Reviews – Original Gangstas by Ben Westhoff

I could not put this book down, and I’m not one to read much. Ben Westhoff, who is a well known journalist penned one of the best books detailing the lives of not only Eazy-E, NWA, and Tupac but also all of the legends and pioneers that worked with them. There are many dope stories in here that go back to the start of the West Coast Gangsta Rap scene in the 1980s.

I also like the fact that no punches are being pulled with his book, Ben is not sugar coating shit, he is telling it how it is by interviewing some of the biggest names the West Coast has ever seen, plus he got information from a few dope radio shows like the Murder Master Music Show which was a huge honor for us.

With out giving too much away, I will disclose some of the info we spoke about during our recent interview with Ben. One of the most fascinating things is how the Nation of Islam, supposedly was treating Eazy-E with the AIDS drug Kemron, until his Wife reportedly made the NOI stop administering the drug to him. Other highlights for me was finding out that Biggie actually wanted Tupac to manage him until Pac told him to stick with Puffy. It’s one of those “What if” moments that all Biggie & Pac fans would wonder about, and Westhofff captured that perfectly. It’s a book that keeps you wanting to keep reading, it’s packed full of dope stories like these!

Original Gangstas drops September 13th everywhere, but you can pre-order it now on Amazon Also make sure to check out the Original Gangstas Facebook Page