COMPTON, CA – Eazy-E‘s legacy is set in stone as the late rapper has been honored with a street named after him in his hometown.
On Wednesday (November 22), the city of Compton officially changed the name of Auto Drive South’s 100 block to Eazy Street. The N.W.A icon’s friends and family were present at the ceremony, some of whom even spoke to the crowd.
I’m so proud of everybody that’s here today,” Eazy’s mother Kathie Wright said to those in attendance, holding back tears. “And say I love you all and thanks so much for showing up at this presentation. Thank you very much, the city of Compton.
“I would like to thank everybody that had a part in this and I love you and God bless, and he is watching from a distance. Thank you very much. Everybody have a nice day and have a Happy Thanksgiving.”
In an Instagram comment on Rock The Bells Instagram post, Flavor Flav commented: “Congratulations Easy E,!! Your mother is so blessed to have had you,,, you are so blessed to have a mom like her.”
Watch the clip below:
Also at the gathering was Eazy-E’s son, Eric Darnell Wright a.k.a. Lil Eazy-E, who shared his thoughts on the distinction.
“My father finally got what he deserves, a monumental street in the city he put on the map,” he said to reporters covering the ceremony. “It’s a long time coming, but again, I always say it’s God’s timing.”
President of the Compton Entertainment Chamber of Commerce Alonzo Williams played an instrumental role in have the stretch named after the gangsta rap pioneer.
“Compton has a lot of history, but nobody knows about it. I figured the most recent history is hip-hop history,” he said, according to KABC. “Being this is the 50th anniversary of hip-hop, I thought it’d be a great idea to approach the City Council, talk about possibly doing this and they loved the idea.”
Eazy-E (real name Eric Wright) passed away aged 31 on March 26, 1995 due to AIDS-induced pneumonia. Just days before his death, he announced at a Hollywood news conference that he had been diagnosed with the virus.
Eazy had learned of his condition just weeks earlier after being hospitalized with a violent cough.
Check out more footage from Eazy-E’s street naming ceremony below:
