and feel like you done paid your respect? Nah, you did what you did to make yourself relevant. Homage is reaching out to the ones that’s here. That’s still supporting him. And giving proper due respect. When people take songs of pops and do all that. Nah, I don’t feel like that’s paying homage. You doing what’s right for you to make it. Why? Because look at who he is.”
Erica had a less bitter take on her father’s career and shared that she’s honored that so many hip-hop artists have followed in her dad’s footsteps.
“To know that they’re following the same blueprint that my father put out is really amazing,” Wright said. “To know that he started this. As long as everybody pay homage and remember where it came from then I really don’t have a problem with it. I just want respect where respect is due. As far as the [upcoming N.W.A. biopic] movie goes, we haven’t been consulted. I would feel better if they came to us and asked for our ideas and things that we would want in the movie. And just involve us period. Let us have things in how we want the outlook to be or what we would want to see on the big screen. The movie, I’m really happy about it. I’m really supportive of it. This is the first time my dad would be seen on the big screen, period. To even let everyone know the person he is. To me my dad is like the god–the god of rap.”
