Ruthless: A Memoir

by Jerry Heller, Gil Reavill

"PAYBACK'S A BITCH, JERRY." The words scrawled crudely across Jerry Heller's bedroom mirror that afternoon meant the rap wars had suddenly escalated. In the battle of his life over the ragingly successful music label he had helped found, Ruthless Records, Heller had seen death threats, strong-arming, and beatings. Now the violence had come home when his enemies burglarized his house, jacked his Corvette, and left behind this sneering piece of graffito. Heller didn't get mad; he got even. Ruthless tells the explosive story of Jerry Heller's alliance with Eric Wright, aka Eazy-E, one of the legends of rap music and a founding member of N.W.A., "the world's most dangerous band." As a longtime music industry superagent, Heller had the skill and insight necessary to guide N.W.A.'s cometlike rise to the top of the charts. Along the way there were raucous nationwide tours, out-of-control MTV pool parties, and X-rated business meetings. Heller held on through the brutal shocks and reversals of the Ruthless Records era, which saw the label being targeted by the FBI, and its principal artists locked in bitter conflict, until a final turnaround placed Ruthless at the top of the heap once more. Always in the middle of the whirlwind were Jerry and Eazy, an odd-couple pairing that represents one of the deepest and most appealing stories in American music. You don't have to be an N.W.A. fan to love Ruthless . Heller turns the music industry inside out, exposing its strange logic and larger-than-life personalities. Ruthless provides keen insight into the popular music scene, with an unforgettable portrait of its rollicking excesses, life-churning drama, and multimillion-dollar highs.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Autobiography

336 pages, Hardcover

First published August 29, 2006

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

epic book. i learned a lot about the inner workings of NWA. RIP Easy

[Rae Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Saw this on my dad’s coffee table and read it in 24 hours. It was a fascinating read and has gotten me interested in other music media/books. I believed that Jerry really cared for Eazy-E and I found his consistent annoyance with Ice Cube amusing, especially since I loved Ice Cube but to Herry, he was nothing but a whiny, anti-Semitic bitch. I don’t like how dismissive Jerry was about some of N.W.A’s treatment of women, particularly Dr. Dre. Granted that wasn’t the point of the story, but when he kept depicting Dre as this nice guy who must have been really drunk to beat Dee Barnes the way he did, made it seem like he was trying to excuse it. Still an entertaining memoir.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is an interesting story - heller gives a firsthand account of what it was like to work with Eazy E and NWA, a group of people who were totally different than him, but somehow he made it work. also gives an interesting insight into the music business of the 70s and 80s. great book for anyone who's been involved in the music biz in any way.

[Gil Reavill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jerry was the best, the funniest and most fun to work with

[Paxton Holley · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the relevant story parts, it’s a 3.5 star read. I drop a half a star for all the early Jerry Heller history stuff.

I’ve been a fan of NWA since about 1989 when a friend of mine lent me his tape of Straight Outta Compton saying, “You have to listen to this.” I’ve followed these guys as a group and as solo acts ever since.

Jerry Heller was NWA’s manager and correct or not, he was made the lightning rod for why the group broke up. He became NWA’s Yoko. He still gets crap from Dre and Ice Cube to this day. This book is Jerry’s version of the story of Ruthless Records which released groups like NWA, JJ Fad, and Bone Thugs & Harmony. Jerry tells how he met Eazy, creating Ruthless Records, and the birth and death of rap’s most dangerous group, NWA.

Overall, it’s a pretty good story. You have to take a lot of it with a certain context. He’s trying to tell his side of the story, which is akin to Colonel Tom Parker writing a book about the rise and fall of Elvis Presley. From his point of view. But like I said, it’s an engrossing story, when Jerry is talking about the Ruthless Records history. About 1/3 of the book talks about Jerry’s history with the 60s-70s rock n roll music industry. And it’s boring AF, to be honest. I like a lot of that time period and the bands he brings up, but I’m here for the story of NWA. It doesn’t help that Jerry decides to randomly plug in his early history like 2/3 of the way into the book in the middle of the story you actually want to read about. I guess if he lead with that, people would bow out before getting the good stuff.

[Antonio D.H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pretty entertaining read that gives a lot of insight into Jerry Heller's career in the music industry, his relationship with N.W.A., and an observant look at the music industry over the last 50+ years. It can be a brash and boastful point of view, but I found it to be refreshing and gave me insight as to how Jerry Heller talked, lived, and breathed music business. Definitely opened my eyes to music history and the craziness of it all. I was particularly intrigued by Jerry's opinions of Dr. Dre and Ice Cube considering I enjoy their work a lot, but after hearing of some of their behavior and taking a step back to look at some details I find them just a bit less amazing (at least as people) than I believed they were beforehand.

[Michael Cushing · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Book was alright. It probably would have been more controversial when it was first released as most of these Stories would have been new back then. But other than a few little tidbits, I already knew most of what was presented here. It was nice to actually see what Jerry Heller has to say for himself after listening to Ice Cube, and to a lesser extent, Dr Dre, blast him all of these years. My own conclusion is that I actually believe what Jerry said here for the most part.

[Sparklin C Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Original Gangsters. And seeing Straight Outta Compton plenty of times. Figured I’d read this one. To get JH point of view on a couple of things. Obviously he managed other groups. Had jobs at other record labels. Before he hooked up with N.W.A

[Jeffrey Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

FANTASTIC BOOK!

[Timothy Minneci · Rating 4 out of 5]

After seeing Straight Outta Compton, I wanted to find out if the portrayal of Heller matches his recollections. As expected, Heller strongly defends himself against Ice Cube and Dr. Dre's accusations of financial impropriety. The interesting aspects of Heller's career are really the early years - his childhood in Ohio, moving to Los Angeles in the 60s and his interactions with the biggest movers and shakers in the music industry. If anything, I wanted more information as Heller jumps between time periods and leaves few areas underdeveloped.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently buoyed by the 2015 film "Straight Outta Compton" I saw even paperback editions of this book were over $300 on Amazon. I picked this up for $3 at Big Lots and it felt like time to take it off the shelf and then turn it around for a quick profit. Now that I have it done I see hardcover copies of this edition can be had as low as $65, but I am keeping it - this is a good and entertaining history.



The point i the 1988 a groundbreaking new group N.W.A. that revolutionized music and pop culture, changing and influencing hip-hop forever and label Ruthless Records. Veteran manager Jerry Heller tells his story about discovering this movement happening in a crowded Macola LP pressing plant while at a low point of hi career when he was directionless. The way he tells it, he befriended Eric "Easy-E" Wright and won his respect while having a fun and exciting time at the center of a new youth movement and tipping point in popular music. There are extensive tangents into Heller's past with remembrances of Lee Michaels, The Whiskey A Go-Go, John Fogerty, etc. For someone approaching this book as mere gangsta rap hagiography, the tone and side treks may be disappointing. As a document about a popular culture period and cultural shift, it all works.

Heller comes across as a real, admiring fan of this music. In admiring Ice Cube's lyrics he reprints much of them. So, now I can settle that it is not "pull your car" in "Boyz-N-The-Hood", but "we'll pull your card" While respecting Ice Cube as a wordsmith, he has no respect for him personally. I would like to hear Ice Cube's side of this in a longer, considered form than "No Vaseline", but it appears Heller was correct in his aspersions on Suge Knight.

An often self-deprecating Jerry Heller says here that band managers are “parasites, blood-drinkers, vampires. We suck the life from the holiest of holies, the sacred spirit, the artist. The music business is a scam, a shady, pseudocriminal enterprise.” It is this tone that adds authenticity and color to the book. His asides sometimes talk about real Mob involvement with characters like Sidney Korshak.

[BMR, LCSW · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw the film Straight Outta Compton twice the weekend it opened, it was clearly a historical fiction (as many of the details in the film weren't quite how the events really happened).

This memoir of Ruthless Records co-founder Jerry Heller is a great companion piece, to see another perspective on the stories.

[Geoffrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the NWA & Eazy E background, but it gets a little lost in the 2nd half as it gets off on random tangents about mutlitple artists and music industry personalities. Easy to read, and parts were very entertaining, but just found the 2nd half of the book to be inferior

[Vee · Rating 2 out of 5]

If your a hip hop fan, a fan of music, or remotely interested in the music business, you will enjoy this book.

[Kimberley · Rating 2 out of 5]

his bragging is just more than i can handle & a lot of things just seem skimmed over instead of really being delved into.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history book

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great tale of the rise of NWA and gangster rap, marred by constant name dropping and random tangents about the authors brush with the famous in the 60s and 70s.

[Infinite Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rap is a tough game folks.