Dr Dre betrayed “The Black Beatles”.
So says Jerry Heller, former manager of gangsta rap crew NWA, whom he likens to rap’s version of the Fab Four.
So what if there were five members in NWA (N*ggaz With Attitude). According to Heller, the group that pushed hardcore gangsta rap into the mainstream were betrayed by Dre.
Heller takes issue with the hit film Straight Outta Compton, currently enjoying it’s second week at the top of the US Box Office ratings, claiming that Dre has white-washed history in a attempt to portray Heller as a villain. Today, Dre is a respected producer and a very wealthy entrepeneur too, having sold his Beats headphones venture to Apple for $700-million.
But Heller claims that Dre forced his way out of his NWA contract by setting up his friend Eazy E and resorting to blackmail and threats of violence.
In his memoirs, Heller expresses shock at how the group split up.
“I couldn't imagine anyone coming in between the two most crucial members of the group - Eazy E and Dr Dre.
“I couldn't grasp the idea that two people could be that tight, could have that much history and reach the pinnacle of fame and success together and then have one turned around and betray the other.
“I didn't have that level of understanding of the human animal. I guess that even after three decades I had spent in the rough-and-tumble music business, in a corner of my soul I was naive.”
According to Heller, what happened the night NWA’s de facto leader Eazy E squashed Dre’s contract, allowing him to sign for Death Row Records under Suge Knight, was like something out of a gangster movie. Dre had allegedly invited Eazy to a studio so that they could bury the hatchet.
“When (E) enters the building and heads up to the third floor of the wood and glass Galaxy Studios, the place feels wrong, deserted,” writes Heller.
“No Dre. Instantly Eazy realizes he has been set up.”
Instead, Eazy runs into Knight who forces him to sign papers releasing Dre from his contract.
According to Heller, Knight told Eazy, “We got Jerry Heller tied up in the back of (a) van, gun to his head, blow his goddam f****** brains out. We can get your (mom) too. You want us to?”
In the Straight Outta Compton movie, these details don’’t make it to screen, although it does show Eazy getting assaulted by Knight and his henchmen.
Entertainment Reporter