Dr. Dre

Dr. Dre is a Grammy Award-winning rapper, producer, and mogul who is often regarded as the greatest hip-hop producer ever. He elevated the profile of West Coast rap through pioneering gangsta rap sounds in the 1980s with N.W.A and popularized the G-Funk sound in the 1990s with his label Death Row Records before evolving his sound again with the establishment of Aftermath Entertainment. Dre played a crucial role in the rise of hip-hop stars like Ice Cube, Eazy-E, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar, while producing hits for numerous other artists. As a mogul with his Beats empire and Apple partnership, he became one of the wealthiest musicians in the industry.

Born Andre Romelle Young in Compton, California, on February 18, 1965, Dr. Dre began as a club and radio DJ. In 1984, he joined the group World Class Wreckin Cru, which included producer DJ Yella. Dr. Dre's cousin Sir Jinx introduced him to rapper Ice Cube, and they later teamed with Compton hustler Eazy-E, rapper MC Ren, and producer Arabian Prince to form the gangsta rap group N.W.A. Their influential debut album *Straight Outta Compton* was released in 1988, putting the West Coast on the hip-hop map.

Financial disputes led to N.W.A's end, prompting Dre to establish Death Row Records with The D.O.C. and Suge Knight. His classic solo debut album *The Chronic* dropped in 1992, further cementing the West Coast's dominance in hip-hop. Owing to disputes with Suge Knight, Dre left Death Row in 1996 to create Aftermath Entertainment. His second album, *2001*, came out in 1999, and he later produced multi-platinum albums for artists like Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar. In 2002, Dre won a Grammy for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.

Dre appeared in films such as *Set It Off*, *Training Day*, and co-starred with Snoop Dogg in *The Wash*. He launched his Beats by Dr. Dre headphones brand in 2008, and in 2014, Apple acquired the Beats brand for $3 billion. In 2015, Dre began a show on the Apple Music Beats 1 station called *The Pharmacy*, the same year his third album, *Compton*, was released along with the N.W.A biopic *Straight Outta Compton*, which grossed over $200 million. Dr. Dre was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with N.W.A in 2016.

On February 13, 2022, Dr. Dre headlined the NFL Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, joined by Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, and Eminem, along with fellow Southern California artists Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar. This performance earned them an Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special. In 2023, he received the first Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the Grammy Awards and was the inaugural recipient of ASCAP’s Hip-Hop Icon Award. On March 19, 2024, Dr. Dre got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.