Bone Thugs was right when they said Eazy didn't/don't get enough respect.

[BiggBoogaBiff]

his career was so short and he passed away so long ago that people forgot ALL ABOUT Eazy tbh.  Nobody really covered his story after his death but his story is so grand and unique and so massive (altogether) that people don't even understand that without Eazy E Hip Hop music in general wouldn't have been what it is today.  What if Cube actually sold that track 2 them NY niggaz and didn't give it to Eazy E who was the front man of NWA at the time. Hip Hop would be in a totally different place altogether now.  Eazy had the character, the smarts, and the right package to set off a whole paradime shift IMO.  Yeah, of course you couldn't possibly undermine Ice Cube (that's a whole nother story) but w/o Eazy E, Rap woulda been a lil' too political today (considering u had Cube, PE, KRs, and so many more).  Eazy E made Hip Hop a little more free and it was huge.  Not to mention the guy signed Will.I.Am and Bone Thugs also.

[JohnnyL]

You from L.A.?

Me? No, I'm not.  Just read a lot of interviews with Eazy and N.W.A..

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

you're missing the point. 2Pac and Biggie get more love than Eazy because of their talent. Clearly Eazy E gave gangsta rap a unique image. Problem is that when it comes down to it, an image was all he was.

 I think all three were talented, just in different areas.  I've got no argument against anyone who says that 2pac and Biggie were more lyrically gifted than Eazy.  When it comes to that, I agree.  But as a businessman, Eazy was a visionary.  You might say he had a talent for spotting talent.  And while Eazy may have seldom written his own lyrics, he always had the good sense to surround himself with very talented people.  I think it's for that reason that while you can't say that Eazy wrote dope lyrics on "Eazy Duz It," most would agree that "Eazy Duz It" is still a classic album.
 I do think that part of Eazy's contribution to gangsta rap was the image he portrayed, but in that respect he was great too.  You know you're doing a pretty good job "stirring the pot" when you start getting letters from the F.B.I. and constant coverage in the news.  Eazy even saw his "infamous" dinner with the President as a good publicity stunt, which actually I'm sure it probably was.

I'm not saying that Eazy shouldn't get respect for his influence. I'm explaining why he's not on the level of a 2Pac or Biggie. People seem mad about that but their music is on a completely different level.

[StevenQBosell]

You from L.A.?

Me? No, I'm not.  Just read a lot of interviews with Eazy and N.W.A..

Cool i was just wondering, you've got your Eazy tidbits on point. He did, along w/ Cube created the stereotype and / or classic iconery of that late 80's / early 90's west coast thug nigga - jheri curl, raiders / kings cap, all black from head to toe, mean mug, lol

[JohnnyL]

you're missing the point. 2Pac and Biggie get more love than Eazy because of their talent. Clearly Eazy E gave gangsta rap a unique image. Problem is that when it comes down to it, an image was all he was.

 I think all three were talented, just in different areas.  I've got no argument against anyone who says that 2pac and Biggie were more lyrically gifted than Eazy.  When it comes to that, I agree.  But as a businessman, Eazy was a visionary.  You might say he had a talent for spotting talent.  And while Eazy may have seldom written his own lyrics, he always had the good sense to surround himself with very talented people.  I think it's for that reason that while you can't say that Eazy wrote dope lyrics on "Eazy Duz It," most would agree that "Eazy Duz It" is still a classic album.
 I do think that part of Eazy's contribution to gangsta rap was the image he portrayed, but in that respect he was great too.  You know you're doing a pretty good job "stirring the pot" when you start getting letters from the F.B.I. and constant coverage in the news.  Eazy even saw his "infamous" dinner with the President as a good publicity stunt, which actually I'm sure it probably was.

I'm not saying that Eazy shouldn't get respect for his influence. I'm explaining why he's not on the level of a 2Pac or Biggie. People seem mad about that but their music is on a completely different level.

 I agree with you on that point.  But I think all three were very influential.  Regarding their ability to write lyrics, I think  you're right.  Eazy wasn't in the same league.  But Eazy got over that hurdle by having people like D.O.C. and Ice Cube, who were a couple of the great lyricists of their time, write his lyrics.  Is doing that kind of a cheat?  Maybe, depending on how you look at it.  But if your goal is for the overall composition of your songs to be good, you still achieve that end. 
 

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

so you think Boyz in the Hood is on the same level as Dear Mama? Please. Their music isn't on the same level.

[JohnnyL]

so you think Boyz in the Hood is on the same level as Dear Mama? Please. Their music isn't on the same level.

 Do you I think that "Boyz in the Hood" is as good of a song as "Dear Mama," ?  No.  But I think it was probably a more important song to the Rap genre. 

[Muhfukka]

so you think Boyz in the Hood is on the same level as Dear Mama?

without a doubt

[Jaydc]

so you think Boyz in the Hood is on the same level as Dear Mama? Please. Their music isn't on the same level.

 Do you I think that "Boyz in the Hood" is as good of a song as "Dear Mama," ?  No.  But I think it was probably a more important song to the Rap genre. 

LOL,what?It was a good song and pretty funny,but how was it important?

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

so you think Boyz in the Hood is on the same level as Dear Mama? Please. Their music isn't on the same level.

 Do you I think that "Boyz in the Hood" is as good of a song as "Dear Mama," ?  No.  But I think it was probably a more important song to the Rap genre.  

lmao. funniest thing I've heard all day. It's a good song but its also a gimmick song with what would amount today to be terrible lyrics. And it can't be that important to hip hop since it copies its style completely from Ice T's 6 in the mornin and Schoolly D's PSK, What does it mean?

[BiggBoogaBiff]

wow @ the "boyz n da hood" remarkz.  so what if it was sampled, so are 95% of ALL rap records from ANY time period.  i thought u faggs had atleast that little bit of common sense but i guess not.  LMAO!  that's extreme right there. 



anybody notice how rapsodie, jaydc, and chamillitary click always respond after each other.  lol, i told y'all they were dormmates mane.

[JohnnyL]

wow @ the "boyz n da hood" remarkz.  so what if it was sampled, so are 95% of ALL rap records from ANY time period.  i thought u faggs had atleast that little bit of common sense but i guess not.  LMAO!  that's extreme right there.  



anybody notice how rapsodie, jaydc, and chamillitary click always respond after each other.  lol, i told y'all they were dormmates mane.

  I can't believe I'm on a west coast forum, and I have to try to explain to people why "Boyz In the Hood" was an important record.  Lol.
  Well, first let me say that in the grand scheme of things I don't think "Dear Mama" was even close to one of 2pac's most important songs.  I'm a huge 2pac fan, and "Dear Mama" is a great song, but it's more of a personal song.  As far as social commentary, 2pac had more important songs on "2pacalypse Now," and "Strictly For My Niggaz."  Actually, you could pick almost any other song off of "Me Against the World," and Pac had more to say than he did on Dear Mama.  But having said that, let me try to address the responses to my point about "Boyz In the Hood."
  Well, the first and most obvious point I would make about "Boyz In the Hood" is that it's the song that essentially started the careers of everyone in N.W.A.  So, no "Boyz in the Hood," no N.W.A., and by extension that would probably mean no Dr. Dre, no Ice Cube, no Death Row, no Aftermath, and on and on.  To further illustrate my point, here's a nice spread from "Rap Pages" magazine of the N.W.A. family tree...

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2196/2156295505_880f4ba1a0.jpg&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/21630929%40N04/2156295505&usg=__bafKFuUgaSYieHpnThHVUTwgbsE=&h=375&w=500&sz=121&hl=en&start=3&um=1&itbs=1&tbnid=k80lBHK3JK_hwM:&tbnh=98&tbnw=130&prev=/images%3Fq%3DRap%2BPages%2BNWA%2Bfamily%2Btree%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26tbs%3Disch:1

  The song obviously resonated with a lot of people. It became hugely successful without the benefit of radio or video support. On the lyrical side, I can't say anyone on the track exhibited the lyrical skill that some rappers are capable of today But rap like any art form is constantly evolving.  And those rappers were a product of their time.  The song is what it is- a straight forward story track.  And regardless of whether or not there were a couple of other rappers making music like this, no one at the time did it with the degree of success that N.W.A. did.
  

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

Clearly it was the first song that got them attention. That makes it important to N.W.A. not rap. Again, how is this an influential song in the entire scope of rap? It's basically a remake of "6 in da Mornin." I understand it was popular. So was "Can't Touch This" and "Ice Ice Baby." But this song didn't break any new ground, it wasn't even close to the first gangsta record and Eazy E's flow and the entire style of the song is based after 6 in da Mornin.

Whether Dear Mama is 2pac's best song is debatable, many people certainly seem to think so. It was the first rap song of its kind. Instead of "bitch bitch bitch, hoe hoe hoe", it was a man paying tribute to his mother and womankind. Not only that but it topped the charts and is one of Pac's most recognizable songs. It was the most popular song on what many people consider to be his best album, now how the fuck is that not important? I would go so far as to say that it would be on a lot of people's lists of greatest hip hop songs of all time.

[JohnnyL]

Clearly it was the first song that got them attention. That makes it important to N.W.A. not rap. Again, how is this an influential song in the entire scope of rap? It's basically a remake of "6 in da Mornin." I understand it was popular. So was "Can't Touch This" and "Ice Ice Baby." But this song didn't break any new ground, it wasn't even close to the first gangsta record and Eazy E's flow and the entire style of the song is based after 6 in da Mornin.

Whether Dear Mama is 2pac's best song is debatable, many people certainly seem to think so. It was the first rap song of its kind. Instead of "bitch bitch bitch, hoe hoe hoe", it was a man paying tribute to his mother and womankind. Not only that but it topped the charts and is one of Pac's most recognizable songs. It was the most popular song on what many people consider to be his best album, now how the fuck is that not important? I would go so far as to say that it would be on a lot of people's lists of greatest hip hop songs of all time.

 If "Boyz N The Hood" was an important song for N.W.A., then by extension would it not be an important song to rap?  Seeing as how N.W.A.'s influence over rap music is virtually non-refutable.  I would argue your point too that it didn't break any new ground.  How did it not, not break new ground?  If your argument is that it didn't break new ground because there were a couple of people doing gangsta rap before them, then almost no one in the genre has broken any new ground since 1986.  By that rationale, "The Chronic" didn't break any new ground, and "Nothin' But  G Thang" wasn't an important rap record.
 You keep trying to break things down soley into lyrics.  I already conceded that for pure lyricism, N.W.A. has been eclipsed by other rappers, many times over. But the over all message of songs is just as important.  There was obvious social commentary in many of N.W.A.'s songs.  Just as there were in many of Ice Cube and MC Ren's solo albums as well as "Above the Law's" music.  They were rapping about things that much of mainstream America hadn't been exposed to at the time.  That's what made it important. On that point, I'm afraid you're not going to convince me otherwise. 
 Regarding "Dear Mama," as I said, it's a great song.  And I'm sure it was an important song, to 2pac.  And at the time it was released, it was a nice change of pace to hear a positive song like that as opposed to, as you said, "bitch bitch bitch hoe hoe hoe."  All I'm trying to say is that in the grand scheme of things, I would not consider this one of 2pac's most important songs.  Not even in the top 10.  You chose the songs, not me.  If I were to pick the most important N.W.A. song, I probably wouldn't have picked "Boyz in the Hood" either.  But you were closer with "Boyz in the Hood" than you were with "Dear Mama."

[Triple OG Rapsodie]

Dear Mama is definitely one of 2Pac's most important songs. Hell, just google "best 2Pac songs" and I bet you Dear Mama will be on almost every list. I take it you don't like the song personally, but you can't deny its one of his most famous songs. Hell, its one of rap's most famous songs.

And you are missing the point about Boyz in the Hood. The fact that it wasn't the first gangsta song isn't the reason its not groundbreaking. The song Fuck the Police wasn't the first gangsta song either, yet it clearly WAS groundbreaking. It's the fact that's Boyz in the Hood is a ripoff of 6 in the Mornin. Same style, same flow, same storytelling manner.