

Alonzo Williams, left, and Eric Darnell Wright Jr., the son of the late rapper Eazy-E who goes by Lil Eazy-E, celebrate the renaming of Towne Center Drive in Compton as “Eazy Street” on Wednesday.

(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
By Brennon DixsonStaff Writer
Nov. 23, 2023 11:03 AM PT
Eric Darnell Wright Jr. remembers his father driving down Muriel Avenue in Compton for Thanksgiving dinner.
It was there that his now 86-year old grandmother, Katie Wright, would prepare large meals for all her kin, including her son Eric Lynn Wright — better known as the late N.W.A rapper Eazy-E.
“It wasn’t no entertainment,” Eric Darnell Wright, the rapper’s son who goes by Lil Eazy-E, recalled. Only family existed in these moments. “It was just kind of like the hip-hop world was out of it.”
Erica Wright, the artist’s oldest daughter, never really cared for the rapper Eazy-E. “I cared about Eric,” she said of her father.
The siblings said they were heartbroken they weren’t able to spend enough of those moments with their dad, who died in 1995 at the age of 31.
On the day of Wright’s funeral, cars rolled down Harvard Boulevard near the First African Methodist Episcopal Church. His gold coffin was wheeled into the church as thousands of people — including fans, family, gang members, mothers and children — watched.
More than a quarter-century later, Wright’s son still remember his father cruising in his “six-four” through the streets of Compton to N.W.A classics like “Straight Outta Compton.”
Decades after Wright and N.W.A helped put the city on the map with the chart-topping single “Boyz N the Hood,” Eazy-E was celebrated Wednesday with an honor befitting someone who loved to cruise down the avenues of his famous and sometimes infamous hometown.
Compton officially renamed Towne Center Drive as “Eazy Street.”
“It’s about time,” a man in the crowd yelled as officials raised the lime green sign for the public to see.
Family, friends and community leaders pose with the new Eazy St. sign during Wednesday’s ceremony.
(Michael Blackshire/Los Angeles Times)
The happy disruption and ceremony featuring lowriders, musical performances and original gangsters in a Best Buy parking lot perfectly encapsulated Wright’s rugged personality, his loved ones said on stage.
Eazy-E’s graphic lyrics from old albums blared from the stage where former N.W.A member DJ Yella exchanged greetings with Wright’s loved ones. Members of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony showed up for the event to pay respects to Wright, who appeared on their track “Foe tha Love of $” the year he died.
Black hats embroidered with “Compton” in bold white letters poked above the hundreds of attendees who danced in the crowd.
With fellow N.W.A members Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, MC Ren and Arabian Prince, Wright brought notoriety to Compton with the group’s West Coast rap albums.
Before the fame, Wright was a high school dropout who dealt drugs for a living.
Two album releases — N.W.A’s “Straight Outta Compton” and Wright’s solo project “Eazy-Duz-It” — were considered the opening of a new era for hip-hop, a genre and industry that had primarily been lyrically defined and commercially dominated by East Coast acts until that point.
Both albums were released under Wright’s label, Ruthless Records, which he co-founded with manager Jerry Heller.
With iconic music videos showing Eazy-E and his group parading through the streets, Wright, a Compton native, quickly rose to the status of American pop culture icon.
Alonzo Williams — one of Wright’s earliest collaborators — owned Compton’s Eve After Dark nightclub, which helped launch acts including Dr. Dre and Eazy-E. He now heads the Compton Entertainment Chamber of Commerce that organized the event and spearheaded the naming of Eazy Street.
“Always putting in work,” a member of the crowd yelled in recognition of Williams during the event.
Wright went to Williams for advice when setting up Ruthless Records. Williams introduced Wright to a graphic designer and later Heller.
With fellow N.W.A members Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, DJ Yella, MC Ren and Arabian Prince, Wright brought notoriety to Compton with the group’s West Coast rap albums.
Before the fame, Wright was a high school dropout who dealt drugs for a living.
Two album releases — N.W.A’s “Straight Outta Compton” and Wright’s solo project “Eazy-Duz-It” — were considered the opening of a new era for hip-hop, a genre and industry that had primarily been lyrically defined and commercially dominated by East Coast acts until that point.
Both albums were released under Wright’s label, Ruthless Records, which he co-founded with manager Jerry Heller.
With iconic music videos showing Eazy-E and his group parading through the streets, Wright, a Compton native, quickly rose to the status of American pop culture icon.
Alonzo Williams — one of Wright’s earliest collaborators — owned Compton’s Eve After Dark nightclub, which helped launch acts including Dr. Dre and Eazy-E. He now heads the Compton Entertainment Chamber of Commerce that organized the event and spearheaded the naming of Eazy Street.
“Always putting in work,” a member of the crowd yelled in recognition of Williams during the event.
Wright went to Williams for advice when setting up Ruthless Records. Williams introduced Wright to a graphic designer and later Heller.