Inglewood’s Finest, Mack 10, may have been silent on the rap scene in recent years, but the West Coast hip hop icon is a staple in the culture. The Westside Connection emcee made waves with his classic single “Foe Life” and the hip hop supergroup’s fan favorite, “Bow Down.” Mack 10 sat down with Vlad TV and talked about his rise to stardom, including how he linked up with friends Eazy-E and .

“I met Eazy before I met Cube,” Mack said. “It was just about music. I was a pretty good writer. In the hood, my music was growing. I was in a group called First Amendment. My music was growing. My popularity was growing. The homegirl knew [Eazy-E], she introduced us over the phone one day. I think he pulled up or something one day. . It was just about music. It wasn’t about I’m from Inglewood, I’m from Compton. It was just about music.”

Mack 10 added that Eazy-E didn’t attempt to sign him to his label, Ruthless Records, but he did end up writing for the rapper. “It was a normal experience. He was a cool dude,” Mack added. “I [wrote] a couple of records. I don’t even know if they came out or whatever. When I first went around Eazy, it was just about writing records. It wasn’t about nothing else.”

The Inglewood icon said he never saw Eazy-E in the booth laying down tracks, but did joke that he was paid “a little bit of nothing.” Mack 10 said Eazy would “go in his sock” and pull out money to pay him for a song. “Everybody who knows him knows he’d go right in the sock!” he said with a laugh. Check out the clip below along with Westside Connection’s “Bow Down.”