City of Compton renames street after legendary rapper Eazy-E

COMPTON, Calif. (CNS) – The City of Compton on Wednesday honored the late rapper Eazy-E by renaming the 100 block of Auto Drive South after him — officially dubbing the stretch Eazy Street.

“My father finally got what he deserves, a monumental street in the city he put on the map,” Eazy-E’s son Eric Darnell Wright told reporters at the event. “It’s a long time coming, but again, I always say it’s God’s timing.”

Compton Mayor Emma Shariff said Eazy-E’s “impact extends far beyond music.”

“He shaped culture, and emphasized civic engagement and community aspirations, making hip hop a force for good and a source of pride for Compton,” she said.

Eazy-E, whose real name was Eric Wright, is best known as a member of the landmark hip-hop group NWA., along with Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, MC Ren, DJ Yella and Arabian Prince. He also achieved success as the founder and owner of Ruthless Records and as a solo artist. He died in 1995 at age 30 from AIDS- induced pneumonia.

The newly minted Eazy Street runs off Alameda Street and into the Gateway Towne Center shopping plaza.

Alonzo Williams, president of the Compton Entertainment Chamber of Commerce, played a major part in spearheading the renaming, city officials said.

Williams said he became aware of former Compton Mayor Omar Bradley’s past efforts to rename a street after Eazy-E. He said that, with this year being the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, it was a “great time” to honor Eazy-E, and his attempt was successful.

“Compton has a lot of history, but nobody knows about it. I figured the most recent history is hip-hop history,” Williams said at the event. “Being this is the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, I thought it’d be a great idea to approach the City Council, talk about possibly doing this and they loved the idea.”