Ruthless Records - Definition and Overview

Ruthless Records was the name of two different record labels, a Chicago punk label, and a Los Angeles hip hop label.

Ruthless Records, Chicago

The older label was not a real business, but a name used by three Chicago punk bands from 1981 to 1986: Big Black, the Effigies, and Naked Raygun.

External Links

• The Effigies site (http://www.effigies.com/) has a little information on the history of Ruthless Records.

Ruthless Records, Los Angeles

The younger label was formed by Eazy-E and Jerry Heller in 1987. The label is being crediting at founding gangsta rap They signed local up and coming hip hop stars Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and DJ Yella, and a year later Eazy-E formed the band NWA. Above the Law, Bone Thugs n Harmony and JJ Fad later joined the label.

Eazy was diagnosed with AIDS and died in 1995. Ruthless Records is now a division of Atlantic Records.

External Links

• Ruthless Records (http://www.ruthlessrecords.com/)
• Eazy-E Timeline (http://www.donmega.com/eazyetimeline.htm) and Biography of Eazy-E (http://www.eazy-e.com/eazy-e-bio.html) have some information on the founding of Ruthless Records.

See also

• List of record labels

Example Usage of Ruthless