Dr Dre is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter, actor, and entrepreneur.
He is one of the wealthiest and most popular rappers and producer in the U.S.A., the founder and C.E.O. of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and was previously co-owner of Death Row Records.
Dr Dre’s profile
- Real Name: Andre Romelle Young
- Date of Birth: February 18, 1965 (age 55)
- Place of Birth: Compton, California, U.S.
- Nationality: United States of America
- Occupation: Rapper, songwriter, record producer, audio engineer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur
- Active Years: 1985–present
- Spouse(s): Nicole Young (got married in 1996; separated in 2020)
- Children: six
- Music Genres: Hip hop, gangsta rap, G-funk
- Instruments: Vocals, piano and keyboards, synthesizer
Dr Dre’s net worth
In 2001, Dre earned a total of about US$52 million from the sales of some of his shares at Aftermath Entertainment and from his production of hit songs. He was then named second-highest pain artiste of the year by Rolling Stone magazine.
In 2004, Dr Dre was ranked 44th after earning about $11.4 million. In 2010, his net worth was estimated at US$270 million by Forbes. He was named the best earner of 2012 after the same publication later reported that he acquired US$110 million via his various endeavours, making him the highest-paid artist of that year.
Dr Dre was named the richest musical performer in 2015 by Forbes due to the income he got from the sales of Beats to Apple. A deal that Forbes termed “the biggest single-year payday of any musician in history.”
In 2020, Dr Dre’s net worth is estimated at $820 million, which makes him the 3rd richest rapper in the world.
Biography
Andre Romelle Young, popularly known as Dr Dre, was born to parents Theodore and Verna Young on the 18th of February 1965 in Compton, California. For Majority of his childhood, Dre was raised by his grandmother.
Dr Dre first attended Vanguard Junior High School in Compton but decided to move to Roosevelt Junior High School, due to the constant gang violence at the former.
Dre was a student at Centennial High School in Compton, but after a series of poor grades at school, he had to be transferred to Fremont High School in South Central Los Angeles.
Dr Dre started rapping since his days at high school, and after a failed attempt to enrol at Northrop Aviation for an apprenticeship programme, he focused on entertainment for the rest of his high school years.
His career took off as a member of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru in 1985 but later joined a gangsta rap group called N.W.A, where he became famous
Family and Relationship
On December 15, 1981, Dr Dre had his first child, Curtis. Dr Dre was 16 years old, and Curtis’ mother, Dre’s then-girlfriend Cassandra Joy Greene was just 15 years old. However, Dre first met his son, Curtis, 20 years after his birth.
In 1983 Dre had a daughter named La Tanya Danielle Young. In 1988, he had a child with Jenita Porter; they named him Andre Young Jr. But they lost him on the 23rd of August 2008 due to an overdose of heroin and morphine.
Dre also had a son with singer Michel’ le whom he dated from 1988 to 1996; their son was named Marcel. After breaking up with Michel’ le in 1996, Dre got married to Nicole, the ex-wife of N.B.A. player Sedale Threatt, they had two children together; Truice and Truly.
Their son, Truice was born in 1997, while their daughter Truly was born in 2001. However, Nicole filed for divorce in June 2020 citing irreconcilable differences.
Music Career
Dre started out working as a Dj at Eve After Dark, a local club in Los Angeles, California. It was here at club Eve After Dark that Dr Dre met some members of the then, soon to be N.W.A group.
The group which included fellow rappers, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren, and D.J. Yella, was officially formed in 1986 and started making small demos using a small recording studio located just behind the club.
Their debut album, “Straight Outta Compton” was a huge success. After various disputes, however, Dr Dre left the group and went solo. His first studio album, “The Chronic” was released in 1992, under Death Row Records, a label founded by Suge Knight.
The album did really well that it made him one of the best-selling American artists of the year 1993, and one of the singles from the album, “Let Me Ride” also got him the nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, which he won that year.
He also won other accolades for the single “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang”. Ever since then, he has worked with the likes of Snoop Dogg, Warren G, Daz Dillinger, Eminem, and some of the best rappers in the history, producing some of their songs, collaborating with them for singles. He has also mentored so many great rappers to success.
Dr Dre left Death Row Records in 1996, to go establish his own label; Aftermath Entertainment, he started by producing a compilation album titled “Dr Dre presents the aftermath”, and he has continued to thrive in the industry since then.
He released a solo album in 1999, after which he focused more on producing for other artists, and contributing vocals occasionally.
He signed both Eminem and 50 Cent in 1998 and 2002 respectively; he also produced their albums as well as many other albums for many rappers, including 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, The D.O.C, Xzibit, Kendrick Lamar, The Game, Anderson Paak, and many more.
Dre has mentored and worked with most of the best artists in the history of rap and hip-hop, and he’s gone to become one of the wealthiest rappers in the world.
Acting Career
Dre has also had acting roles in films such as Set It Off, Training Day and The Wash. His first screen appearance came in the 1996 bank robbery movie “Set It Off” where he came through as a weapons dealer. His second came in the 2001 movie, “The wash and Training Day”, the movie also featured his song, “Bad intentions” as the soundtrack.
It was announced in February 2007 that Dr Dre and longtime video director, Philip Atwell will be producing dark comedy movies and horror films for New Line Cinema-owned company Crucial Films.
And so Dr Dre teamed up with a fellow team member, Ice Cube to produce the 2015 movie, “Straight Outta Compton”, the movie was a biographical film about N.W.A.
Entrepreneurship
Aside from being a rapper, a producer, a director, and an actor, Dr Dre is also an entrepreneur. His first brand of headphones, called Beats by Dr Dre was released in July 2008.
In 2009, Hewlett-Packard participated in a deal to bundle Beats By Dr Dre with some headsets and H.P. laptops. H.P. and Dr Dre announced the deal at a press event in Santa Monica, California on the 9th of October 2009, and this birthed the making and release of an exclusive laptop, known as the HP ENVY 15 Beats limited edition, sales began on the 22nd of October.
In May 2014, Dr Dre surpassed Diddy to become the richest hip hop personality in the world after Apple purchased the Beats brand for $3 billion, it was Apple’s most expensive purchase ever.
Philanthropy
On May 2013, Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine donated a $70 million to the Southern California University; the money was meant to create the U.S.C.
Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. The academy was created, and classes began in September 2014.
In June 2017, He also donated $10 million to the new Compton High School for construction of a performing arts centre.
Awards and Recognitions
Dr Dre has had an amazing career that has seen him win six Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year; Non-Classical. He was ranked him number 56 on the list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by Rolling Stone.
He was the second-richest hip hop figure in 2018. Here are some of his awards:
- Grammy Awards – Best Rap Solo Performance (Let Me Ride; 1994)
- MTV Music Video Awards – Best Rap Video (Keep Their Heads Ringin; 1995)
- MTV Music Video Awards – Best Rap Video (Forgot About Dre; 2000)
- Grammy Awards – Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2000
- Grammy Awards – Best Rap Performance By A Duo or Group (Forgot About Dre; 2001)
- Grammy Awards – Best Rap Album (“Crack a bottle with” with Einem & 50 Cent)
- B.E.T. Hip Hop Awards – Hustler of the Year (2014)
