Editing Eazy-E (section)

{{Short description|American rapper (1964–1995)}}
{{Distinguish|G-Eazy|Jeezy}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Eazy-E
| image              = Eazy E headshot.jpg
| image_size         = 220
| caption            = Eazy-E in 1993
| other_names        = Eazy
| birth_name         = Eric Lynn Wright
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1964|09|07}}{{sfn|Westhoff|2017|p=284|ps=: "Though most obituaries list his birth year as 1963, that is likely not accurate. The funeral program gave his birth year as 1964, as do most official court documents. That would make him thirty at his death, rather than thirty-one as was widely reported"}}
| birth_place        = [[Compton, California]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1995|03|26|1964|09|07}}
| death_place        = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| burial_place       = [[Rose Hills Memorial Park]]
| occupation         = {{hlist|Rapper|record producer|entrepreneur|record executive}}
| spouse             = {{marriage|Tomica Woods|1995}}
| children           = 11, including [[Lil Eazy-E]]
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist
| embed           = yes
| genre           = {{hlist|[[West Coast hip-hop]]|[[gangsta rap]]|[[G-funk]]}}
| years_active    = 1985–1995<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_uDnU3QYKfs&t=21s|title=Lonzo Williams: Dre & Eazy Were Supposes to Co-Own Ruthless Records|date=August 26, 2015 |publisher=DJVlad|access-date=November 30, 2021}}</ref>
| label           = {{hlist|[[Ruthless Records|Ruthless]]|[[Priority Records|Priority]]|[[Relativity Records|Relativity]]|[[Epic Records|Epic]]}}
| past_member_of = [[N.W.A]]
| module           = {{Infobox
| child           = yes
| header1         =
| headerstyle     = background:#b0c4de
| data2           = [[File:Eazy-E logo.svg|180px]]
}}
}}
}}

'''Eric Lynn Wright''' (September 7, 1964{{sfn|Westhoff|2017|p=284|ps=: "Though most obituaries list his birth year as 1963, that is likely not accurate. The funeral program gave his birth year as 1964, as do most official court documents. That would make him thirty at his death, rather than thirty-one as was widely reported"}} &ndash; March 26, 1995), known professionally by his stage name '''Eazy-E''', was an American rapper who propelled [[West Coast hip-hop|West Coast rap]] and [[gangsta rap]] by leading the group [[N.W.A]] and its label, [[Ruthless Records]]. Eazy-E  is often referred to as the "Godfather of Gangsta Rap".<ref name=":0" />

Born and raised in [[Compton, California]], Wright had several legal troubles before founding Ruthless in 1987.<ref>Vladislav Lyubovny, interview with Lonzo Williams, [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_uDnU3QYKfs&t=21s "Dre & Eazy were supposed to co-own Ruthless Records"], [[DJ Vlad|''DJVlad'']] @ YouTube, August 26, 2015.</ref> After a short solo career with frequent collaboration with [[Ice Cube]] and [[Dr. Dre]], they joined, forming N.W.A, later that year. N.W.A's debut studio album, ''[[Straight Outta Compton]]'', was released in 1989. Controversial upon release, it is now ranked among the greatest and most influential albums ever. The group released its second and final studio album, ''[[Niggaz4Life]]'', in 1991, and soon after disbanded.

During N.W.A's splintering, largely by disputes over money, Eazy-E became embroiled in bitter rivalries with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, who had departed for solo careers in 1989 and 1991, respectively. Resuming his solo career Eazy-E released two EPs,<ref name="amg">{{cite web|last=Huey|first= Steve|title=Eazy-E Biography|url= {{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p33|pure_url=yes}}|website=Allmusic|year=2003|access-date= August 24, 2007}}</ref> yet he remained more significant behind the scenes, signing and nationally debuting the rap group [[Bone Thugs-n-Harmony]] from 1993 to 1994.