Jerry Heller, the original manager of NWA and long-time confidant of Eazy-E, has passed away at the age of 75. The cause of death is currently unknown, but sources close Heller told VladTV that Jerry was battling a heart condition and other health issues for the last few years. His last few photos and videos showed a dramatic weight loss. Founding West Coast rapper King Tee tweeted: "#RIP Mr. Jerry Heller! and thank you.. #NWA"
Before working with NWA, Jerry Heller managed rock and r&b artists such as Marvin Gaye, Ike & Tina Turner, Otis Redding, War, Average White Band, Black Sabbath (Ozzy Osbourne's original group), the Four Tops, and others. Heller managed The World Class Wreckin' Cru (which included Dr. Dre and DJ Yella) and CIA (which included Ice Cube) before meeting Eazy-E in 1987 and co-founding Ruthless Records with him. Ruthless would go on to sell over 100 million albums from artists NWA, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, The DOC, Michel'le, JJ Fad, as well as Eazy-E.
The label began to splinter after NWA broke up in 1991. Ice Cube and Dr. Dre left the label and released dis tracks towards Jerry Heller and Eazy-E, blaming Heller as the reason for the breakup. "The split came when Jerry Heller got involved. He played the divide and conquer game. Instead of taking care of everybody, he picked one nigga to take care of and that was Eazy. And Eazy was like, 'I'm taken care of, so fuck it' said Dr. Dre in an interview. ""It's a case of divide and conquer, 'cause you let a Jew break up my crew" rapped Ice Cube in the classic dis song "No Vaseline". Eazy-E would eventually drop Heller as a manager amidst shady business allegations.
At the time of his death, Jerry Heller was in the midst of a lawsuit over his depiction in the movie "Straight Outta Compton."
Source: King Tee
