By Jerry Heller with Gil Reavill. Simon Spotlight Entertainment, 2006, $34.50

Ruthless tells a riveting but one-sided tale

On his 1991 album, Death Certificate, Ice Cube waged war on Ruthless Records label founder Jerry Heller with one of the most vicious dis tracks of all time, "No Vaseline". Utilizing a graphic homophobic metaphor, Cube claimed that Heller was cheating members of N.W.A. out of money—that they were essentially "gettin' fucked out [their] green by a white boy, with no Vaseline". From that moment forward, Heller's name was synonymous with greedy record execs.

Now hip-hop's most vilified mogul has released his tell-all memoir, Ruthless, ostensibly to clear his name. It's hard to imagine that anyone cares a full 15 years later, and it makes you wonder why Heller has bothered to fire back now.

In the book, Heller claims that he kept quiet all those years because the allegations were so easy to dismiss. ("If I had stolen from them, why hadn't they ever sued me?") He was eventually hipped to an important "street code": any rumour that isn't denied is assumed to be true. Eaten up by the notion that everyone in the industry believed Cube, Heller finally stepped up to tell his side.

The result is a fascinating piece of work. Heller is a master storyteller, and he's had a front-row seat for more than four decades of music history. Before founding Ruthless Records with Eazy-E, signing N.W.A., and helping to birth gangsta rap, Heller worked with legends like Bruce Springsteen and Marvin Gaye. The autobiography weaves together Heller's life story and the Ruthless narrative, along with various entertaining anecdotes, including helping Van Morrison get over stage fright and kicking Charles Manson and his hippie groupies out of his house.

Heller's intense love of music is clear throughout the text, and there are some powerful moments in which he describes the top concerts of his lifetime. Equally potent are his recollections of his former business partner, rap star Eazy-E, who died of AIDS in 1995. If Heller is to be believed, he loved E like a son.

Of course, Heller doesn't exactly make for the most trustworthy narrator. For one thing, he continually paints himself as an altruistic figure rather than a savvy record exec.

Heller's angelic self-portrayal occasionally lapses, though. At one point, he notes the mercenary nature of the music business and states that he would sign Adolf Hitler if he could find a way to make him profitable. At another point, he mocks Dr. Dre, pointing out that after he left Ruthless Records, Heller and Eazy collected upward of 15 percent of everything Dre released, including the very dis tracks that were aimed at them. Contracts like this may have something to do with why the former members of N.W.A. were so pissed at Heller in the first place. Heller's main defence is that he didn't break the law. He can't comprehend that business can be exploitive without being illegal.

The most interesting element of the book comes in the form of a glaring omission. Heller claims that he and E had a strong relationship while the latter's mental faculties were still intact. Apparently Heller and E had a falling-out during the last few months of Eazy's life. The fact that Heller breezes by this rift without sharing any details tells the reader that there's much, much more to this story.

As such, Ruthless isn't a particularly convincing account of the rise and fall of Ruthless Records. It probably won't be the last word on the subject, either. But that doesn't make it any less of a riveting read.