More likely Dre had simply signed an unfavorable deal, one that undervalued his contributions. He also blamed Heller for the skewed contracts he signed.īut considering he didn’t sue, it seems most likely that Dre was not being cheated, at least from a legal perspective. “ took advantage of me not knowing the record business back in the day,” Dre said. It’s unclear how much Dre was paid in total, but Heller told Rolling Stone Dre made about $86,000 from Ruthless in 1992, a figure that seems almost comically low. Fad, N.W.A, Eazy-E, D.O.C., and Michel’le in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, generating tens of millions of dollars in sales. Dre, meanwhile, produced platinum and gold albums for Ruthless artists J. Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap' (Sept 13, 2016, Hachette Books)ĭr.

Heller claimed that both his and Cube’s legal teams audited Ruthless’s accounting, and found no irregularities.īen Westhoff's new book, 'Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Ice Cube did, in fact, recoup in this situation, it just took a long time,” he said. “It takes a long time and most artists never recoup. David Kronemyer, a longtime record company executive who worked with Ruthless, seconded this assertion. This might not sound like a lot of money, but Heller countered that delays between album sales and artist payouts are common, and reasonably noted that Cube had profited millions from Straight Outta Compton in the decades since its release. By the middle of 1989 Cube had received $32,700 in album royalties, and a bit less than that amount for performing on N.W.A’s first national tour. This despite the fact that he was a performer and songwriter on both N.W.A’s debut Straight Outta Compton and Eazy-E’s Eazy- Duz-It, both released in 1988, and which would sell more than five million albums combined. In fact, he was still living with his parents in South Central Los Angeles-doing the dishes and everything. Still, Heller didn’t dispute that, when Cube left N.W.A in 1989, he wasn’t exactly living like a rap star. “It’s the most ridiculous allegation I’ve ever heard,” he said. Not surprisingly, he insisted he didn’t steal a dime. I ended up finding him simultaneously cold and quite generous. When my grandmother died a year later, he expressed his condolences. He declined to let me turn on my recorder, but agreed to talk to me about subjects including the allegations of financial impropriety. Then 73, Heller wore the effects of time and a combative career his face drooped, his white hair had thinned, and he walked tentatively. if there’s no traffic (although there always is), Calabasas features grandiose swimming setups, soulless architecture, and celebrities who inhabit both of those qualities. I had a chance to visit Heller before he died, in 2014, at his Calabasas, California home. Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the Barclays Center on Friday, April 8, 2016, in New York. Dre, Ice Cube and DJ Yella from N.W.A appear at the 31st Annual Rock and Roll. I decided to investigate further in order to answer the question: Did Heller actually cheat anyone in N.W.A? Dre bothered suing Heller for financial malfeasance.

While digging through court records reporting my book, however, I noticed something curious.

When Heller appeared on the Murder Master Music Show internet radio program in 2013, a caller referred to him as a “shylock.” He returned to the show a year later, and a different listener called him a “shylock” again. They haven’t hesitated to regale him with anti-Semitic insults. It’s thus taken as gospel among many N.W.A fans that Heller was simply another in a long line of corrupt, white record company men. I don’t want him in my mixture,” Dre told Eazy shortly before leaving Ruthless, alleging that his royalty rates were too low. “Look man I’m not dealing with Jerry Heller anymore. “Ice Cube wanted to continue with N.W.A, but he just wasn’t getting paid,” Cube’s lawyer Michael Ashburn told Spin in 1991. Dre – who left the group two years later – that Heller, in cahoots with Ruthless’ owner Eazy-E, did not give them a fair shake financially. The root of the dispute are assertions leveled by Cube and Dr.

Fire in compton