Rapper Easy-E has died in Los Angeles,
- after a battle with AIDS. - [music]
[narrator]: Eazy-E was the small-time drug dealer
who made it big rapping about life on the streets.
[Eazy-E]: Gangster rap.
Just like, tellin' it real and not holdin' back.
[Donnell]: He was an underdog who made it to the top.
[narrator]: His incendiary music shocked America...
While making millions.
It was revolutionary, it was different.
It was very controversial.
[Big Hutch]: It was like Beetle Mania.
I'm talkin' like kids crawlin' all over us.
[narrator]: But his career was cut short by a sudden illness.
[Big Hutch]: We didn't even know it was that serious.
[Tracy]: People were sayin', like,
"Oh, you heard Eazy-E's in the hospital!
They sayin' he has AIDS."
[narrator]: When he died at just 30 years old,
the shockwaves were quickly followed by rumors
and conspiracy theories.
Everybody's still questioning things 20 plus years later.
[Dr. Hunter]: Eazy-E was a controversial figure in life,
and in his death.
He died so suddenly that it aroused suspicions
from friends and family.
Casting a shadow of doubt over his final days.
I'm going to get to the truth of how exactly Eazy-E died.
[music]
[narrator]: World-renowned medical examiner
and forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Hunter,
has performed thousands of autopsies.
Collaborating closely with law enforcement
and other forensic specialists.
His pivotal role in investigating suspicious cases,
has revealed the truth behind mysterious deaths
for over 20 years.
Eazy-E's death certificate says he died from
Pneumocystis Pneumonia after contracting AIDS.
AIDS is caused by the HIV virus.
And today, HIV is a manageable illness,
with a life expectancy averaging 56 years.
But Eazy died at the age of 30.
And no autopsy was conducted, so I'm going to study
Eazy's medical history in order to find out why
this iconic figure died so tragically young.
[police sirens]
[narrator]: December, 1994.
The Tunnel Club, New York City.
[music]
[narrator]: Four months before his death,
the Godfather of LA's gangster rap scene
shows up at one of Manhattan's hottest night clubs.
It's been over three years since his band, NWA, broke up.
But Eazy's in town to promote other artists on his label,
Ruthless Records.
He had a dual role.
He was a artist, but he was a business man first.
[crowd murmuring]
[narrator]: But in the Tunnel Club's VIP area,
Eazy bumps into another West Coast rapper.
His ex band mate, Ice Cube.
It's been five years since Ice Cube walked out on Eazy,
and a war of words has been raging ever since.
[Ebie]: You know, everybody expected it to kind of
be a bad run-in.
Because they hadn't spoken to each other
in a really long time.
Couple months ago, we had Ice Cube on the show.
[Ebie]: They had done diss records towards one another,
and a whole lot had kinda gone down.
So, I think everybody was pretty much on edge
with them running into one another.
It actually was the complete opposite.
[narrator]: Eazy wants to bury the hatchet.
[Big Hutch]: He was like,
"Well, I wanna put NWA back together."
You know, put the whole band back together, basically.
[narrator]: Gangster rap is now big business.
And Ice Cube agrees that the time is right for a reunion.
If NWA had reformed in Eazy-E's lifetime,
it would have been the biggest phenomena in popular music.
Just four months before his death,
Eazy appeared to be fit and healthy.
He was not showing any outward symptoms
commonly associated with AIDS, such as skin rashes,
or dramatic weight loss.
So, I wanna know more about Eazy's past,
to see if there was any sign that he was living
with a serious illness.
[music]
[narrator]: Eric "Eazy-E" Wright was born on September 7th, 1964.
In Compton, a part of South Central, Los Angeles.
[Donnell]: His father worked at the post office,
and his mother was an administrator
at the local high school.
So, he comes from a background of not the extreme poverty
that you might expect.
[Arabian Prince]: You had two sides of Compton.
You had a nice side, more neighborhood, family.
But you also had this gang side, a hood side.
[music]
[narrator]: Eazy grew up watching
his neighborhood transform.
[Donnell]: Kids stopped playing outside.
That's what I noticed.
Because gang violence was epidemic.
[Tracy]: You were affiliated with whatever the gang was
that was for that neighborhood. Whether you were in it or not.
So, Eazy was attached to a gang,
but he wasn't in a gang, type of thing.
[narrator]: At the age of 16, Eazy quit high school
with very few prospects.
[Donnell]: If you're a tenth grade drop-out,
and you're Black in Los Angeles,
there weren't a lot of opportunities back there.
[music]
[record scratch]
[narrator]: But for a budding entrepreneur like Eazy,
one business was booming.
Crack cocaine.
[Big Hutch]: In the '80s, bein' a drug dealer
was like bein' a Wall Street stock broker.
You know, because you make money 24/7,
and the money is definitely addicting.
[narrator]: Eazy's first career choice was lucrative.
[police sirens]
[footsteps]
[narrator]: But the risks were high.
One of his homeboys that was really close to him got killed.
[narrator]: Already a father by the age of 22,
Eazy knew his future as a drug dealer was limited.
Eazy wanted to stop doing what he was doing,
and do something a little bit more legitimate.
[music]
[narrator]: For LA's Black youth,
a new opportunity was emerging.
Rap music.
[Big Hutch]: When hip-hop came along,
we didn't really have a voice on the West like that.
Eazy looked at the game, and he thought,
"Okay, there's something about this music
that can change our lives."
[narrator]: With money made from drug dealing,
Eazy set up Ruthless Records,
and started signing local artists.
He had the means to do it, he had the money,
and most of all, the vision.
[narrator]: But it was when one of his acts walked out
on a recording session
that forced Eazy behind the mic.
And changed the course of rap music.
Eazy wasn't a rapper.
No, he never professed to be a rapper.
[Eazy]: Want me to scream?
To put out hits!
[Donnell]: And he did it so poorly, so offbeat,
that he had to be punched in, line by line,
- to make him sound credible. - [Eazy]: Like that.
Now before I turn up... Ah, [bleep], man.
Now before I turn up... Ah, [bleep], ahh!!
[narrator]: The struggle paid off.
Eazy's natural charisma made first single,
"Boyz-n-the-Hood", an underground sensation.
[Arabian Prince]: Once he heard himself on the track,
he was like, "Oh, yeah. I can do this."
[Donnell]: He was a street outlaw.
And that sort of notoriety led to the development
of, like, a gangster superhero.
[gun cocking]
[narrator]: For his next record, the musical gangster was joined
by a posse of local talent.
Friend and producer, Dr. Dre,
pulled in a group of aspiring rappers,
including young prodigy, Ice Cube.
They took a lot of different talents,
and melded them into an entity that hadn't existed
anywhere in hip-hop.
[interviewer]: What, what is your group now?
NWA.
[interviewer]: And what does that stand for?
[bleep] With Attitudes.
♪ Eazy is his name, and his boys come ♪
♪ Straight outta Compton! Is a brother that'll... ♪
[narrator]: Debut album, Straight Outta Compton,
exploded onto the music scene.
[Eazy-E]: ♪ Raises hell ♪
♪ and if ever I get caught, I make bail ♪
♪ See, I don't give a -- ♪
[Tracy]: Oh, my God. Like, did they really just say that?
[Eazy-E]: ♪ Drivin' But don't know where ♪
♪ the -- he's goin' just rollin ♪'
[Donnell]: It sounds unlike anything that was was
ever on the radio, wasn't on the radio, believe me.
[narrator]: Their explicit lyrics about
sex, violence, and police brutality
ensured that NWA didn't get radio play.
But the album still sold over three million copies.
That's the way it goes in the city of Compton, boy.
Basically, gangster rap I guess is like, tellin' it real,
not holdin' back.
Givin' up, you know, the reality from the street point of view.
[Edie]: It was shocking, it was revolutionary,
it was different. It was very controversial.
[narrator]: So controversial, that the FBI issued a warning
to the record label.
For Eazy, it was free publicity.
"All press is good press."
That's what Eazy said.
[narrator]: NWA's second album for Ruthless Records
was the first gangster rap LP to hit the Billboard Number One.
They were making ten million dollars
in months at the height of all these records.
[music]
[gun cocking]
[music]
[narrator]: December, 1994.
Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles.
Three and a half months before Eazy's death.
Eazy is back home after his promotional trip.
[coughing]
[narrator]: But he appears to have picked up a cold
- while in New York. - [coughing]
[Dr. Hunter]: There's evidence of Eazy's cough
in a recorded interview he gave in early 1995.
[Eazy-E]: It's all about know-how,
and everything else. Timing...
[throat clearing]
- You know, I... - [coughing]
Marketing, promotion.
[coughing] [unintelligible]
This simple cough could be the first sign he contracted HIV.
The virus that causes AIDS.
HIV, or Human Immunodeficiency Virus,
attacks the body's white blood cells,
which are a vital part of the immune system.
The virus gets inside the cell, makes copies of itself,
and then kills the white blood cells.
The new HIV copies then find more healthy white blood cells,
and continue this destructive cycle.
When the HIV virus is first contracted,
the patient will typically experience a bought of
flu-like symptoms, and this may last a week or two.
[coughing]
[Tracy]: Eric told me that he didn't feel well.
What he was explaining to me sounded just kinda like
flu and cold symptoms.
[Dr. Hunter]: However, after this initial sickness,
the virus typically becomes latent.
Living in the body and continuing to damage
the immune system for up to ten years,
without producing additional symptoms.
The fact that Eazy was dead just months later,
indicates that his flu-like symptoms
were most likely a result of his compromised immune system,
and he'd been living with undiagnosed HIV for years.
[narrator]: February 1st, 1995.
Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles.
Eight weeks before Eazy's death.
He makes a call to Tracy Jernagin,
the mother of his three year old daughter, Ebie.
[Tracy]: We weren't in a relationship anymore,
but it didn't matter, he was still my best friend.
We were still co-parenting.
And he was gonna pick up Ebie for the weekend,
you know, he was gonna keep her.
[narrator]: But Eazy is still feeling sick.
[coughing]
[Tracy]: He wouldn't have just said,
"I'm gonna go to the hospital." You know?
He definitely was one of those type of people that was,
"I'm a strong, healthy guy. You know, I'll kick this."
And I was like, "Okay, well,
call me and let me know" type of thing.
And he was joking again, and he said,
"Don't worry, even if I die, I'll call you."
And you know, that,
that has always just stuck with me.
[music]
[coughing]
Despite having symptoms for over four weeks,
Eazy didn't go to the hospital.
And I found something in his medical history
that explains why he didn't consider his illness unusual.
He had a history of bronchitis.
I wanna know, did Eazy's bronchitis
play a role in his death?
[coughing]
[narrator]: On March 26th, 1995,
rap icon, Eazy-E, died at the age of 30.
From pneumonia caused by the AIDS virus.
Now, world-renowned forensic pathologist,
Dr. Michael Hunter, is investigating his death.
Eazy had flu-like symptoms in the months prior to his death.
I suspect he'd been living with HIV virus for years
without knowing it, and his immune system
had become severely compromised.
The reason he had not been diagnosed
with the virus earlier, could be due to another
chronic condition: bronchitis.
[Big Hutch]: We always knew Eric had bronchitis,
he wasn't shy about that. He would say,
"Yeah, my Bronchitis is bothering me, man.
I gotta go sit down somewhere, I barely can breathe."
[Ebie]: My father's grandfather passed away
from chronic bronchitis.
So, that is something that runs in our family.
I wonder whether Eazy's history of bronchitis
masks the symptoms that are also common with HIV.
[narrator]: February 19th, 1995.
Audio Achievements recording studio,
Los Angeles.
Six weeks before Eazy's death.
Eazy is working on tracks for a double album titled
Temporary Insanity.
[coughing]
[Tracy]: That was the first time that Eazy had got
really taken by this cough, and was having
some breathing issues.
[coughing]
[Tracy]: It scared them, because it was something
that they had never really seen before.
[music]
[narrator]: Eazy is taken to the ER,
at Norwalk Community Hospital.
[Tracy]: When he got there,
they pretty much diagnosed him with bronchitis.
And sent him home. Simple as that.
There was not any other medical history
to make a doctor look further than
just what they saw on the surface.
Bronchitis is characterized by a recurring cough,
lasting for periods of over three months at a time.
Bronchitis is usually brought on by the same viruses that cause
the common cold, or flu infections.
The tissue in the bronchial tubes,
which carry oxygen to and from the lungs,
become enflamed. And this creates an increase
in the production of mucus, resulting in a persistent cough.
People with HIV have a damaged immune system,
and will experience greater vulnerability to
illnesses like bronchitis.
But Eazy's lung infection was likely attributed
to something else.
I've discovered he also smoked marijuana.
[narrator]: In December, 1992,
ex NWA producer, Dr. Dre, released his first solo album
on Death Row Records, Eazy's new rivals.
The Chronic, which opens with a track dissing Eazy,
took the pop world by storm.
♪ Don't even respect yo ass, that's why it's time ♪
♪ for the Doctor to check your ass ♪
♪ used to be my homie, used to be my ace ♪
They made fun of him
on the biggest records of the decade.
And he's just been portrayed as this sort of
- ghetto clown figure. - ♪ Don't think I forgot ♪
No one saw him as the creative equal of Dr. Dre,
and he certainly didn't have the numbers that were matching
in terms of sales.
[narrator]: Eazy's bitter feud with his one-time best friend,
marked a change in his behavior.
[music]
[Tracy]: He didn't smoke weed early on in his life.
But then in those later years, he really became
an avid weed smoker.
He could smoke like a choo-choo train.
[Dr. Papadapoulos]: People in his life, they were kind of
leaving him behind, they were kind of
having more success than he is, so that's gonna have an impact.
And I think medicating through marijuana, or alcohol,
or drugs, or anything else,
becomes that very dysfunctional way to cope.
[music]
To start smoking as much weed as he was smoking,
that definitely to me could have contributed to
aggravating and bringing out the bronchitis.
[Dr. Hunter]: Eazy's smoking habit,
plus a history of bronchitis, may explain why his HIV
lay undetected for so long.
But I've discovered his smoking may have had
another adverse effect.
A recent study shows that HIV patients who
smoke marijuana are more likely to suffer pulmonary diseases,
and chronic bronchitis, than those who don't.
So, not only did Eazy's smoking hide the symptoms of HIV,
it may have also inadvertently accelerated its effects.
[narrator]: Late February, 1995.
Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles.
Four weeks before his death.
Eazy's current girlfriend, Tomica Woods,
has moved into his house, and is helping him recover
from his bronchitis.
Tomica and Eazy already have a child together,
and she's pregnant with their second.
Five days after his visit to Norwalk Hospital,
he needs medical attention again.
[music]
[Big Hutch]: When he ended up
getting admitted to another hospital,
we thought it was just to run a test.
We didn't even know it was that serious.
[narrator]: February 24th, 1995.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles.
Eazy checks himself into the hospital,
under an assumed name.
He's administered antibiotics for his bronchitis,
and is kept under observation
while doctors run a full set of blood tests.
[music]
[narrator]: The results are earth-shattering.
He did have bronchitis. So it wasn't a misdiagnosis.
It was just that, apparently, there was more going on.
Rapper Eazy-E has died in Los Angeles,
after a battle with AIDS.
[narrator]: World-renowned medical examiner,
Dr. Michael Hunter, is investigating the death
- of celebrated rapper, Eazy-E. - [Dr. Hunter]: I've discovered
that Eazy-E had a history of bronchitis.
[coughing]
[Dr. Hunter]: And the similarity of symptoms
between that and an early HIV-associated infection,
may explain why he lived so long
without knowing he was HIV positive.
[narrator]: February 25th, 1995.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles.
29 days before Eazy's death.
His bronchitis is so bad, he's struggling to breathe.
But results from a blood test show something far more
concerning than a lung infection.
[Tracy]: That's where they said he was HIV positive.
He must have been genuinely super shocked.
I know he had no idea that that was a possibility.
That would be the last thing that we'd be thinkin' about.
Like, oh, HIV/AIDS?
That don't happen on this side of the tracks.
Eazy was diagnosed 11 years after the HIV virus
was first identified.
But in 1995, there was still a lot of misunderstandings
around the disease.
[Donnell]: Eazy was so surrounded by these ideas
of misinformation.
I mean, there was no difference in people's mind
between HIV and AIDS.
[Dr. Hunter]: HIV is the name of the virus,
and AIDS, or Autoimmune Deficiency Syndrome,
is a term that is applied once the virus has done
so much damage to the immune system,
that the body can no longer fight off common infections.
Eazy was initially diagnosed with having the HIV virus.
There were so many questions.
And I think people began wondering how he got it.
The virus is transmitted when infected body fluids,
such as blood and semen, carry the virus directly into
the bloodstream of an uninfected person.
The most common method of transmission are
sexual intercourse, and intravenous drug use.
Eazy had a history of drug dealing and street life.
And it begs the question, did Eazy contract HIV
through an infected syringe?
[narrator]: During the 1980s, Eazy's Compton neighborhood
was flooded with a highly addictive
new form of cocaine.
[Big Hutch]: Crack cocaine took over so fast
in southern California.
Before we even looked up, you know, we all got hit.
You know, whether you were doing it,
or you got caught up in it. Drug trading.
[Dr. Hunter]: Crack is powdered cocaine,
combined with water and baking soda,
which is cooked to form rocks.
These are most commonly smoked, though crack can also be
injected and elicits a short, intense feeling of euphoria.
It's more concentrated, cheaper, and more addictive
than powdered cocaine.
[narrator]: Access to crack presented the young Eazy
with a dangerous opportunity.
[Arabian Prince]: Everybody knew Eazy-E.
And nobody messed with Eazy-E, so he had his little reputation.
[Dr. Hunter]: Intravenous injection with infected blood
is the most efficient way of transmitting HIV
from person to person.
However, according to Eazy's friends and family,
he never used crack cocaine himself.
[Big Hutch]: Eric was never involved in getting high
off his own supply.
He was a solid businessman in the streets.
If he was doin' crack cocaine, if he was a baser head,
he wouldn't be respected.
It appears Eazy did not contract HIV
through intravenous drug use.
So, the most likely method of transmission
was through unprotected sex.
[Tracy]: Most people identified with it as bein'
a homosexual disease.
And, yes, I was one of those people as well.
[Dr. Hunter]: The misconception that AIDS was a "gay disease"
may have contributed to a false sense of security
among heterosexuals, who were, as a group,
slower to adopt safe sex practices
than the gay community.
[narrator]: In 1993, the rapper addressed the dangers
of unsafe sex on Howard Stern's radio show.
[Howard Stern]: Do you wear condoms when you have sex?
[Eazy-E]: Nah.
[Howard Stern]: You never wear a condom?
- [Eazy-E]: Nah. - [Hostess]: Have you heard
about AIDS?
[Eazy-E]: Yeah, but the people I mess with don't...
'Cause I'd have it myself if I would have,
if they would have had it already.
[music]: ♪ I know I'm great I'm a dog ♪
[narrator]: With the release of Straight Outta Compton in 1988,
NWA's sudden rise to national notoriety
opened the doors to a rockstar lifestyle.
It was like Beetle Mania or somethin'.
I'm talkin', like, kids crawlin' all over us, like, "Ahh!"
That security had to push everybody outta the way.
When you get to the hotel lobby, it's a madhouse.
[narrator]: Eazy's music celebrated
a highly sexual lifestyle.
- ♪ Hey, Eazy! - ♪ What's up? ♪
♪ Why do you wear your pants like that? ♪
♪ I weat my pants like this for the easy access, baby. ♪
[Donnell]: He was promiscuous.
And I think he wasn't the first person to realize
that success in Hollywood means access to lots of women.
[narrator]: The band reveled in their success,
throwing pool parties,
notorious for their displays of debauchery.
[Big Hutch]: I will tell you them parties was 80% groupies.
And there were 80% potentially baby mamas, and wives.
And it was normal to be with multiple women
in that business.
[narrator]: Eazy fathered 11 children,
with eight different partners.
[Donnell]: He had eight different women
give him 11 children?
That's remarkable.
For the short amount of time that he was on this planet,
that's remarkable.
[Big Hutch]: I don't really think any of us was livin'
like nothin' but "Today could be our last day."
I think it's because of the way we came up.
Like, we were so blessed to have an opportunity to live
the best outta life, drive the finest things,
eat the finer foods, party like rockstars.
You know, when two years ago,
we was in the ghetto, sellin' drugs.
And he just felt like, "Oh, I'm just gonna live
this lifestyle until I can't live it no more."
[music]
[Dr. Hunter]: However Eazy contracted the virus,
HIV is no longer the death sentence
it was initially considered to be.
And even by the early '90s, there was treatment available
that helped to extend life expectancy.
So, I wanna know why Eazy died so soon after
entering the hospital.
[narrator]: February 25th, 1995.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles.
29 days before his death.
Eazy is provided with 'round the clock care.
[Dr. Hunter]: There's no record as to what treatment
Eazy received for his HIV,
but it's likely he was given an antiretroviral drug.
Now, the first drug to be approved for HIV treatment
was called AZT.
Although other drugs were were starting to become
available in the early 1990s,
AZT was still the most commonly prescribed.
AZT acts on HIV by blocking enzymes
the virus needs in order to replicate.
Thereby reducing the number of viral particles in the body.
It's not a cure, but aims to slow down
the damage caused by HIV.
Today, there are many alternative drugs available,
and HIV's managed with a cocktail of treatments,
which might include AZT.
But in isolation, AZT is not always effective.
And after a certain point, the virus can develop resistance
to the drug.
[narrator]: February 26th, 1995.
Members of the religious organization The Nation of Islam
are maintaining security outside Eazy's ward.
And current girlfriend, Tomica Woods,
keeps a vigil at his bedside.
[Ebie]: When my father was in the hospital,
There was a lot of rumors goin' around.
But no one really knew anything.
Not even his closest people that were down in the lobby.
[narrator]: His lung infection shows no sign of improvement.
And less than a week after he was admitted to the hospital,
he receives news that strikes a massive blow
to his hopes of recovery.
[Dr. Hunter]: Four weeks before his death,
rapper Eazy-E was hospitalized with bronchitis.
And subsequently found out he was HIV positive.
HIV is manageable,
and with the right combination of drugs,
its effects can be controlled.
But Eazy's treatment was barely begun when his condition
was found to have advanced, and he was diagnosed with AIDS.
[Tracy]: People were sayin', like,
"Oh, you heard Eazy-E's in the hospital?
They sayin' he has AIDS."
They say you die from this. There's no cure for this.
It was very scary.
AIDS is late-stage HIV.
When a patient develops a chronic disease
that a healthy immune system would be able to handle.
The change in Eazy's status from having HIV to AIDS
was very quick.
[Tracy]: January, I'm on the phone with him.
He's laughin' and jokin'.
Within a few weeks, he has full-blown AIDS.
[coughing]
I suspect the AIDS diagnosis came once doctors recognized
Eazy had developed pneumonia.
[narrator]: March, 1995.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles.
Two weeks before Eazy's death.
Eazy is still being closely guarded
by a small group of friends and employees.
[Tracy]: When I got there,
no one could go talk to him, you're not getting in the room.
You're barely even gonna know what room he's in.
It was all this secrecy.
[narrator]: Despite the advanced nature of Eazy's condition,
rumors emerged that his security guards
are trying to cure him.
[heart monitor beeping]
[narrator]: They have acquired an unapproved drug,
by the name of Kemron.
[Dr. Hunter]: In the 1980s, and early '90s,
AIDS patients, frustrated at the lack
of legal drugs in the U.S., would often seek medicines
from other countries.
Kemron was developed in Kenya, and was reported to
greatly increase the functionality
of the immune system in HIV patients.
Not only that, it was claimed that
over 10% of patients became HIV negative after treatment.
[narrator]: Eazy's security staff claimed the Kemron
showed some effect in perking him up.
But two weeks after his hospitalization,
Eazy's condition has significantly worsened.
Looking into later reports on Kemron,
the World Health Organization found it to be
no more effective than a placebo.
And the drug was never approved.
[narrator]: March 14th, 1995.
12 days before Eazy's death.
In a move that causes great controversy,
Eazy hastily marries Tomica Woods
in his hospital room.
[Tracy]: Attorneys are in there,
with their briefcases and paperwork.
[narrator]: His will grants Tomica ownership
of Ruthless Records.
Anybody who wants to play devil's advocate will say
"Well, maybe he might die.
So, let's hurry up and get his affairs in order."
But I will say this.
How does he have the capacity to do that?
[narrator]: March 16th, 1995.
Ten days before Eazy's death.
His breathing difficulties are so acute,
he has been placed in an induced coma.
His condition is finally made public,
with a prepared statement,
read to the press by his attorney.
I would like to turn my own problem
into something good that will reach out to all my homeboys.
[Big Hutch]: When we first heard the news about Eazy
really, really bein' sick, that he was clingin' to his life,
was when Tomica and her attorneys came on ABC News.
I just feel that I got thousands and thousands
of young fans,
that have to learn about what's real
when it comes to AIDS.
[Tracy]: It was huge news.
Everybody was in shock.
[narrator]: Cedars-Sinai Hospital is immediately
inundated with phone calls from distressed fans.
They had had more phone calls than any celebrity ever,
including Lucille Ball.
[interviewer]: Are you gonna change your behavior now,
because of this?
Most definitely. Most definitely.
[news caster]: By going public with his disease,
Eric Wright may have changed the hardened face of rap,
and whether you care for the music or not,
the message he is now spreading is hard to ignore.
[heart monitor beeping]
[narrator]: With the secrecy
around Eric's condition now lifted,
friends are allowed in to see him.
[heart monitor beeping]
[Tracy]: At this point, he's in the coma.
And I'm holdin' his hand, and, you know,
his body's warm, you know, he's still here with us.
I just start talkin' to him and tell him I love him,
and Ebie loves him, and we have
a beautiful daughter. And, you know, just, like,
"Get through this, and you're gonna be okay."
[heart monitor beeping]
[narrator]: March 26th, 1995.
11 days after being put on life support,
Eazy-E's respiratory problems become insurmountable.
And at 6:35pm, he's pronounced dead.
Rapper Eazy-E has died in Los Angeles,
after a battle with AIDS.
[Tracy]: I didn't want to believe it.
It was like, the news I did not wanna get.
That I didn't ever want to hear.
[Big Hutch]: I honestly, my life stopped.
You know, 'cause what am I gonna do now?
We don't have a leader anymore.
Somebody that I've been around
80% of my life, is gone.
I don't know why he's gone.
[Tracy]: I didn't burst into tears or cry right away,
because I think I was in shock.
And never in a million years had I expected or thought
that this man was gonna actually die.
[Dr. Hunter]: According to his death certificate,
Eazy died of Pneumocystis Pneumonia.
Also known as PCP, it's caused by a fungus
known as Pneumocystis Carinii.
Now, this fungus is frequently found
in healthy lungs without causing symptoms.
But in people with severely compromised immune systems,
the fungus causes a deep infection in
the lung's air sacs.
Now, this inhibits oxygen intake,
and will eventually lead to respiratory failure.
It was a common cause of death among AIDS patients.
But in Eazy's case, many people suspected
the official version of his death was either incomplete,
or incorrect.
Everybody's still questioning things 20 plus years later.
[narrator]: Adding to the disbelieve,
were the test results of anxious girlfriends,
partners, and their children.
All of the mothers and kids were tested, no one had it.
I did go get tested. I was negative.
[Ebie]: Tomica Woods was actually pregnant,
she had a daughter some months after my father's passing.
She didn't have it.
You know, nobody had it.
Many people considered it highly irregular that
none of Eazy's girlfriends tested positive.
However, the odds of a woman contracting the virus
from an infected man through unprotected sexual intercourse
are estimated to be one in over a thousand.
So, even though Eazy was unknowingly putting a lot
of women at risk, it's not such an anomaly
that his girlfriends didn't contract it.
[narrator]: During a recent TV investigation
into Eazy's death, one doctor did claim
to have patients who were HIV positive
as a result of sleeping with Eazy-E.
So, they were indeed infected?
Yeah. Oh, yeah. They were infected.
Okay, okay.
Something says that they got infected from him.
[interviewer]: Okay.
[Dr. Hunter]: I can find no evidence to back up suggestions
that Eazy-E was misdiagnosed with AIDS.
But in the aftermath of his death,
the question of how he contracted the disease
inspired increasingly wild theories.
Including murder.
[narrator]: Rumors of foul play hit the news in 2003,
When Eazy's notoriously violent business rival, Suge Knight,
joked about using HIV as a murder weapon.
They get blood from somebody with AIDS...
- [Jimmy Kimmel]: Yeah? - Then they shoot you with it.
Yeah.
Just Eazy-E that, you know what I mean?
Rapper Eazy-E has died in Lost Angeles,
after a battle with AIDS.
[music]
[Dr. Hunter]: Eazy-E's shocked death
triggered alternative theories that challenged the official
report he died from AIDS.
Despite doubts to the contrary,
I believe this diagnosis was correct.
However, many people have come forward,
claiming that he died in suspicious circumstances.
[music]
[Donnell]: Even after Eazy left that hood,
He affiliated himself with really strong gangsters.
He was surrounded by people who would love to
make their name off of Los Angeles'
most famous gangster.
[narrator]: In 2015, Eazy's son, Lil Eazy-E,
claimed that his father was murdered by one of
his most notorious rivals, record label executive
and convicted felon, Suge Knight.
What is Suge Knight, if not a gangster?
[narrator]: By the end of 1991, Dr. Dre was growing dissatisfied
with his cut of NWA's profits.
Security guard, Suge Knight, pursuaded him to leave NWA,
and form their own company, to rival Ruthless Records.
Suge arranged a meeting with Eazy,
to talk him into releasing Dr. Dre
from his contract with Ruthless.
[Donnell]: There were threats with weapons.
He got Eazy to sign the contract to let Dr. Dre go to
a new company that Suge was forming,
called Death Row Records.
[narrator]: Dre was allowed to leave.
But Eazy hung onto a percentage of Dre's earnings.
A situation that Suge Knight grew increasingly bitter about.
[Donnell]: Hip-hop fans thought,
"This guy can do anything."
They thought he could kill Eazy-E.
[muffled screaming]
Eazy's son, for example, believes that this is true.
[narrator]: When Suge Knight appeared on
Jimmy Kimmel's talk show,
just days after being released from prison for assault,
he seemed to acknowledge the rumors.
They get blood from somebody with AIDS...
[Jimmy Kimmel]: Yeah?
And then they shoot you with it.
- Oh, well, that seems bad. - Cause a slow death.
Gonna Eazy-E that, you know what I mean?
Yeah. Oh, no.
He said that the new way that people are killing,
is to use a needle tainted with HIV,
and inject it into someone.
And he called it, "the Eazy-E treatment",
or "the Eazy-E method", or something like that.
This is just one of several theories
that sprang up, claiming Eazy-E was
intentionally killed with the HIV virus.
While it is medically possible,
there is one overriding reason why I don't believe any of them.
With a life expectancy of up to 10 years
after contracting the disease,
why would anyone choose to use such a slow-acting
and unreliable method of murder?
[Donnell]: It would be a lot easier
if he had simply been shot.
People would have understood that better.
It's hard to just accept that people lived rough lives,
and now they're not here anymore.
It's easier to chalk it up to magic and conspiracy.
[Dr. Hunter]: The source of Eazy's infection is likely
far more mundane.
And I suspect his infection predates his success.
One of the main reasons HIV became prevalent
among crack users and dealers,
was down to unsafe sex practices.
There is a strong statistical link between
female sex workers exchanging sex with drugs,
and the spread of HIV among the heterosexual population.
So, it is highly plausible that Eazy contracted the virus
from a female drug user, during his crack dealing days.
At a time when there was far less understanding
and information about how the disease was spread.
Eazy showed no symptoms for years,
while the virus was slowly destroying
his immune system.
By the time it was detected, he was already approaching
late-stage HIV.
And I suspect a cough which was initially diagnosed
as bronchitis,
may have actually been the first signs
of a fungal infection of the lungs,
which his compromised immune system
couldn't cope with.
The tragedy is, just one year after his death,
highly effective antiviral medicine became available,
making the life expectancy for HIV patients far longer.
[music]
[Dr. Hunter]: It's hard not to imagine
how things might have played out for Eazy-E,
if the virus had been detected before he became sick.
What he left behind is a remarkable legacy.
And a cautionary tale.
[Donnell]: He was an underdog.
The guy who started at the bottom,
and made it to the top.
He showed white kids, and Black kids,
the fun of being a contrarian bad boy.
[Tracy]: He just had big dreams, and he accomplished it.
Speakin' for the people.
Pioneering a whole genre of music called gangster rap,
that flourished and extended into artists of today.
[Ebie]: I feel so proud
when I hear my father's music, when I see my father's face
on a tee shirt.
I still don't feel he gets the full recognition he deserves.
But I'm hoping we're on the way.
[camera shutter]