Inspired by Calliopboy, I decided to do a followup story on Ruthless like he did with No Limit. Its long just so you know:
The Story behind Ruthless Records
Ruthless Records was one of the first Independent Black Companies in Hip Hop. Eazy E started the company off with money he used to sell dope from, He use to be the neighborhood hustler who was doing his thing until he realized that there was bigger paper in the music biz, So he went and recruited 4 other members Dr Dre, Yella, Mc Ren, and Ice Cube from other neighborhoods to start the group NWA(Niggaz With Attitude).
They sold copies of their mixtapes out of the trunk of their cars and were establishing a indenity from the streets. The buzz has gotten huge and controversal that it caught the attention of Jerry Heller, A former manager of Rock bands and groups like World Class Wrecking Crew, Heller was impressed with what he heard and he along with Eazy helped land a major deal with West Coast based label Priority Records. NWA's Debut album Straight Outta Compton went double platinum without any radio or television airplay. It was mainly due to the controversy at the time with F*ck the Police but impressive nevertheless. Eazy Duz it(Eazy E's solo) would then be a followup and that also was a hit record due to Eazy's colorful persona and balance between Street and mainstream.
Despite those impressive numbers and Ruthless generating mad publicity and cashflow, E had a bigger motive and that was to have his label to grow. He was out to prove that Ruthless wasnt strictly a "Rap Label", That it can also tap into other markets. He signed other rappers such as D.O.C., Above the Law, Kokane, and even decided to tap into the R&B/Pop scene with Michelle' and JJ Fad. E deserved alot of credit for trying to branch his label's wings and he would even later on sign the black eyed Peas and Chicano rapper Frost to the label. He took all of these guys under his wing when the majors were overlooking them and gave these niggas a shot.
But you know when success is too good , You know negativity has to come to play and like many other companies, It would hit Ruthless the hardest. Things started to get complicated when Ice Cube felt that he wasnt gettin paid his fair share and he was right. Cube has not only appeared on half of Straight Outta Compton but he along with Ren has also wrote alot of Eazy's and Dre's shyt and he felt that he was owed more. Eazy and Heller started to get more greedier as the money was started to come in because not only E was the CEO of the company, He was also being paid as a solo artist and as a member of the group. Cube saw what was going on and saw that Niggas was cheating them out of their money so he bounced and moved on to do solo projects.
Despite Cube leaving, E was still having success with the projects from Above The Law, D.O.C., JJ Fad and Michelle but the bitter split from Cube would forever haunt the label and things would get much worser. NWA continued as a group without Cube and released the EP titled 100 miles and Runnin and it went gold proving that the split from Cube didnt affect their popularity or sales but it would start off a very ugly rivary between Cube and NWA. Things would get worser as D.O.C. would lose his voice because of a bad car accident, This really hurt the label because D.O.C. was very talented.
NWA released Niggaz4Life in 91 and it was one of the highest selling Rap albums at the time, E still knew what he was doing proving that they can still push units without Cube, Dre and Eazy were rhyming more this time around but it wasnt really a issue. They even proceeded to diss Cube harder on the track Niggaz4Life. But Cube wasnt gonna take it lying down as he released one of the vicious diss tracks in Hip Hop with No Vasaline as he talked about how Eazy and Heller was cheating them out of their money, How they sold out and became a bunch of phonies. This track put a end in not only a fued but also NWA as Dre would soon leave due to the same reasons as Cube to start up Death Row Records.
Ruthless's reputation was becoming more damaged and Niggas started to feel like they were getting cheated out of their money from Eazy and Heller. Dr Dre, Michelle, D.O.C., and other acts bounced to Death Row also and soon would start up a new fued between Ruthless and Death Row. Eazy filed out a complant against Dre, Suge and Death Row because he felt that they used strong armed tatics to make them release them from the label
Dr Dre released the Chronic album in 1992 and dissed Eazy E on two of the songs titled F*ck Wit Dre Day and Bitches aint Shit. The Chronic album along with many other Death Row projects were highly sucessful and were overshadowing Eazy E and Ruthless Records. Death Row had the streets and mainstream lockdown while Ruthless was fading fast right out of the game.
Eazy E knew that his label was in big trouble, His greed was what caused some niggas to leave from the label, Dre and Cube dissed him very hard, and his street credablity was also becoming suspect because he was donating money to the Republican party and supporting one of the cops in the Rodney King beating, Many people including Willie D from the Gheto Boys labeled Eazy E as a sellout for his suspecious actions.
Ruthless hasnt really had a hit since Niggaz4life even though albums from Kokane, Mc Ren, were heavily slept on. Eazy knew that he had to get back into the Rap game because they were on the verge of being erased out of the picture. In order to keep Ruthless's name in people mouths he had to put out his own albums again. E wasnt a emcee, But thanks to Cube, D.O.C. and many others writing his rhymes, It made him sound tight on the mic and thats what made Eazy Duz it a classic. Their presesences are missed badly on 5051 Home 4 the Sick which was one of the first EPs released from Eazy and it received lukewarm results despite its Gold sales.
187 Dr Dre Killa would soon followup a year later and it was well embraced from the streets. Real Muthaphuckin Gz was a underground hit because he was retaliating against Dre, Snoop and Death Row. 187 Um Dr Dre Killa went platinum off the strength of that song alone and proved that Eazy wasnt gonna let Death Row run him out of the game. Eazy has proved that with the sales that he has a loyal following so he had to carry the label on his back because the rest of those niggas that was signed wasnt selling.
But it was gonna take more than that because money was running real low and the company were still going through alot of rough times . Eazy broke away from Jerry Heller because Heller was have supposed to have tooken half of the money from Eazy and thats why nothing but EP's have been released from the label for that year. Its one of the reasons why some albums had to be shelved because there was no money for marketing, mixing, and promoton. Lawsuits were playing a huge effect as well as E would have to pay 58,000 a year for a girl he fathered in Nebraska and former group Po Broke and Lonely would sue Eazy as well.
Eazy had no choice but to continue to rap because his label was dwindling. They scored a hit with 187 Dre Killa but it was gonna take more than that because Death Row was just killing the West Coast game at the time and the fact that Dre and Cube werent around played a huge effect in E's lyrics really made Eazy's once entertaining verses sometimes forgettable. Gangsta Dresta and BG Knocc Out would join Ruthless and would continue to beef with Death Row but their album wouldnt come out from Ruthless.
Things would brightened up for the label once Eazy discovered 5 talented fast rhyming emcees from Ohio who go by the name Bone Thugs N Harmony. It was do or die for Ruthless, If the Bone project flops then it was a wrap for Ruthless. But Bone suprised alot of heads when their single Thuggish Ruggish Bone went Gold and the EP Creep N on a Comeup would soon go platinum. It was what Eazy and Ruthless needed to stay in the game and the success of the BoneThugs album helped a great deal.
Eazy would soon die of Aids around the time of the release of Bone Thug's 2nd album, It was so little time to right a business plan because He has gotten sick and died so fast. When Eazy died, The company died with it. Bone Thugs 2nd album was the highest selling record in Ruthless along with Eazy's last studio album Straight off the Streets of Muthafuckin Compton which would also go platinum but after the Bone thugs album, Things would never be the same.
Ruthless today is in the same state as Death Row Records if not worser, Their main selling artists Bone Thugs are gone, MC Ren left a while back to sign with Guerilla Funk, and King T who signed with the label still hasnt released a album so he bounced as well. Ruthless would have still been standing strong had they capitalized off the momentium of the second Bone album but instead that bitch Tomica Wright dicked all of the artists and tried to keep them on the label at that. Ruthless is pretty much deceased right now because they havent had a hit since Bone Thugs last album and that came out in 2002. Had Eazy lived, I think the label would been on the level of Bad Boy is right now but thanks to greed, backstabbing, and empowerment, Ruthless is dead as of now and I dont see them coming back anytime soon.
The Story behind Ruthless Records
Ruthless Records was one of the first Independent Black Companies in Hip Hop. Eazy E started the company off with money he used to sell dope from, He use to be the neighborhood hustler who was doing his thing until he realized that there was bigger paper in the music biz, So he went and recruited 4 other members Dr Dre, Yella, Mc Ren, and Ice Cube from other neighborhoods to start the group NWA(Niggaz With Attitude).
They sold copies of their mixtapes out of the trunk of their cars and were establishing a indenity from the streets. The buzz has gotten huge and controversal that it caught the attention of Jerry Heller, A former manager of Rock bands and groups like World Class Wrecking Crew, Heller was impressed with what he heard and he along with Eazy helped land a major deal with West Coast based label Priority Records. NWA's Debut album Straight Outta Compton went double platinum without any radio or television airplay. It was mainly due to the controversy at the time with F*ck the Police but impressive nevertheless. Eazy Duz it(Eazy E's solo) would then be a followup and that also was a hit record due to Eazy's colorful persona and balance between Street and mainstream.
Despite those impressive numbers and Ruthless generating mad publicity and cashflow, E had a bigger motive and that was to have his label to grow. He was out to prove that Ruthless wasnt strictly a "Rap Label", That it can also tap into other markets. He signed other rappers such as D.O.C., Above the Law, Kokane, and even decided to tap into the R&B/Pop scene with Michelle' and JJ Fad. E deserved alot of credit for trying to branch his label's wings and he would even later on sign the black eyed Peas and Chicano rapper Frost to the label. He took all of these guys under his wing when the majors were overlooking them and gave these niggas a shot.
But you know when success is too good , You know negativity has to come to play and like many other companies, It would hit Ruthless the hardest. Things started to get complicated when Ice Cube felt that he wasnt gettin paid his fair share and he was right. Cube has not only appeared on half of Straight Outta Compton but he along with Ren has also wrote alot of Eazy's and Dre's shyt and he felt that he was owed more. Eazy and Heller started to get more greedier as the money was started to come in because not only E was the CEO of the company, He was also being paid as a solo artist and as a member of the group. Cube saw what was going on and saw that Niggas was cheating them out of their money so he bounced and moved on to do solo projects.
Despite Cube leaving, E was still having success with the projects from Above The Law, D.O.C., JJ Fad and Michelle but the bitter split from Cube would forever haunt the label and things would get much worser. NWA continued as a group without Cube and released the EP titled 100 miles and Runnin and it went gold proving that the split from Cube didnt affect their popularity or sales but it would start off a very ugly rivary between Cube and NWA. Things would get worser as D.O.C. would lose his voice because of a bad car accident, This really hurt the label because D.O.C. was very talented.
NWA released Niggaz4Life in 91 and it was one of the highest selling Rap albums at the time, E still knew what he was doing proving that they can still push units without Cube, Dre and Eazy were rhyming more this time around but it wasnt really a issue. They even proceeded to diss Cube harder on the track Niggaz4Life. But Cube wasnt gonna take it lying down as he released one of the vicious diss tracks in Hip Hop with No Vasaline as he talked about how Eazy and Heller was cheating them out of their money, How they sold out and became a bunch of phonies. This track put a end in not only a fued but also NWA as Dre would soon leave due to the same reasons as Cube to start up Death Row Records.
Ruthless's reputation was becoming more damaged and Niggas started to feel like they were getting cheated out of their money from Eazy and Heller. Dr Dre, Michelle, D.O.C., and other acts bounced to Death Row also and soon would start up a new fued between Ruthless and Death Row. Eazy filed out a complant against Dre, Suge and Death Row because he felt that they used strong armed tatics to make them release them from the label
Dr Dre released the Chronic album in 1992 and dissed Eazy E on two of the songs titled F*ck Wit Dre Day and Bitches aint Shit. The Chronic album along with many other Death Row projects were highly sucessful and were overshadowing Eazy E and Ruthless Records. Death Row had the streets and mainstream lockdown while Ruthless was fading fast right out of the game.
Eazy E knew that his label was in big trouble, His greed was what caused some niggas to leave from the label, Dre and Cube dissed him very hard, and his street credablity was also becoming suspect because he was donating money to the Republican party and supporting one of the cops in the Rodney King beating, Many people including Willie D from the Gheto Boys labeled Eazy E as a sellout for his suspecious actions.
Ruthless hasnt really had a hit since Niggaz4life even though albums from Kokane, Mc Ren, were heavily slept on. Eazy knew that he had to get back into the Rap game because they were on the verge of being erased out of the picture. In order to keep Ruthless's name in people mouths he had to put out his own albums again. E wasnt a emcee, But thanks to Cube, D.O.C. and many others writing his rhymes, It made him sound tight on the mic and thats what made Eazy Duz it a classic. Their presesences are missed badly on 5051 Home 4 the Sick which was one of the first EPs released from Eazy and it received lukewarm results despite its Gold sales.
187 Dr Dre Killa would soon followup a year later and it was well embraced from the streets. Real Muthaphuckin Gz was a underground hit because he was retaliating against Dre, Snoop and Death Row. 187 Um Dr Dre Killa went platinum off the strength of that song alone and proved that Eazy wasnt gonna let Death Row run him out of the game. Eazy has proved that with the sales that he has a loyal following so he had to carry the label on his back because the rest of those niggas that was signed wasnt selling.
But it was gonna take more than that because money was running real low and the company were still going through alot of rough times . Eazy broke away from Jerry Heller because Heller was have supposed to have tooken half of the money from Eazy and thats why nothing but EP's have been released from the label for that year. Its one of the reasons why some albums had to be shelved because there was no money for marketing, mixing, and promoton. Lawsuits were playing a huge effect as well as E would have to pay 58,000 a year for a girl he fathered in Nebraska and former group Po Broke and Lonely would sue Eazy as well.
Eazy had no choice but to continue to rap because his label was dwindling. They scored a hit with 187 Dre Killa but it was gonna take more than that because Death Row was just killing the West Coast game at the time and the fact that Dre and Cube werent around played a huge effect in E's lyrics really made Eazy's once entertaining verses sometimes forgettable. Gangsta Dresta and BG Knocc Out would join Ruthless and would continue to beef with Death Row but their album wouldnt come out from Ruthless.
Things would brightened up for the label once Eazy discovered 5 talented fast rhyming emcees from Ohio who go by the name Bone Thugs N Harmony. It was do or die for Ruthless, If the Bone project flops then it was a wrap for Ruthless. But Bone suprised alot of heads when their single Thuggish Ruggish Bone went Gold and the EP Creep N on a Comeup would soon go platinum. It was what Eazy and Ruthless needed to stay in the game and the success of the BoneThugs album helped a great deal.
Eazy would soon die of Aids around the time of the release of Bone Thug's 2nd album, It was so little time to right a business plan because He has gotten sick and died so fast. When Eazy died, The company died with it. Bone Thugs 2nd album was the highest selling record in Ruthless along with Eazy's last studio album Straight off the Streets of Muthafuckin Compton which would also go platinum but after the Bone thugs album, Things would never be the same.
Ruthless today is in the same state as Death Row Records if not worser, Their main selling artists Bone Thugs are gone, MC Ren left a while back to sign with Guerilla Funk, and King T who signed with the label still hasnt released a album so he bounced as well. Ruthless would have still been standing strong had they capitalized off the momentium of the second Bone album but instead that bitch Tomica Wright dicked all of the artists and tried to keep them on the label at that. Ruthless is pretty much deceased right now because they havent had a hit since Bone Thugs last album and that came out in 2002. Had Eazy lived, I think the label would been on the level of Bad Boy is right now but thanks to greed, backstabbing, and empowerment, Ruthless is dead as of now and I dont see them coming back anytime soon.
