As part of Vibe magazine’s “Special Eric ‘Eazy-E’ Wright Edition,” the late Eazy-Eappears as the cover artist for the issue. Serving as the magazine’s September issue, the special edition features quotes from those who were close to Eazy, including his son Lil Eazy-E.

At the start of Vibe’s “Eazy-E: The Ruthless Life Of An American Gangsta” cover story,”Lil Eazy-E recalled being backstage as a kid at one of N.W.A’s shows.

“I remember watching the show from the backstage,” Lil Eazy-E said while speaking with Vibe. “I was standing right next to Janet Jackson! I didn’t pay it any mind because I was really into the show. When we all got back home my uncle was like, ‘Well, guess who was standing next to Janet Jackson and didn’t say a word to her?’ My father would always clown me about that [laughs]. He was like, ‘How you gonna stand next to Janet and not say anything to her?’”

Top Dawg president Terrence “Punch” Henderson offered his thoughts on the impact Eazy-E had on gangsta rap and the West Coast.

“The line ‘Cruising down the street in my 64’ created gangsta rap,” Henderson said. “If any other person would have said those words that Ice Cube wrote, history would be completely different. [But] Eazy was what Gangsta Rap and the West Coast looked like. Decades later, he IS the image of Southern California.”

The Eazy-E cover story can be read in its entirety at Vibe.com.

hiphopdx.com