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Jerry Heller

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Ruthless: A Memoir Paperback

4.2 184 ratings

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Language

English
Publisher

Gallery
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.84 x 8.25 inches
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Ben Westhoff
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Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B007PTBDK0
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.84 x 8.25 inches

Customer Reviews:
4.2 184 ratings

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Jerry Heller

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4.2 out of 5

184 global ratings

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Angela Rollisson

Pretty awesome book

Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2015

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Pretty awesome book. There was a lot of information in the book but at times I wish he would have gone more in-depth such as when he said Eazy's main girlfriend was "Stephanie" before his death..then why did he marry Tomika? Also Jerry says that Eazy did not write that statement from the hospital bed because he would have never said he had 7 kids when he knew he had 8 kids (living). Jerry also reports that Eazy had 3 kids on the way!!! Wow! But Jerry didn't explain anything about the three kids on the way. Jerry did say that Eazy pushed him away towards the end of his life but did not say why. Also, Jerry describes seeing Eazy's deceased body in the funeral home after he goes with an armed guard (after being denied access)....after viewing the body for a few minutes some young teenage girls come in and start gushing how cute Eazy looked... Jerry was disgusted and left. Pretty good read. Thanks for writing this story Jerry.

One person found this helpful

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Mitchell King

Waivers between intensely fascinating and excruciatingly boring.

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2016

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First off: if you fancy yourself a hip-hop historian, you CANNOT have a fully formed opinion on the N.W.A story without Jerry Heller's point of view. If you know anything about Jerry then you know you must take everything in this book with a grain of salt, but as long as you read it through that lens, there is a lot of fascinating information to gleaned. Having said that, right as the story is at its most interesting and the book should be reaching its climax, Jerry bafflingly derails into talking about his time as a manager in the 60s and 70s, the bulk of which you will possibly not remotely care about. I read these chapters thinking that he was building toward some larger point relating to his time with N.W.A, but it was all for nothing. You are good to skip those chapters if you want without missing anything important regarding Eazy-E or Ruthless Records. Aside from that a great read. Just remember: trust Jerry's perspective at your own risk.

4 people found this helpful

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deeznuts

must have for NWA fans

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2012

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If you know anything about NWA then you'll know that Jerry Heller has been considered the worst thing ever and the cause of the break up. This book gave me a lot more appreciation for Jerry.
But, let's not forget that Jerry and Eazy let Ice Cube and Dre go in their prime and those are two of the biggest mistakes in the history of the music business.
Heller openly has forgiven Dre, even though his associaton with Suge nearly got Jerry killed. But he hasn't forgiven Ice Cube for the nasty comments and Heller also calls DOC 'a snake' or something like that.
This book is great and the best parts are Heller talking about the early days of the group and his details about the making of the Eazy Duz It and Straight Outta Compton albums.

Finished this book faster than any book I ever read. It could have been 1000 pages and it wouldn't have been long enough.

4 people found this helpful

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Best Of All

A Very Choppy Read

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2006

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The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer recently printed a lengthy interview with Jerry Heller as a promo to a talk he gave at the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame & Museum on his career in the music industry and to discuss Ruthless: A Memoir.

The book gets off to a very choppy beginning, as Heller struts a tough-guy persona that is absolutely silly. He sounds as if he is a rookie pro wrestler trying to psyche himself up for his first match by looking in the mirror & yapping through a monologue that he hopefully will be able to use in the future to get his "bad-guy" character over with the fans.

The extensive chapters on how he met Eazy-E, the rise of West Coast rap, the struggles to get Ruthless Records operating - the racism on the street & in the corporate boardrooms - and the exploding feuds with The D.O.C., Ice Cube and Dr. Dre are interesting. The same can't be said on material covering the implosion of the group and the battles with Suge Knight/Death Row Records; the sections read like the coverage in any number of books/articles.

About one-third of the book covers his work in the music industry in the 1960s and 1970s & is more of a narrative of names, places and anecdotes on the famous, near famous and wannabes.

It is a quick read and is written in more of a conversational flow. Ruthless: A Memoir has about as many misses as hits, but - in the end - will hold your attention in parts & have you skimming other chapters pretty quickly.

7 people found this helpful

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Greg S.

I was never much of a rap guy in the 80s bought I really enjoyed the movie and seeing the film had me craving ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2015

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I must admit I bought this book after seeing Straight out of Compton. I was never much of a rap guy in the 80s bought I really enjoyed the movie and seeing the film had me craving more details. This was a very interesting read. Heller lived a very interesting life and his role in the discovery of NWA was crucial. I would of given this book 5 stars but I did not feel satisfied upon its completion. I felt the same way I did after seeing the movie, like there was something missing. I believe that somewhere between the two tales lies the truth.

3 people found this helpful

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JB Vick

wow what a read!

Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2022

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How much fun this guy had outta be illegal. Fun , interesting, wish it didn’t end.
But it did. RIP JERRY you were definitely an “over”

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chris

jerry heller and NWA history

Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2020

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been meaning to buy this book for quite some time and finally did. even though its obviously used its still in very good condition so seller gets 5 stars

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Jay

Good insight into the music industry

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2014

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I tremendously enjoyed reading this book. Its very raw and straight forward, very "ruthless." Of course, I would have enjoyed it a lot more if it had more about Ruthless Records, N.W.A and the direction rap/hip hop has taken since. Keep in mind this is a memoir of a man who has had a music career spanning 50 years. He does do a lot of back tracking to the 60s and 70s talking about the acts he signed then. He gives good insight to the ins and outs of the music industry. It is well worth a read.

3 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

H.D

Great book

Reviewed in Canada on February 10, 2021

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Great book

Schmitt

Interesting with details

Reviewed in France on June 10, 2015

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Quite interesting about the meeting of a depressed producer in his middle life and a dopeman which would like to change his buisiness.

buyrapreview

I beleive mr heller!!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 21, 2013

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gr8 book giving you the facts real rap fans/ruthless/eazy e, fans, already know. Giving it to those fans who dissed eazy, went with death row and turned their back on eazy just like dre and cube did. I beleive jerrys account to be true to his word, open & honest as im sure he was when dealing with all memebers of NWA when they blew up (to hellers credit he does acknowledge and show respect to the talents of cube and dre, even though they were back stabbing, spoilt little brats who bit the hands that fed them).Aside from that its a great read anyway, from a man who has been, seen and done it ,dealing with top acts in the 60,s through to representing a young black entrepeneur str8 off the streets of compton!! if you dont know-now u do!!

Amazon Customer

a great book to read!

Reviewed in Canada on March 17, 2017

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if you haven't read it, read it NOW.

One person found this helpful

debra mermouti

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2016

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