There's a whole lotta love going on for Eazy E's Ruthless Records over on Billboard.com today: a retrospective, an update on what's happening with the label these days and, most pertinent to Dallas music fans' interests, a list of the label's must-have records.
And, sitting pretty at No. 5 on Billboard scribe Mariel Concepcion's list: Dallas' own The D.O.C. gets some love for "No One Can Do It Better". And, for once, a writer gets his hometown right. Writes Concepcion:
"Dallas-born the D.O.C., aka Tracy Lynn Curry, was an early affiliate of N.W.A. and the Ruthless family. He originally contributed lyrics and vocals to 'EazyDuz It' and 'Straight Outta Compton,' but in 1989 he released his Dr. Dre-produced debut. The album reached No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and No. 20 on the Billboard 200. Not long after, his vocal cords were severed in a car accident. Although his rap career ended there, the D.O.C. later contributed to Dr. Dre's 'The Chronic' and Snoop Dogg's 'Doggystyle' debut solo albums. He is rumored to be working on Dr. Dre's upcoming album, 'Detox,' and a comeback album of his own."
That last sentence is news to us at DC9, but hell, we're stoked about it. --Pete Freedman