Heller Jerry - Ruthless: a memoir

I want to dedicate this book to my wonderful wife, Gayle, the true love of my life, who stood beside me, with support and love and courage, during the Ruthless years. Gayle, youve made the past sixteen years a joy. This book is also for Dave and Hilda, and Joyce and Harry, who all died way too young. And its for all the artists and fellow players who have helped form the recollections embodied in this work: My gratitude to all of you is heartfelt and sincere, and I want to thank you for inviting me to be a part of your careers and lives. Most especially, Ruthless is for Eric Wright, the quintessential little big man.

This book could not have been created without the participation of three extremely talented people: Gil Reavill, who captured the essence of my story; and at Simon & Schusters Simon Spotlight Entertainment imprint, publisher Jen Bergstrom and editor Tricia Boczkowski, both brilliant at guiding me through an unfamiliar process. Id also like to thank all those who helped jog my memory and keep it real: Gary Ballen, Phyllis Pollack, Julio G, Doug Young, Andrew Klein, Bret Saxon, Don Fischel, Lester Knispel, Kim Kenner Wash, Phil Casey, Jack Kellman, Ron Delsener, Atron Gregory, Alonzo Williams, Irving Azoff. Special thanks to Michael Nadeau for making the connection.

Headliners

Eazy-E

aka Eric Wright, my friend, surrogate son, and partner, founder and sole proprietor of Ruthless Records, founder and member of N.W.A., prime mover and conceptualizer of gangsta rap, died of AIDS March 26, 1995, bringing an end to the Ruthless era

Dr. Dre

aka Andre Young, premier genius of rap, member of N.W.A., producer of Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, the Game, cofounder of Death Row Records

Ice Cube

aka OShea Jackson, poet laureate of rap, member of N.W.A., movie star and Hollywood power player

Backup Players

DJ Yella

aka Antoine Carraby, member of N.W.A., producing partner of Dr. Dre in High Powered Productions, successful producer of adult films

MC Ren

aka Lorenzo Patterson, member of N.W.A., running partner to Eazy-E, great rapper

Arabian Prince

aka Mik Lezan, Kim Nazel, original member of N.W.A., smooth-as-silk producer

Nemesis

Suge Knight

aka Marion Knight Jr., bodyguard, felon, cofounder of Death Row Records

Supporting Acts

The D.O.C

aka Tracy Trey Curry, hip-hops best natural rapper, lyricist, Fifth Beatle in N.W.A.

Michelle

aka Michelle Toussaint, Ruthless R&B songstress

Bone Thugs-N-Harmony

Top-selling post-N.W.A. Ruthless act

Above the Law

Ruthless-signed rap group, heir apparent to N.W.A.

Cameos

Alonzo Williams

World Class Wreckin Cru founder, promoter, producer

Julio GGreg MackTony G

Early rap radio pioneers and original KDAY mixmasters

N.W.A. in the Efil4zaggin period: Ren, Eazy, Dre, Yella

A rumor undenied is deemed true

I wanted to call this book Nigga 4 Life , but the fucking corporate gangstas whove taken over the bookselling dodge in this country wouldnt support it if I did. Ive always been an antiestablishment kind of guy, and the idea of having to cave in to the dictates of superstore goons galls me to hell.

Because, yeah, I make that claim. Ive always been a nigga 4 life. I say that knowing full well the awful freight that the N word carries with it.

I was a nigga on the streets of Cleveland when I was growing up, only they pronounced it kike back then. I was a nigga in the late fifties at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, when my first college roommate asked me if Jews were allowed to vote. After that I was a nigga on the campus of the University of Southern California, when WASP bullyboys spray-painted anti-Semitic graffiti on the walls of ZBT, the Jewish frat house where I roomeda time-honored practice they were happy to identify as Jew baiting.

More important, I was a nigga for my whole life in the music business, representing some of the biggest acts in the world, because I was always squarely in the camp of the little guy, the underdog, the artist. And the artist is always half royalty, half sacrificial lamb to record executives, promotion people, mediaeven to fans.

This is the story of an unlikely alliance between a pair of niggaz 4 life, Jerry Heller and Eric Wright, aka Eazy-E, cofounders of Ruthless Records, one of the most successful music start-ups in history. Its a story of friendship, partnership, and deep personal loyalty between a twentysomething reputed dope dealer fresh out of the hood of Compton, South Central L.A., and an almost middle-aged, nonobservant Jew from Shaker Heights in Cleveland. It was an unlikely, odd-couple pairing that never should have worked, but it did.

This is also the story of one of the top-echelon supergroups of the last decades, N.W.A., Niggaz With Attitude. The five members of N.W.A.Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yellastarted a revolution that is still rolling. I was honored to be part of it at the beginning, and I am still proud of the continuing impact it has on the world today.

Chris Rock was asked in Rolling Stone s Hip-Hop 2005 special issue to name the top twenty-five rap albums of all time. His number one? N.W.A.s Straight Outta Compton . Nothing has ever been the same since they came, Rock said. It was kind of like the British Invasion for black people. Two other albums from Ruthless or from N.W.A. alumni made the top twenty-five as well.

To say we did well together is an understatement. At the time of Eazy-Es death and my departure from Ruthless Records, the company was bringing in millions per month . I had become dollar-for-dollar the most successful record company executive of the entire rap era. To date, the original members of N.W.A. have grossed somewhere in the neighborhood of $4.5 billion.