Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 28, 1995 TAG: 9503280066
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Eazy-E, whose real name was Eric Wright, died of the disease at 31 Sunday, a month after he was hospitalized for what he once thought was asthma.
Proceeds of a big outdoor rap concert this summer will go in Wright's name to AIDS-related charities, said Craig Wilbraham, general manager of KKBT radio, where Eazy-E was co-host of a Saturday night show.
Eazy-E's death shows that ``AIDS is out there, it's real,'' said Ronnie Phillips, president of the rap label Dangerous Records. ``It ain't like it used to be. You've got to start asking questions.''
Eazy-E said he thought he had contracted the virus through heterosexual sex. This month, he said he wanted to ``testify'' about ``what's real when it comes to AIDS.'' He said he hoped his misfortune would help save ``all my homeboys and their kin.''
The former drug dealer had been an urban music star since 1988, when N.W.A., the group he founded, released ``Straight Outta Compton,'' an in-your-face, foul-mouthed collection of songs about shootings, gangs and police brutality. It sold 2 million copies.
The song ``F--- Tha Police'' won a protest from the FBI, which said it advocated violence against law officers.
The group's 1991 ``Niggaz4Life'' was the first hardcore rap album to hit No.1 on the charts, despite a ban at some record stores, seizure in England as obscene, and criticism that it demeaned women and glorified violence.
Phillips said Eazy-E was simply describing what he had seen growing up in the tough Los Angeles suburb of Compton.
by CNB