[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL "The Videography of Eazy-E"
11.28.12
BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
“Eazy is his name and the boy is comin...”
Eric Wright was born in September of 1963 and died in March of 1995. The years between would see this native of Compton, California be part of one of the biggest rises in hip hop history. While artists like Run DMC opened the door of hip hop to the masses before them, Eazy-E and a group of rappers going by “N.W.A” would scare the shit out of them. They brought “gangster rap” and the grit and hard times of the streets to the world. With the ever-so controversial album “Straight Outta Compton” the group would make themselves one of the most important, most respected, and biggest acts of all time.
The group would disband in 1991 and everyone would go their own ways. By this point Ice Cube was already out there on his own and Dr. Dre was on his way to dropping “Da Chronic” and making even more history. Meanwhile, Eazy-E just didn’t give a fuck.
He didn’t conform, water himself down, or shy from any of the same topics that brought him hassles before. He’d keep putting out his own material until the end when he was diagnoses with AIDS.
The main issue is his over the top lyrics. Even after the controversy of N.W.A, he kept dropping whatever he wanted. He had no problems in bringing up some crazy shit. It was never a problem for him to be considered a chauvinist, to be talking about racists, to be talking unheard of stuff about the police, to be making threats towards his enemies, and just to be the epitome of an unfiltered mind in the shittiest of circumstances in the shittiest of times.
Hopefully these videos offend you…
Track: "Eazy-er Said Than Dunn”
Album: ”Eazy-Duz-It”
Year: 1988
Director: John Lloyd Miller
The start of this sees E and a few of his NWA partners trying to get into a club to get a new album some attention. From there, we go right into it. E is on top of a car, by brick wall, and a few standard locations. The animated gun shots are violent-fun and the cool spiral swipe editing is interesting and pretty cool, especially considering the time and the production limitations. This has to be one of Eazy-E’s most radio friendly singles he had. It wasn’t too out there, but it got the job done. Rating: 6.5
Track: "We Want Eazy”
Album: ”Eazy-Duz-It”
Year: 1989
Director: J. Kevin Swain
This is a pretty creative video. Eazy-E casually walks down the street past a cop harassing someone. The cop notices him and then chases after. We get a fun chase scene on foot with the bold cut to E being in jail. He’s got Ice Cube there and all is good. Someone has access to video equipment and all seems to be good. We cut to a live crowd with Dre and Ren getting the crowd hyped up. A screen is on stage where Eazy-E shows up “Live from Compton Jail” Via Satellite. He raps to the camera as the live crowd gets hyped up. It’s a cool way to make him seem “scary” and “dangerous”. The verse at like 3:30 in is great. In true outrageous fashion, a girl is interviewed in the middle of the song to ask “why he wears his pants like that?” His answer is “easy access”. What?! At the end, Eazy-E shows up for the live crowd and cuts another verse. And the crowd… goes… wild! I think I enjoyed this video more than most people would because it reminds me of a few scenes in CB4. I have a feeling that’ll happen again during these videos… Rating: 7.0
Track: "Only If You Want It”
Album: ”5150: Home 4 tha Sick”
Year: 1992
Director: Mark Gerard
I remembered Eazy’s videos in a blur. It’s been a long time and these videos were coming out when I was in grade school. This is what I imagined an Eazy-E video would look like. The camera shots roam from drag racing, booty shaking, low riders, tons of hydraulic bounces, booty shaking, a bad ass little kid, and did I mention the booty shaking? It’s all here! At about two minutes in women in white tops and thongs are sprayed down with either a hydrant or fire hose. This video has a lot of craziness, but it’s still balanced in the world of Eazy videos. This video takes one step back in the violent department and one step forward in the sex department. Poise! I don’t even have to mention Eazy’s lyrics are ridiculous, offensive, over the top, and great. Rating: 8.5
Track: "Neighborhood Sniper”
Album: ”5150: Home 4 tha Sick”
Year: 1992
Director: ?
If “Only If You Want It” was raunchier, then THIS video takes violent up to a whole new level. It’s rainy out as Eazy goes into a building and appears on top. He looks through a sniper scope and STARTS SHOOTING! Chaos ensues and he shoots some video cameras. The choppers and cops storm the scene and chase after him as he descends down the side of the building. This whole scenario is cut with him sitting in a room just rapping at the camera. Cuts of guns and bullets are all added in there too for good measure. The dude carves his name into the side of bullet! It’s a pretty intense video. I have never seen 50 or current rappers go this far. If you didn’t know better you’d think this was a confession. Yikes! Rating: 7.0
Track: "Real Muthaphuckkin G's”
Album: ”It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa”
Year: 1993
Director: Marty Thomas
This video and song gets a little real. Eazy-E does not sugar coat anything here. You know who he’s talking about, how he feels, and what he wants to do. The lyrics like “Muthaphuck Dre! Muthaphuck Snoop! Muthaphuck Death Row! Here comes my death blow” make it VERY clear. As cars bounce, the camera roams the streets as another ode to Compton. Eazy just stands his place and owns it. You see a lot of rap videos that use this kind of formula. A dude will stand there in his neighborhood with people around them. It’s nothing new, but Eazy’s presence stands out. This was “THE VIDEO” back when it came out. Dre had the video with the “Sleazy E” parody character. The memorable image is the mockery holding up the “Will Rap for Food” sign. In this video E and his people go after the spoof and attack. With his own jab, he gets in shots of Dre from the 80’s in the pop group he was in. It’s kind of embarrassing and pretty funny to keep popping up with. E gets pretty liberal with shooting an invisible gun at the camera. Then a little bit onward he sits in a car and waves a handgun around. Wow. Most would agree that this is more of a battle call or proclamation of war than an album selling device. You can hear the tension in the words, but to see it takes it to a whole new level of controversy. Rating: 9.0
Track: "Any Last Werdz”
Album: ”It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa”
Year: 1993
Director: Edward Louderback
This is for sure the most “artsy” of the videography of Eazy-E. The opening has some mentions of the end of the world in “1999”. Its night time and people are hanging out by cars in a somewhat eerie atmosphere. These shots are cut with creepy cuts of dark imagery. We see cool shots of Eazy rapping in front of what looks like a clock tower from a Tim Burton movie. The story is that Eazy-Z kills someone and is there for their funeral. The most unsettling shot is the twins sitting on the couch. One appears dead and resting on the shoulder of the living one. Really creepy. It’s like a “gothic hip hop” video. Very inspired video and pretty damn innovative for the time. Rating: 8.5
Track: "Just tah Let U Know”
Album: ”Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton”
Year: 1995
Director: ?
This was one of Eazy-E’s last recorded tracks before passing away on March 26th, 1995. So obviously, this is a posthumous music video. A DJ introduces Easy Z as we go through shots of Compton as we see images of Eazy. There is a lot of old footage and shots. It’s a nice dedication for sure. Two things really stood out. The first is the back shot of “Eazy” driving around Compton. It looks weird. Is it even him? The second thing is the close up shot of a pager! Those things need a comeback. Rating: 6.5
