Ol’Otis
The Picasso of the Ghetto
Lining Up for Eazy-E's Estate : Estate: Eric Wright's ex-lovers and business associates are tightly wound in a legal fight for control of the late rap star's jeopardized fortune.
Once a thriving independent firm, Ruthless has floundered in recent years and is saddled with more than $1.5 million in debts, sources said. Even so, former Ruthless employees speculate that the company could be worth as much as $30 million, but competitors doubt whether the firm's assets could generate more than half that.
Ruthless lost its biggest asset in 1991 when producer Andre (Dr. Dre) Young, the creative locomotive behind the firm's strongest-selling albums, left the company after a financial dispute.
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Since its inception, much of Ruthless' glory and revenue stream has been derived from projects affiliated with Young. The firm receives about $1 million in combined annual royalty payments from Young and Priority Records, which in 1990 acquired the rights to N.W.A.'s early albums. Last year, Ruthless had hits with Eazy-E's "It's On (Dr. Dre. 187) Killa" and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's "Creepin' On Ah Come Up," which sold a combined 1.5 million copies.
Insiders said that Wright's death significantly reduces the firm's value because he ran the company and was its best-selling artist.
Once a thriving independent firm, Ruthless has floundered in recent years and is saddled with more than $1.5 million in debts, sources said. Even so, former Ruthless employees speculate that the company could be worth as much as $30 million, but competitors doubt whether the firm's assets could generate more than half that.
Ruthless lost its biggest asset in 1991 when producer Andre (Dr. Dre) Young, the creative locomotive behind the firm's strongest-selling albums, left the company after a financial dispute.
*
Since its inception, much of Ruthless' glory and revenue stream has been derived from projects affiliated with Young. The firm receives about $1 million in combined annual royalty payments from Young and Priority Records, which in 1990 acquired the rights to N.W.A.'s early albums. Last year, Ruthless had hits with Eazy-E's "It's On (Dr. Dre. 187) Killa" and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's "Creepin' On Ah Come Up," which sold a combined 1.5 million copies.
Insiders said that Wright's death significantly reduces the firm's value because he ran the company and was its best-selling artist.
