pioneered the raw, angry style of gangsta rap, pushing West Coast rappers to the forefront of an industry that had been dominated by East Coast artists. With albums such as “Straight Outta Compton” and “Efil4zaggin” N.W.A. Ren) and Antoine Carraby (Yella), recording highly popular and controversial rap lyrics that featured liberal doses of violence and obscenity. Dre), O’shea Jackson (Ice Cube), Lorenzo Patterson (M.C. in the mid-1980s with members Andre Young (Dr. I have seven children by six different mothers. But in his statement, he indicated that he had had a number of sexual partners. Wright-a self-described ex-gang member and former drug dealer-did not say how he contracted the AIDS virus. Wright was listed in critical condition Thursday night at the intensive care unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. “It will cause many people or kids who may have just casually glossed over information about HIV to really look closer,” Bishop Carl Bean, executive director of the Minority AIDS Project, said of the singer’s condition.Īt a Hollywood news conference, Ron Sweeney, the rapper’s friend and attorney, said the singer, whose real name is Eric Wright, learned 2 1/2 weeks ago that he has AIDS. Health experts and AIDS activists said his declaration forces the public face of AIDS into another community, just as the AIDS death of tennis star Arthur Ashe, the HIV diagnosis of Magic Johnson and the AIDS diagnosis of diving great Greg Louganis have touched the world of sports. Rap artist Eazy-E, a major figure in the commercial development of “gangsta” rap, has AIDS, his record company announced Thursday.Įazy-E, co-founder of the Compton rap group N.W.A., is one of the first major music performers to announce he has the disease.

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