(Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how 5 youn...)
Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how 5 young men, using brutally honest rhymes, put their anger about life into the most powerful weapon they had: their music.
André Romelle Young, known as Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper and entrepreneur. He founded Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics. He has worked with and produced albums for such musicians as Eminem, Xzibit, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent and The Game.
Background
Born Andre Romelle Young on February 18, 1965, in Compton, California, United States, 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. His mother, Verna Young, later married Warren Griffin, which added three stepsisters and one stepbrother to the family. One of his stepbrothers, Warren Griffin III, would eventually become rapper Warren G.
Education
In 1976, Young went to Vanguard Junior High School in Compton, but then he transferred to the suburban Roosevelt Junior High School.
In 1979, 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.
During his college days, Dre desired to enrol for an apprenticeship program in Northrop Aviation Company but his consistently poor grades made him ineligible. As such, he turned his attention to music. He 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 his career hanging out at L.A. nightclub Eve After Dark, where he eventually got his chance to work with turntables. It was during this time that he took up the moniker Dr. Dre, the Master of Mixology, and joined the World Class Wreckin' Cru, which performed in nightclubs. His moniker was inspired in part by basketball star Julius "Dr. J." Erving.
World Class Weckin’ Cru soon dominated the electro-hop scene in the West Coast with their first single, ‘Surgery’ selling more than 50,000 copies within Compton alone. Dre then 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. 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 debutant studio album Straight Outta Compton (1988) sold more than two million copies and marked the arrival of a new genre - gangsta rap. In 1991, the group released its second album, ‘Efil4zaggin’ before disbanding.
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. 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. 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.
Dr. Dre then established 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.
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. His fans, however, have been waiting years for his next release Detox. Some tracks from the forthcoming album have been leaked, but it has yet to make its official debut. Dre has claimed that this will be his final album.
Following the success of ‘2001’, he started producing songs and albums by other artists, including Eminem, The D.O.C and so on. In 2001, he hired R&B singer, Truth Hurts to Aftermath.
In 2003, he produced the debut smash hit by 50 Cent, ‘Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Along with Eminem’s boutique label Shady and Interscope, he co-produced four tracks from the album, including the hit single, ‘In Da Club’. He followed this up by producing several tracks for rap albums by various singers including Young Buck, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Jay Z.
Dr. Dre also produced "How We Do", 2005 hit single from rapper The Game from his album The Documentary, as well as tracks on 50 Cent's successful second album The Massacre.
In November 2006, Dr. Dre began working with Raekwon on his album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II. He also produced tracks for the rap albums Buck the World by Young Buck, Curtis by 50 Cent, Tha Blue Carpet Treatment by Snoop Dogg, and Kingdom Come by Jay-Z. Dre also appeared on Timbaland's track "Bounce", from his 2007 solo album, Timbaland Presents Shock Value alongside, Missy Elliott, and Justin Timberlake.
In 2007, Dr. Dre's third studio album, formerly known as Detox, was slated to be his final studio album. Work for the upcoming album dates back to 2001, where its first version was called "the most advanced rap album ever", by producer Scott Storch. Later that same year, he decided to stop working on the album to focus on producing for other artists, but then changed his mind; the album had initially been set for a fall 2005 release. Snoop Dogg claimed that Detox was finished, according to a June 2008 report by Rolling Stone magazine. After another delay based on producing other artists' work, Detox was then scheduled for a 2010 release, however, it was never released.
Dre’s multi-dimensional career saw yet another peak in 2008 when he launched his own brand of headphones, ‘Beats by Dr. Dre’. The line-up consisted of various categories of in-ear headphones, supra-aural headphones and circumaural headphones. In 2014, the headphone brand was finally taken over by telecom giant Apple Inc for a reported $3 billion.
On his Beats 1 radio show "The Pharmacy" on August 1, 2015, Dre announced that he would release what would be his final album, titled Compton. It is inspired by the N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton and is a compilation-style album, featuring a number of frequent collaborators, including Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Xzibit and The Game, among others. It was released exclusively for iTunes and Apple Music on August 7. A physical version was published on August 21.
The same year, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Dre revealed that he had about 20 to 40 tracks for Detox but he didn't release it because it didn't meet his standards and he thought he was done being an artist.
On February 12, 2016, it was revealed that Apple would create its first original scripted television series and it would star Dr. Dre. Called Vital Signs, it is set to reflect the life of Dr. Dre. Dr. Dre will additionally be an executive producer on the show. In October 2016, Puff Daddy brought out Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and others on his Bad Boy Reunion tour.
Music apart, Dre has been featured in a number of movies, his debut appearance being for ‘Set It Off’ in 1996. He followed this up with ‘The Wash’ and ‘Training Day’. He also made guest appearances in music videos. In February 2007 it was announced that Dr. Dre would produce dark comedies and horror films for New Line Cinema-owned company Crucial Films, along with longtime video director Phillip Atwell. Dr. Dre announced, "This is a natural switch for me, since I've directed a lot of music videos, and I eventually want to get into directing." Along with fellow member Ice Cube, Dr. Dre also produced Straight Outta Compton (2015), a biographical film about N.W.A.
Dre’s flamboyant career has had many noteworthy milestones, right from his involvement with the influential gangsta rap group, N.W.A to serving as the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics. As a solo artist, he has released three studio albums, each of which have earned him Grammy.
Dre’s role as a producer is invaluable. He has been instrumental in launching the career of numerous hip-hop and rap artists including, Eminem, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Xzibit, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar. He has popularized the genre of West Coast G-Funk to the world and given the music fraternity a new style of rap.
In 2001, Doctor Dre earned a total of about the United States $52 million from selling part of his share of Aftermath Entertainment to Interscope Records and his production of such hit songs that year as "Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige. The Rolling Stone magazine named him the second-highest-paid artist of the year. He has also been ranked #56 on Rolling Stone’ ‘100 Greatest Artists of All Time’.
Dr. Dre was ranked 44th in 2004 from earnings of $11.4 million, primarily from production royalties from such projects as albums from G-Unit and D12 and the single "Rich Girl" by singer Gwen Stefani and rapper Eve.
Forbes estimated his net worth at US$270 million in 2012. The same publication later reported that he acquired US$110 million via his various endeavours in 2012, making him the highest–paid artist of the year.
In 2014, Dr. Dre was ranked as the second richest figure in the American hip hop scene by Forbes with $550 million, and in 2015, he became the world's richest musical performer.
As of 2018, he is the third richest figure in hip hop, with a net worth of $770 million.
Dre believes in reincarnation. Initially sceptical, an experience with a psychic at a party left him shocked by the way she was able to tell him about things that he actually believes in – including that he has lived several lifetimes before. She told him that this is the last lifetime for which he must return.
Dr. Dre is a philanthropist. His philanthropic contributions include a joint donation of $70 million along with Jimmy Iovine to the University of Southern California for the establishment of the Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation.
Quotations:
"I just want to get my music out and make sure that it's heard in the right way."
"My greatest talent is knowing exactly what I want to hear."
"No matter how hard you work to bring yourself up, there’s someone out there working just as hard, to put you down."
"I don't even listen to the records after they come out. It's outlawed in my house. My wife and my kids can't play any of my music around me. Once it comes out, for me, it's just business. Numbers."
"People are always coming up to me, thinking I've got some magic wand that can make them a star and I want to tell them that no one can do that. Making hit records is not that easy. But it took me time to realize that myself."
"You just have to find that thing that's special about you that distinguishes you from all the others, and through true talent, hard work, and passion, anything can happen."
"If you’re not sincere with it, you shouldn’t say anything at all."
Membership
World Class Wreckin' Cru
,
United States
1984 - 1985
N.W.A and Ruthless Records
,
United States
1986 - 1991
The Chronic and Death Row Records
,
United States
1992 - 1996
Aftermath Entertainment
,
United States
1996 - 1998
Personality
Dr. Dre is a very quick-tempered person. He has been convicted in multiple cases of violence against women and a police officer and two additional battery counts stemming from a brawl in the lobby of the New Orleans hotel. Once he said, "I apologize to the women I've hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives."
Dr. Dre has also stated that he is a perfectionist and is known to pressure the artists with whom he records to give flawless performances. In 2006, Snoop Dogg told the website Dubcnn.com that Dr. Dre had made new artist Bishop Lamont re-record a single bar of vocals 107 times.
Physical Characteristics:
Dr. Dre revealed that he suffers from social anxiety and due to this he remains secluded and out of attention.
Quotes from others about the person
"The only thing that I'm scared of is not livin' up to the expectations of Dr. Dre and Eminem." - Curtis Jackson
"I've got an extra-specific story about Dr. Dre. I saw him when I was 9 years old in Compton - him and Tupac. They were shooting the second 'California Love' video. My pops had seen him and ran back to the house and got me, put me on his neck, and we stood there watching Dre and Pac in a Bentley." - Kendrick Lamar
"I can say is if anyone gets a chance to work with Dr. Dre, it's a moment you will always take with you throughout your career. And as of right now, the Compton album is the only thing to talk about." - Kendrick Lamar
"Dre was one of my heroes in the music industry. If he's not down for his homeboys, I don't wanna be a part of him or around him." - Tupac Shakur
"I'd love to duet with someone in the hip-hop world such as Dr. Dre." - Victoria Beckham
Interests
Music & Bands
Hip-Hop
Connections
Dr. Dre's eldest son is named Curtis Young. When Curtis Young was born, his mother Cassandra Joy Greene was 16, and Dr. Dre was 17. Curtis Young is a rapper who goes by the rap moniker "Hood Surgeon."
In 1983, Dr. Dre and Lisa Johnson had a daughter named La Tanya Danielle Young.
In 1988, Dr. Dre's second son, Andre Young Jr., was born. His mother was Jenita Porter.
From 1990 to 1996, Dr. Dre dated singer Michel'le. In 1991, the couple had a son, Marcel.
In 1996, he married Nicole Threatt, the ex-wife of NBA player Sedale Threatt. They have two children: a son named Truice (born 1997) and a daughter named Truly (born 2001).
Father:
Theodore Young
Mother:
Verna Griffin
First son:
Curtis Young
Curtis Young goes by the rap moniker "Hood Surgeon."
second son :
Andre Young Jr.
Andre Young Jr. died at the age of 20 from an overdose of heroin and morphine.
