"We Want Eazy" is a song by American rapper

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...

. It was released as the third and final single from his debut album, ''

Eazy-Duz-It ''Eazy-Duz-It'' is the debut studio album by American rapper Eazy-E. It was released on November 22, 1988, by Ruthless Records and Priority Records. The album charted on two different charts and went 2× Platinum in the United States despite ve ...

''. The song features fellow

N.W.A N.W.A (an abbreviation for Niggaz Wit Attitudes) was an American hip-hop group formed in Compton, California in 1987. Among the earliest and most significant figures of the gangsta rap subgenre, the group is widely considered one of the great ...

members

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

and

MC Ren Lorenzo Jerald Patterson (born June 16, 1969), known professionally by his stage name MC Ren, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer from Compton, California. He is the founder and owner of the independent record label Villain ...

and was produced by Dr. Dre and

DJ Yella Antoine Carraby (born December 11, 1961), better known by his stage name DJ Yella, is an American DJ, record producer, and film director from Compton, California. DJ Yella began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru along wit ...

. "We Want Eazy" also appears on his

greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

, '' Eternal E''; a 12-inch remix of this song was released as a single in 1989 and appeared on the rapper's

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

compilation, '' Featuring...Eazy-E''. The song borrows heavily from the

Bootsy's Rubber Band A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

's 1977 song " Ahh... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!". In exchange for the use of the sample,

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s before joining the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Collins established himse ...

makes a cameo appearance with Eazy-E at the video's conclusion.

Music video

The music video for "We Want Eazy", directed by J. Kevin Swain, was released in 1988. It begins with Eazy being chased by an LAPD officer and dropping his signature

Los Angeles Raiders The Los Angeles Raiders were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders played in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994 before relocating back to Oakland, California, where the team played from its inaugural ...

baseball cap along the way. Eventually he is arrested and jailed, just hours before he is to perform at a concert. With the help of his cellmates (including

Ice Cube O'Shea Jackson Sr. (born June 15, 1969), known professionally as Ice Cube, is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, and film producer. His lyrics on N.W.A's 1989 album '' Straight Outta Compton'' contributed to gangsta rap's widespread popu ...

who manages to appear in the crowd as well and MC Krazy Dee), Eazy is able to perform via a giant screen

closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

connection "live from the Compton jail", while Dr. Dre and MC Ren share the role of

hype man A hype man, typically in hip hop music, is a backing vocalist who supports the primary performer with exclamations, interjections, or ad-libs in an attempt to increase an audience's excitement or engagement. Origins Early hype men included Keef C ...

on stage. Near the end of the video, Eazy breaks out of his cell and through the screen, and joins his bandmates on stage for the concert's finale. The cast of

Compton's Most Wanted Compton's Most Wanted (C.M.W.) is an American gangsta rap group and part of the early West Coast hip-hop scene. The leaders of the group are MC Eiht and Tha Chill. History Formation and early years C.M.W. included rappers MC Eiht, Tha Chill, ...

, including

MC Eiht Aaron Bernard Tyler (born May 22, 1971), better known by his stage name MC Eiht (pronounced "MC Eight"), is an American rapper. Many of his songs are based on his life in Compton. His stage name was partly inspired by the numeral in KRS-One's nam ...

, made a cameo in the crowd. Two songs, " Boyz-n-the-Hood" and "

" were used in the opening introduction of the music video.

Cover

The cover of both the original and remix versions of the "We Want Eazy" single depicts Eazy-E himself in front of a crowd. There is an alternate cover art that would later be parodied with the album cover for former

bandmate Dr. Dre's multi platinum debut album ''

The Chronic ''The Chronic'' is the debut studio album by American rapper and producer Dr. Dre. It was released on December 15, 1992, by his record label Death Row Records along with Interscope Records and distributed by Priority Records. The recording ses ...

'' and pays homage to the ''

Zig-Zag A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular. In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...

'' cigarette rolling paper company which had become very prominent in hip hop culture as it is most commonly used to wrap

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

to smoke.

Charts

References

External links

* 1988 songs 1989 singles Eazy-E songs Ruthless Records singles Song recordings produced by Dr. Dre {{1980s-single-stub