Eazy-E - Eazy Duz It

1988 album remastered and reissued. As the notorious first "official" full length album from the N.W.A camp, Eazy-E helped establish a stranglehold on the "Gangsta Rap" genre before there ever was such a term. While Eazy had already made a name for himself with his independently released single "Boyz In Tha Hood," (which he had reportedly sold out of his trunk), it was Eazy-Duz-It that made the then unsuspecting Hip-Hop nation take notice of the diminuitive ex-drug dealer turned rapper. Years before Ice Cube went solo with Amerikkka's Most Wanted (1990), before Dr. Dre changed the rap game with The Chronic (1992), before MC Ren struggled to establish himself with Shock of the Hour (1993), and before Yella simply fell into obscurity, Eazy-E rose to immediate superstar status with this solo debut.

It's no wonder why, for the album plays like a humorous, self-centered twist on Straight Outta Compton with Eazy-E, the most charismatic member of N.W.A, front and center while his associates are busy behind the scenes, producing the beats and writing the songs. In terms of production, Dr. Dre and Yella meld together P-Funk, Def Jam-style hip-hop, and the leftover electro sounds of mid-'80s Los Angeles, creating a dense, funky, and thoroughly unique style of their own.

In terms of songwriting, the D.O.C., Ice Cube, and MC Ren are each credited; plus, Ren performs raps of his own on five of the 12 songs. The collaborative nature of the music — with Dre and Yella producing; the D.O.C., Ice Cube, and MC Ren writing the songs; MC Ren featured as a guest on half of them; and Eazy-E performing — fortunately makes Eazy-Duz-It more of an N.W.A effort than a true solo album.