Gangsta rap pioneer Dr. Dre was born on
February 18, 1965. A music fan from the start, Dre started working as a DJ in
his teens. His first major success came with the rap group N.W.A. and he later
co-founded Death Row Records in 1991. In 1992, his first solo album, The
Chronic, became a huge hit. Dre started up Aftermath Entertainment in 1996 and
signed Eminem and 50 Cent to his label. He eventually co-founded the company
Beats Electronics with Jimmy Iovine -- and made millions on its 2014 sale to
Apple.
Early Years
Born Andre Romelle Young, Dr. Dre came
from a musical background. Both of his parents were singers. His mother, Verna,
quit her group the Four Aces shortly before Dre was born. His middle name comes
from one of the bands his father Theodore belonged to, the Romells.
After his parents split up, Dre lived
with his mother, who remarried several times. They moved around frequently, and
at one point lived at the Wilmington Arms housing project in the Compton area.
At Centennial High School, Dre showed a talent for drafting, but he paid little
attention to his other course work. He transferred to Fremont High School and
then went to the Chester Adult School. But his interests didn't lie in schoolwork—he
wanted to make music. Dre received a music mixer for Christmas in 1984 and soon
turned his family's home into his studio. For hours on end, he would work his
magic, taking pieces of different songs and sounds to make his own sound.
Dre started hanging out at L.A.
nightclub Eve After Dark, where he eventually got his chance to work the
turntables. He joined the World Class Wreckin' Cru, which performed in
nightclubs, and developed the rap persona of Dr. Dre, the Master of Mixology.
His new moniker was inspired in part by basketball star Julius "Dr.
J." Erving.
A Leading Rap Pioneer
Dre teamed up with fellow rappers
Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Yella, MC Ren, the Arabian Prince and the D.O.C. to form
N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitude) in 1985. With his new group, he was able to
produce a more hard-hitting sound. N.W.A.'s lyrics were equally harsh and
explicit, reflecting life on the streets.
The group's second album, Straight Outta
Compton (1988), sold more than 2 million copies and marked the arrival of a new
genre—gangsta rap. One track, "F*** tha Police," ignited a firestorm
of controversy. The song, which explored tensions between black youth and the
police, was thought to incite violence. The FBI even sent a warning letter to
Ruthless Records and its parent company about the song.
Breaking out on his own and on a new
record label, Dre hit the top of the hip-hop charts with The Chronic on Death
Row Records in 1992. The biggest single from the album was "Nuthin but a
'G' Thang," which featured Snoop Dogg, then a little-known rapper. With
this latest release, Dre helped introduce G-funk, which incorporated musical
samples and melodies from funk with gangsta rap. Dre had always admired the
work of such acts as Parliament and Funkadelic.
Dre released his second solo album,
2001, in 1999. Selling millions of copies, the recording proved to be a hit on
both the hip-hop and pop charts. Over the next several years, Dre teased fans
with news of a pending third album, titled Detox. Although tracks from Detox
were leaked, the project was continually delayed and the album was never
released.
Producer and Record Executive
Behind the scenes, Dr. Dre has been
instrumental in launching the careers of numerous hip-hop and rap artists. He
acted as a track producer for many of the artists on Ruthless Records, a
venture he started up with Eazy-E. Dre also worked with singer Michel'le on her
debut album. With N.W.A., Dre helped produce much of the group's material.
With Marion "Suge" Knight, Dre
co-founded the rap music empire known as Death Row Records in 1991. There he
worked on the 1993 debut album of Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle, and Tupac Shakur's
1996 work All Eyez on Me. That same year Dre left Death Row Records, escaping
from the increasingly troublesome West Coast/East Coast rap feud. The conflict
would eventually lead to the deaths of rappers Shakur and Biggie Smalls.
Dre established his own label, Aftermath
Entertainment, in connection with Interscope Records. He signed numerous acts
to Aftermath, but his two greatest successes came with Eminem and 50 Cent.
At
first, Dre took flak for signing white rapper Eminem, but he soon proved the
critics wrong. He produced several of Eminem's hit albums, including The Slim
Shady LP (1999) and The Marshall Mathers LP (2000). With 50 Cent, Dre worked on
his debut smash Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2003), among other projects.
Trouble With the Law
Over the years, Dre hasn't just rapped
about violence or reckless behavior. He has lived some of his lyrics,
experiencing numerous scrapes with the law. In 1991, he reportedly hit TV host
Denise Barnes and tried to push her down a flight of stairs. The attack was
triggered by a segment she had done about Ice Cube's departure from N.W.A. Dre
faced assault charges and a civil suit for his actions, but both parties
decided to settle out of court.
The following year, Dre again faced
assault charges for an alleged attack on producer Damon Thomas. He was arrested
for battery of a police officer a few months later. Dre seemed to take his
dangerous behavior to the extreme in 1994 when he led police on a high-speed
chase while intoxicated. Having violated his probation for the earlier battery
offense, Dre was sentenced to several months in jail and ordered to pay a fine.
He served his time in 1995.
Hip-Hop Mogul
In 2008, Dre expanded his hip-hop brand
when he founded Beats Electronics with record producer Jimmy Iovine. He debuted
the company's audio line with Beats by Dr. Dre Studio headphones, which became
wildly popular, and were followed by more successful products endorsed by pop and
hip-hop artists. The online music streaming service Beats Music was also
launched in January 2014. The two partners have also funded The Jimmy Iovine
and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation.
In May 2014, Apple announced the
purchase of Beats for $3 billion. The deal increased Dre's net worth to
approximately $800 million, making him the richest rap star, according to
Forbes. As part of the acquisition, the largest in Apple's history, Dre and
Iovine joined Apple in executive roles.
In August 2015, Dr. Dre announced the
release of his long-awaited third album, Compton: A Soundtrack, on iTunes and
Apple Music. Timed to coincide with the premiere of Straight Outta Compton, a
biopic about the rise of N.W.A., Dre claimed the album was inspired by his time
spent on the movie set.
Personal Life
Dre first became a father in high
school. He didn't meet his first son, Curtis, until the boy was 20 years old.
Another high school relationship yielded a daughter named La Tonya. Dre also
had a relationship with singer Michel'le, who had worked with him in the World
Class Wreckin' Cru, and they had a son together named Marcel. In the late
1980s, he fathered another son, Andre R. Young Jr., with Jenita Porter. Andre
Jr. died in 2008 of a drug overdose.
In 1996, Dre married Nicole Threatt.
They have two children together, a son named Truth and a daughter named Truly.
Dre is not the only performer in his
family. His stepbrother, Warren G, had several hits in the 1990s. His son
Curtis is a rapper who performs under the name "Hood Surgeon."
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