Friend 4 Life Part 3

Felicia “The Poetess” Morris

 

RP: You don’t think he would’ve came out with the news eventually?

 

Yella: Nah. He didn’t even tell me.

 

RP: I think it’s a good thing. It’s gonna make kids in the ‘hood at least think about AIDS.

 

Yella: Oh, yeah. It’s going to touch somebody. I know this girl that knew his voice mail number. She was checking his voice mail every day, even after he died. People were still calling his voice mail. Just saying all kinds of stuff. Nothing bad. He was bigger than what he was. I mean, every reporter was at the funeral.

 

RP: It was beautiful that all walks of the community came out for his service, despite the image he had.

 

Yella: There was thousands inside, thousands outside. People wanted to come just see the casket. When we was pulling him out in the casket going to the hearse and stuff, people were breaking their necks just to touch the casket. It was amazing, all these people. I seen a lot of people crying. All the people I know to this day, the people that talked about him, feel very bad right now. I know they do, whoever they are. They can’t say nothing about him now.

 

RP: At the wake the night before, they didn’t even let you sit and pray, they just had you in and out of there real quick.

 

Yella: Because there always would be some ignorant fan that would steal his hat or something off him. That’s why they just had people in and out. I didn’t see him. I can’t see him. I couldn’t see him, ‘cause when I close my eyes I think of me and him joking. I can’t think of him in no casket, ‘cause I never saw him in no casket. I wouldn’t have been in the funeral if the casket would’ve been open. That’s one thing I couldn’t do. I could not see him in that.

 

RP: Did Cube attend the funeral?

 

Yella: I think Cube was out of town. Dre didn’t go. Ren didn’t go. There was a lot of people that didn’t go. Probably didn’t want to go. I don’t go to funerals. I didn’t go to my grandmother’s funeral. But this one I did. My family was surprised I went to the funeral. They said, “You went in and carried the casket?” Me? And then buried him. Actually put the dirt on him. I would’ve never thought I’d go. The coolest part was when everybody left the cemetery. There was only like ten or 12 of us just sitting in chairs, and I was spreading the dirt on the grave. And  we was sitting there. It was like peace. All the stress I had for the past month, nobody could really see it. Right after the funeral, it just left. Everybody I was talking to said,  “It’s like relief to get this over with.” It took so long to bury him, almost  two weeks that’s rare. We sat out there for about an hour just talking about old times and laughing.

 

RP: How do you think Eazy’s death is going to affect Hip-Hop?

 

Yella: I think groupies are finna to be put out of business. They ain’t going to be missing with the groupies no more because, sheeesh, you never know who can catch AIDS now. I mean, that is the closest it can get to me without getting inside of me, and that’s close enough. It’s crazy. I was like, “Of all the people to catch it, it would be him?” I could not believe it.

 

RP: What do you think is Eazy’s legacy?

 

Yella: I really don’t know. I damn sure don’t have an answer. But I think that the way people talk about like Elvis, Jimi Hendrix… His name is going to be right up in there too. There used to be a king, now there’s a new king. They’ll be talking for years [about Eazy]. I can still see the funeral and the casket, and I’m like, “Wait, he ain’t in there.” This don’t seem real. I’m waiting for him to go “Surprise!” ‘cause he would do something like that. He ignorant like that. He damn sure would do some shit like that. Have a whole funeral and then jump out the casket, “Alright, I’m just playing.” If he was watching that funeral, he’s probably sitting in the backseat laughing, “Look at these fools crying.” I know he talked about me crying. If he sat and watched me, he would’ve said, “You shouldn’t be crying.” That’s how he was.

 

RP: Eazy left behind a lot of kids.

 

Yella: Some of them babies’ mamas gave him hell, but he took care of his kids. Mamas driving a new car, houses, you know, apartments. He took care of them. They wasn’t starving. [They] can’t say nothing about that. He took care of them.

 

RP: Considering how much he accomplished, it’s hard to believe he was only 30.

 

Yella: I must say it was 30 short years. He had a full life. He probably did more things than people do in a whole lifetime-in 80 years or something. He did a lot. I must say that he had fun. He didn’t go out suffering for a year, you know? Skinny. No cuts or bruises. I’m glad it went quick. I’m mad he’s gone, but I’m glad it didn’t draw on, and I’m glad the media didn’t try to bury him. But now they started getting into the business part of his life, but the business had nothing to do with it.

 

RP: What would you like to see happen as a result of all of this?

 

Yella: Well, hopefully his business will keep going. And hopefully his album will come out, as well as the compilation. I’m going to try my damnedest to make sure that his family and kids get the proceeds from his royalties, ‘cause it’s going to be a damn lot of money. It’s going to sell millions.