1. Eazy E and Dr. Dre: Collaborators and Rivals
By: Eliana Lehrman, Jessica Thorla-Mitchell, Simon Vierstra

2. Eazy E was born Eric Lynn Wright in 1965 in Compton,
California. After dropping out of school in the tenth
grade, Wright began to record music in his parents’
garage. He then began selling drugs to finance his
music career. He used this money to start his own
music production company, RuthlessRecords.
Dr. Dre, born Andre Rommel was also
born in Compton in 1965. He began his
music career as a member of the rap
group, the World Class Wreckin’ Cru.

3. Eazy E sought out Dr. Dre to sign with his new label,
RuthlessRecords. Together they formed
the group NWA (Niggaz Wit Attitude).
They added several more members including:
Ice Cube MC Yella MC Ren Arabian Prince

4. NWA’s first release “Straight Outta Compton” gained national notoriety with
its first single, “Fuck Tha Police.” The songs discussed drugs, violence
(towards women and others), sex, urban life and gangs. Because of its
explicit lyrics, the FBI and concerned parent groups actually
designed the “Parental Advisory” label. The album, however was hugely
popular and, eventually went double platinum.

5. NWA went on to produce the album “Niggaz For Life”, another
very popular release that gained national attention.”
With these albums, NWA created what was to become known as
“gangsta rap;” a style that has been duplicated by many.
.

6. HOW THE
FEUD BEGAN:
Ice Cube, because he wrote
most of the songs, felt he
deserved a bigger share of the
profits, so he left the group.
Soon Dr. Dre discovered that
Eazy E and his partner were
keeping most of the profits, so
he left, too. Because of this
dispute, the two formed a
formidable rivalry.

7. Dre signed with Death Row
Records. His first release,
“The Chronic” features the
song “Fuck wit Dre Day.” The
video for the song features a
money grubbing character
named “Sleazy E.”
Eazy E retaliated with several
songs on his album, “It’s on
(Dr. Dre)” which insulted
Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and
several other artists.

8. In “Fuck Wit Dre Day,” Dr. Dre sent a message to the man who cheated him. Eazy E
responded with several songs on his next album, which calls out Dr. Dre, Death Row Records,
Dre’s protege Snoop Doggy Dogg and others. The rivalry escalated afterwards with different
rappers lyrically taunting each. As the feud continued, many thought that each was using the feud
to promote their careers while others were getting kicks and giggles from the verbal bashing
between the two. In reality, the the songs produced were very popular.
The rivalry between Eazy E and Dr. Dre came to an end on March 26th, 1995 when Eazy E died
from complications due to AIDS. Dr. Dre visited him at his bedside.

9. Eazy E, Dr, Dre, Ice Cube and the others came together to make the kind of
music that reflected their lives, their language, their culture and their attitudes.
NWA was the first rap group of its kind to make music that urban/ghetto youth
could identify with and appreciate. Although laced with profanity and violence,
the music spoke to a culture permeated with drugs, violence and poverty.
NWA were also the pioneers of the sub-genre, “gangsta rap” that has permeated
rap culture ever since and inspired artists like Snoop Dogg, Tupac, Biggie Smalls, NAS and
many others; their influence can still be seen today in artists like Chief Keef and Juicy J.

10. Believe it or not the story of NWA isn’t quite over. In 2009, New Line
Cinema teamed up with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre to produce the film,
“Straight Outta Compton” which chronicles the lives of NWA’s members. Ice
Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson, Jr. will be portraying his father.
Filming began on location in Compton California on August 25th of this year.

11. Works Cited
Adaso, Henry. "Beef, Anyone? The 10 Best Hip-Hop Battles of All Time." Rap About. Web 11 Oct. 2014.
"Dr. Dre Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
http://www.biography.com/people/dr-dre-507628>
<http://rap.about.com/od/toppicks/tp/10BestHipHopBattles.htm>
"Eazy-E Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.
<http://www.biography.com/people/eazy-e-21257001>
Light, A., and B. Little. "Beating Up The Charts." Rolling Stone 610 (1991): 65. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 10 Oct. 2014.
J., Miranda. "Dr. Dre Is Suing Death Row For $3 Million In Unpaid Royalties." XXL. 10 Feb. 2014. Web. 11
Oct. 2014.
<http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/02/dr-dre-suing-death-row-3-million-unpaid-royalties/>
Mitchell, Gail. "Ruthless Records." Billboard 120.32 (2008): 30-34. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10
Oct. 2014.

12. Images cited
1st slide: “Dr. Dre vs Eazy E.”
http://www.sosoactive.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/dreeazye.jpg
2nd slide: Eazy E photo.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41H%2BPGLxQNL._SL290_.jpg
Dr. Dre photo.
http://cdn.archinect.net/images/514x/ko/kob16fbni71nzfab.jpg
3rd slide: Ice Cube photo.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/1326192631_icecube.jpgMC Ren photo.
http://www.mtv.com/news/photos/e/eminem_rappers_mmlp2_110813/crops/mc-ren.jpg
ArabianPrince photo. http://westcoastpioneers.com/typo3temp/pics/arabian_prince_black_handsome_new_5f60f550b1.
jpg
MC Yella photo.
http://cdn.hiphopdx.com//images/news/DJ%20Yella_03-05-2014.jpg
Mc Ren http://www.mtv.com/news/photos/e/eminem_rappers_mmlp2_110813/crops/mc-ren.jpg
4th slide: “Straight Outta Compton.”
http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/1368396549_nwa-straight-outta-compton.jpeg
“Fuck Tha Police” image.
http://i1.sndcdn.com/artworks-000003658139-mnxs6a-original.jpg?b17253e

13. Images continued
5th slide: NWA group photo.
http://www.everythingcollectible.com/images/products/14984.jpg
Parental advisory image.
http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2010/10/29/parental-advisory_custom-d61ea6192ebc478d3a7ff147dbbe3e884ebcb5ac.
jpg
Double platinum photo.
http://www.everythingcollectible.com/images/products/14984.jpg5th slide: NWA group photo.
http://www.everythingcollectible.com/images/products/14984.jpg
6th slide: “Niggaz for Life” image.
http://s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/NWA-Niggaz4life-Frontal.jpg
7th slide: “The Chronic” image. http://cpsstatic.rovicorp.com/3/JPG_400/MI0001/621/MI0001621078.jpg?
partner=allrovi.com
“It’s on Dr. Dre” image
http://www.melodyspot.com/uploads/classics/Eazy_E__Its_On_(Dr._Dre)_187um_Killa_Album_Download_.jpeg
8th slide: Eazy E death notice: http://www.buymixtapes.com/members/images/eazylifeafterdeath.thumb.gif
Gravestone photo.
http://www.westlord.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Eazy-E-Grave.jpg
9th slide: NWA group photo.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/1a/Straight-outta-compton-nwa-movie.jpg
10th slide: “Straight Outta Compton Cast” photo.
https://latricebutts.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/inf-3610.jpg