A memorial bench honoring the late Eazy-E has been vandalized nearly 30 years after his death.
The bench is located in East Sussex in England, after a fan named Guy Stevens of Newhaven petitioned to have a memorial bench for the rapper in his town. The two have no connection, as Eazy-E was based out of in America, other than Stevens being a fan.
BBC reports that money was raised for the bench in 2019, after Stevens had only been joking about it. Now, it appears that the plaque honoring the rap star has been removed, with an unnamed vandal ripping it off of the bench. The engraved sign originally read "Rest in peace Eric 'Eazy-E' Wright, 1964-1995."
Eazy-E died in March of 1995 after being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS only a month before. Commonly referred to as the "Godfather of Gangsta Rap," his real name was Eric Wright. He was the founding member of Californian rap group NWA and died at just 30-years-old. His final album, Str8 off tha Streetz of Muthaphukkin Compton, was released 10 months after his death.
"I've had messages from people on Facebook saying they came down from Scotland [to see it]," he continues to explain to BBC, going on to call those who vandalized "some very pathetic people in the world".
Stevens confirms that there will not be a replacement plaque after he had worked hard to finance it originally.
"My fundraising days are done so there won't be a replacement, but I'll be speaking to the council," he shared.
He raised over $2000 in 2019 for the bench. Since he only needed $1,489, he donated the remaining sum to HIV/AIDS charities in Brighton.
"I'd like to see more benches dedicated to 2Pac and Biggie in neighboring towns or even here in Newhaven," he said while originally raising money. "Or even rename Newhaven 'Newcompton.'"
When pondering on who could have vandalized the bench, he jokes that since Eazy-E was from the West Coast, someone from the East Coast could have come to East Sussex to remove the plaque. Although it seems unlikely that the potential vandal traveled 5,484 miles each way to deface the property, it will be near impossible to find out who committed the crime and what they did with the engraved plate.
Sussex Police claim that they had not been notified about the incident and were not aware when approached.
Aside from his work with NWA, Eazy-E also led iconic record label Ruthless Records. Born and raised in Compton, he frequently collaborated with Dr. Dre and Ice Cube before they formulated the iconic rap group. Other members of the group included Arabian Prince, Snoop Dogg, MC Ren, and DJ Yella.
Eazy-E was portrayed by actor Jason Mitchell in the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton. The film is dedicated in his honor. Earlier this year, he posthumously received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his influential work with NWA.
