B-side Still Talkin' Format CD single, 12" Length 5:02 | Released 1989 Recorded 1988 | |
Genre Golden age hip hop, west coast hip hop | ||
"We Want Eazy" is a single by the American gangsta rapper Eazy-E, from his 1988 debut album, Eazy-Duz-It. The song features fellow N.W.A members Dr. Dre and MC Ren and was produced by Dr. Dre and DJ Yella. "We Want Eazy" also appears on his greatest hits, Eternal E; a 12-inch remix of this song was released as a single in 1989 and appeared on the rapper's posthumous compilation, Featuring...Eazy-E.
Contents
The song borrows heavily from the Bootsy's Rubber Band's 1977 song "Ahh... The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!".
Music video
The music video for "We Want Eazy", directed by J. Kevin Swain, was released in 1988. It begins with Eazy being chased by a LAPD officer and dropping his signature black baseball cap along the way. Eventually he is arrested and jailed, just hours before he is to perform at a concert. With the help of his cellmates (including Ice Cube (who manages to appear in the crowd as well) and MC Krazy Dee), Eazy is able to perform via a giant screen closed-circuit connection "live from the Compton jail", while Dr. Dre and MC Ren share the role of hype man on stage. Near the end of the video, Eazy breaks out of his cell and through the screen, and joins his bandmates on stage for the concert's finale.
In exchange for the use of the sample, Bootsy Collins makes a cameo appearance with Eazy-E at the video's conclusion.
Cover
The cover of both the remix and original versions of the "We Want Eazy" single depicts Eazy-E himself in front of a crowd. There is an alternate cover art that would later be parodied with the album cover for Dr. Dre's multiplatinum debut album The Chronic and pays homage to the Zig-Zag cigarette rolling paper company which had become very prominent in Hip-Hop culture as it is most commonly used to wrap cannabis.