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By Jay Quan
Published Mon, March 21, 2022 at 1:00 PM EDT
“I'll never have dinner with the president.”
This repeated chant on the bridge of "No Vaseline," Ice Cube’s verbal assault of his ex-bandmates and N.W.A. group members, wasn't random.
On March 18, 1991 N.W.A. founder Eric “Eazy-E” Wright attended a $1250 a plate, members-only dinner with his then manager and business partner Jerry Heller, hosted by a group called The Republicans Inner Circle under President George H.W. Bush.
“I wouldn’t say that I was having lunch with Bush," Eazy said at the time.
"I’m on these things called Athletes and Entertainers For Kids, Make A Wish Foundation – I give a lot of donations to different organizations. They picked my name from a list from me giving donations and then sent me an invitation.” Eazy said further: “The letter said that they wanted to invite me to the Republican party. I’m not no f*ckin' Republican, but we went there and when we got off the plane they had CBS, CNN and all these media people who blew it up saying, ‘The gangb*nger and drug dealer Eazy-E came down here to the Presidents luncheon’. Basically, what I did was pay $1200 for a million dollars worth of press.”
I give a lot of donations to different organizations. They picked my name from a list from me giving donations and then sent me an invitation.”
- Eazy-E
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A 1991 NBC news report said: “Eazy E received a fund raising letter from Texas senator Bill Graham inviting him to join the Elite Inner Circle, for a thousand bucks of course. In a follow up letter Senate Republican leader Bob Dole pointed that his fellow members would include Arnold Schwarzenegger and George Shultz. Before the Republicans realized that it was all a computer foul up, Eazy E sent in the money and was made an official member.”
In an interview from the luncheon, Jerry Heller responded to a reporter who asked if he thought that the Republicans were familiar with Eazy.
“I don’t think they know," Heller responded. "I’m sure they’d be shocked to find out who he really is. But as for us, we are happy to be here.”
Musicians, particularly Black ones, are assumed to be Democrats, and have been maligned historically when stepping outside of that assumption.
Hip-Hop and Politics
When James Brown performed at Richard Nixon’s 1968 inauguration, then endorsed his second term in 1972 it was extremely unpopular. One could surmise that if the Internet and social media existed at the times, both Brown and Eazy would have been heavily scrutinized or even cancelled for such actions.
In more recent times, Steve Harvey and Ice Cube both came under heavy scrutiny for sitting down with Donald Trump and/or his representatives during his term. R&B singer Chrisette Michelle has been incredibly quiet since performing at one term ex-President Donald Trump’s inauguration. Michele told VIBE magazine that she believed that the performance would “Be a bridge” during a time when the country was deeply divided. After the performance, Michele lost an album distribution deal and received several death threats.
Most famously, the infamous Kanye West (who amazingly has been mentioned by three Presidents in a row) wore a MAGA hat and had an odd and uncomfortable visit with President Trump at the White House.
It's been thirty years since the head of Ruthless chopped it up with the Head of State. Though Ice Cube’s now ironic “No Vaseline” lyrics were meant to be jabs directed towards Eazy, in retrospect Eric Wright pulled a huge pimp move on the GOP and capitalized off of their “computer foul up.”
Well played.
