Erin Bria Wright, E.B., was only 4 years old when her father Eazy-E died in 1995. His absence led to heartbreak, but she used his life story to find inspiration for her own path and career.
With the release of the N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, E.B. is excited to see a re-enactment of her father’s success, trials, and tribulations.
She recently spoke with rolling out to share her thoughts on the film.
What were some of your initial thoughts on the movie Straight Outta Compton?
Overall, I think it’s an incredible film. It’s very powerful and historical, and I’m really excited for everyone to see it. I also have to speak on Jason Mitchell, who portrayed my father. He just did a phenomenal job.
You were 4 years old when your father died, do you remember anything about your father during that time?
I do have a couple of fond memories of my father. I lived with my mother and my father so I remember a lot. But I just really remember my father being very playful and very loving, holding me all the time, smiling, and just the little things. Probably my most memorable memory with my father was the last birthday party I had with him, which was my fourth birthday party, and it was a huge birthday party for me, equivalent to a sweet 16 and that was just an amazing time with him.
As you got older, how did you start to understand what was going on as far as knowing his history and who he was?
I started to realize everything around the age of nine. I’ve just been really proud, being that I’m still growing up in the business, being that my dad isn’t here and hanging around people like Snoop and Dr. Dre, and constantly in the studio hearing stories about him and how loving and fun he was, and how much of a visionary he was, and all those things serve as a moment for me to be proud all of the time and say wow, this was my father.
How did Jason Mitchell playing your father on screen affect you?
In real life, Jason and I have hung out and he’s my really good friend, but when you see him in costume and on the big screen, it was kind of scary. I mean, I literally felt like he was my father, and he did a great job. Even just the memories that I have with my dad, and all the stories I’ve heard, and everything that I’ve imagined in all of these years is what I saw on the screen from Jason and I could not be more proud. I don’t think anybody could have played my father better than he did.
Talk about your involvement in the upcoming documentary that will be released about your father. What can we expect?
My sister, my mother Tracy, and I are producing a documentary which will go into more of my dad’s life and his story. The movie touched a little bit on his life, but overall, it was the story of N.W.A. and how Ruthless was started, and all of that but it just wasn’t about Eazy-E. So in the documentary, I’m going to touch more on my dad’s life but it’s mainly going to focus on his death and a lot of things that people don’t know including all of the scandal behind it, the conspiracy behind it, and what happened afterwards.
How were things with the other group members in his final days from what your mother told you?
They did have a lot of issues behind Jerry but they were younger then, and they didn’t really understand the business back then correctly. What my dad and Jerry did was equivalent to what Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine did today. So I think with them being older now, they get it. At the time, things may have seemed off, but before my father passed away, he did speak with Dre personally and he did want to get them back together. But, unfortunately, he did end up passing before all of that could happen.
Ten years from now, how do you think this film and their story is going to resonate with people?
I think this is a classic film, and they are a classic group like The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles and this is a story about the revolution. Even today it’s still so relevant with a lot of things that they touch on from police brutality to racism and things that are still going on today, and it’s very informative and I think people are going to love it forever.
What are some of the things you’ve done from a musical stand-point?
I’m working on my EP right now entitled We Want EB, which is synonymous to my father’s album We Want Eazy. I also put out a buzz single, which was produced by Sonny Digital, whom has worked with Future, Drake, 2 Chainz, Kanye West, etc. And I’m also working with Detail, as well.
