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Erin E.B.Wright lost her father when she was just four years old. Raised by her mother, she came to know her dad, rapper Eric “Eazy-E” Wright, through memories that her mom shared. But it wasnt until she was nine that she came to know Eazy-E and understand the influence he had on hip-hop culture. Despite her dads contributions to the music industry, E.B. says the musical talent comes from her mom’s side.

Now an adult with her own experiences in the music industry, the up-and-coming singer wants the world to know her truth about the man who never had a chance to raise her. While she prepares to release her debut project, We Want EB, she is also currently producing a documentary titled A Ruthless Scandal, along with her mother, her brother and her older sister, about Eazy-E. The documentary will cover the life of Eazy-E and much of what Eazy’s kids feel like was left out of the Straight Outta Compton film. They want his story told the Wright way.

Mommynoire: So what’s going on with the documentary?

E. B. Wright: So were looking at releasing it around the same time next year. Its been in the works, in the pre-production stage, for a while. We are looking for funding. The main focus is the scandal surrounding my fathers death, what happened to his estate, and all the people that were involved: the good, the bad, and the ugly, and its gonna touch a little bit more on his life. It will get more in-depth than the movie.

Speaking of the movie, you actually tweeted your reaction to it. You felt as though some things were left out? 

E. B.: You know what, about the things that I had tweeted… When they show the group breaking up, those scenes show him left high and dry, and desperate and sad. Thats not the real story at all. He did discover Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, one of the biggest rap groups of all time. The movie managed to show the successes that Dre and Ice Cube had outside of N.W.A, but not my dad.

They skipped out on the beef between him and Dre, but they left the beef between Dre and Suge. There was a lot of Death Row stuff. I really did feel like a lot of that could have been cut. Overall, I do think it was a great film. Im hoping that it wins awards.

I know you were really young when he passed, but what do you remember most about him?

E. B.: I lived with him for the four years before he passed. Me and my mom, Tracy Jernagin, who was with him from 1988 to 1994. She was with him when he was with N.W.A. In the movie, they show Tomica [Woods-Wright]. Tomica is not my mom, and a lot of people seem to get that confused.

What is your relationship with Tomica?

E. B.: I dont think that shes held my fathers legacy in the way that it should have been held. To be honest, its really deep. Its very complicated. This is the type of thing that will be addressed in the documentary.

What is your relationship like with your other brothers and sisters?

E. B.: On my dads side, theres nine of us. Were all cool. Were close. We dont hang out everyday because we didnt grow up in the same household with each other and were all different ages. Im producing the documentary along with my other sister Erica Wright and my brother [Lil Eazy.]

Are you the youngest?

E. B.: Im in the middle. There are four brothers and four sisters.

How did your mom and dad meet?

E. B.: They met at a New Edition concert.

Wow, that’s funny. Growing up, when did you realize how influential your father was?

E. B.: When I was in elementary school and I was about nine, I was close with the people who watched me after school, and they found out who my dad was. The things they would say about my dad… it was interesting to see just how much influence he had.

How much has he influenced your own musical style?

E. B.: People always assume that I rap and I always have to clarify. I dont rap at all. I grew up differently from my dad. It was a different place, a different time. I listened to Avril Lavigne and Britney Spears. I do have hip-hop influence, but I make pop music. I have musical background on my mother’s side. My great grandfather sang back up for Sammy Davis Jr. I actually dont get my musical talents from my dad.

So your musical talent actually comes from your mom’s side?

E. B.: My mother was a music manager. I still spent a lot of time in the industry after my father passed. Growing up around DJ Quik, Snoop Dogg. I had to get a little older to understand who they were. To me, they were just like uncles to me.  My mom worked with a lot of producers. She managed DJ Uneek, he ended up doing a lot of the Bone Thugs-N-Harmony music. She brought in a lot of producers. She brought in writers. She worked with DJ Quik and Lil’ 1/2 Dead. Shes still in the music business. She discovered Seven Aurelius. Shes worked with the producer Detail who did Beyonce’s Drunk In Love.Im actually working with him on my EP.

Speaking of your EP, when does it come out?

E. B.: Im finishing up the EP. It will be out in early October release. Ive got a couple of surprise appearances on there.

We know you got the musical influence from your mom, so what qualities did you get from your dad?

E. B.: Thats the main thing that I loved about the movie. They showed my dad being very playful, witty and sarcastic. Those are a lot of things that people didnt know about him. They only pictured Eazy-E as a gangster, not understanding how fun and loving he was. Those are things that I remember. Those are the stories Ive heard from my grandmother. He was just so fun and silly. My personality is so similar.

If you could say one thing to your dad right now, what would you say?

E. B.: Probably just “I love you.” People tell me how much we look alike and act alike, and how much we would have been best friends.

Anything else we have to look forward to from E. B.?

E. B.: I launched my website, WEWANTEB.COM, and I have my own hat line. Im also doing T-shirts. Outside of that, the focus is my music.

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