Jerry Heller, the former manager of Compton rap group N.W.A., has died at age 75.
As TMZ report, Heller suffered a heart attack while driving which further led to a car accident. He passed away shortly after in a hospital in California.
Heller is the founder of Ruthless Records, the label behind N.W.A.. He was also largely responsible for the launch of Ice Cube, Dr. Dre and Eazy E’s careers in the ’80s.
At the same time, he was critiqued for being one of the main reasons for the group’s eventual split. He managed them for four years up until 1989 when the group disintegrated after Ice Cube quit due to royalty disputes with Heller.
Ice Cube went on to pen a diss song No Vaseline which was aimed directly at the former manager.
Heller was featured in last year’s biopic Straight Outta Compton and felt that he was unfairly portrayed in the movie. He filed a defamation lawsuit against the movie’s producers, including Dre and Ice Cube, to the tune of $110 million. The case was dismissed in June.
At this stage, MC Ren is the only member of the group to speak after his death telling Rolling Stone, “From God we come and to God we return.”
In the early parts of Heller’s career, before N.W.A., he was a promoter and agent, working with the likes of Creedence Clear Water Revival and Marvin Gaye.
Watch: N.W.A. – Straight Outta Compton
