Ruthless (2006)

Starting with an inflammatory line — ''I wanted to call this book Nigga 4 Life'' — Jerry Heller's memoir, Ruthless, is a pulpy ride through three decades of the music industry. Heller thrived as a hard-partying booking agent to folks like Elton John in the '60s and '70s, but came to national prominence as cofounder of independent L.A. gangsta-rap label Ruthless Records, home to Eazy-E and N.W.A. Spending a fair amount of time settling scores with old foes like Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Suge Knight and battling his reputation as the ''Great Satan of rap,'' Heller is highly biased and often hyperbolic, but consistently entertaining.