Jerry Heller. The name rings bells. When people think of Jerry Heller, numerous thoughts come up quick. To 80's babies such as myself, first thought is ususally how he was portrayed in Dr. Dre and Snoops crossover 'diss' record, Dre Day. No one really thinks of his illustrious career as a music agent during the 60's and 70's, representing and working with acts such as Elton John, Creedance Clearwater, Marvin Gaye, and Pink Floyd. His memoir briefly covers this period of his life, but focuses on what he most known for, bringing NWA to the masses.
"The Music business is a cruel and shallow money trench. A long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side" (well-known quote that is generally attributed toHunter Thompson) .
What this memoir does is give an honest look at one mans experience with Eazy E and the greatest collective of West Coast artists EVER, from the early days, to their quick and abrupt rise to fame, to their tumultuous end.
Throughout the novel, Heller big ups his relationship with Eazy E , while taking shots at enemies Suge "Suga Bear" Knight ("We should just kill him"), Ice Cube ("next time you see Cube starring in a fun-loving family movie, such as Are We There Yet...remind yourself that this is the man behind such lyrics as: 'Gang-banged by Jerry Heller/Gettin' money out yo' ass, like a mothaf***n Ready Teller/It's a case of divide-and-conquer, 'cause you let a Jew break up my Crew"), and The DOC ("I didn't realize it back then, but by inviting the DOC into the NWA inner circle --where he became in effect the 'fifth Beatle"...Dre and Eazy let a snake into the house".
Without getting to far into it, all I can say is if you are a fan of West Coast Rap, Music, Business, The Art of War, pretty much anything, this book is full of gems you can relate to.
Get it HERE.
