Jerry Heller, the controversial music manager who helped introduce American rap group, N.W.A., to the masses has died.
He was 75 years old.
Heller’s cousin, Gary Ballen, said he died Friday night in Southern California.
TMZ reports that Heller suffered some sort of medical emergency while driving in Ventura County Friday just before noon.
He was said to have slammed into a mini-van and was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
It’s unclear if he died from the medical emergency, the collision or both.
Heller started his career in the 1960s as an agent and promoter, working with such acts as Pink Floyd, Marvin Gaye Elton John, Otis Redding, Ike & Tina Turner and Creedence Clearwater Revival.
He co-founded Ruthless Records with Eazy-E, which released N.W.A.’s seminal album, Straight Outta Compton, in 1988, launching the West Coast gangsta rap movement.
Ruthless was also behind such artists as J.J. Fad, Michel’le and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.
Heller released Ruthless: A Memoir in 2006.
Actor Paul Giamatti played Heller in last year’s hit film Straight Outta Compton.
Heller filed a defamation $110 million lawsuit against the film’s producers, claiming they portrayed him as a villain.
He was accused of fleecing N.W.A., with some members, including Dr. Dre and Ice Cube, accusing him out outright stealing.
The defamation case was pending at the time of his death.
