Happy Birthday Dr. Dre

“I always loved the way music made me feel. I did sports at school and all, but when I got home, it was just music. Everybody in my neighborhood loved music. I could jump the back fence and be in the park where there were ghetto blasters everywhere” - Dr. Dre

(Dr. Dre)

Dr. Dre was born as Andre Romelle Young on February 18th, 1965 in Compton, California, USA. He became a DJ in a club called Eve After Dark, initially under the name "Dr. J", based on the nickname of Julius Erving, his favorite basketball player. At the club he met rapper Antoine Carraby, who later became member DJ Yella of N.W.A. Later Young took on the name of Dr. Dre. Dre and Yella recorded several demos in the club which they both worked at. They later joined the group World Class Wreckin’ Cru in 1984.

(Dr. Dre as part of World Class Wreckin’ Cru)

The group became successful among the electro hip hop scene that was very popular on the west coast. The record “Surgery” would become the group's first hit, selling 50,000 copies within the Compton area. Dr. Dre and DJ Yella performed for the local radio station KDAY. In 1986 Dre met rapper Ice Cube who collaborated with him to record songs for Ruthless Records. Dr. Dre, DJ Yella, Ice Cube, MC Ren and Eazy-E came together to make the group N.W.A.

(N.W.A. (From left to right) Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, DJ Yella and MC Ren)

In 1987 they released their 1st album called “N.W.A. and the Posse”. In 1988 they released their 2nd album “Straight Outta Compton” which was very successful. The song “F**k tha Police” was the most controversial song on that album, so controversial that the FBI sent the group a letter telling them to stop making music. In 1989 Ice Cube left the group over financial disputes with their manager Jerry Heller. N.W.A. started a rap feud with Ice Cube by referencing him on their 3rd album “Efil4zaggin”. Dr. Dre produced albums for Eazy-E, Above the Law, Michel’le, The D.O.C., J.J. Fad, and Jimmy Z between the years of 1988 to 1991. In 1991 Dr. Dre left N.W.A. after disputes with Eazy-E and Jerry Heller. Dr. Dre and Suge Knight founded the record label “Death Row Records” in 1991.

(Dr. Dre as part of Death Row Records)

In 1992 Dr. Dre recorded his first single “Deep Cover” for the movie Deep Cover with new upcoming rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg. Also in 1992 Dr. Dre released his 1st solo album “The Chronic” which is considered the best rap album of all time. In 1993 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album triple platinum, and Dr. Dre also won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for his song "Let Me Ride". In 1993 Billboard magazine ranked Dr. Dre as the eighth best-selling musical artist, The Chronic as the sixth best-selling album, and "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" as the 11th best-selling single. Dr. Dre produced Snoop Doggy Dogg’s 1st album “Doggystyle” in 1993.

(Snoop Doggy Dogg (left) and Dr. Dre (right))

In 1994 Dre produced songs on the soundtracks of the movies Above the Rim and Murder Was the Case. In 1995 he rejoined with former member of N.W.A., Ice Cube, to record the song “Natural Born Killaz”. Dr. Dre recorded a song for Ice Cube’s movie Friday in 1995. Dr. Dre collaborated with 2 Pac and Roger to record the song “California Love” in 1995. In 1996 Dr. Dre left Death Row Records to form the record label “Aftermath Entertainment”. Also in 1996 Dr. Dre appeared on Blackstreet’s song “No Diggity”. In 1996 Dr. Dre appeared in the movie Set It Off. Dr. Dre produced songs for Nas, LL Cool J, and Jay Z in the late ‘90’s. In 1998 Dr. Dre signed rapper Eminem to Aftermath Entertainment and produced Eminem’s 1999 album “The Slim Shady LP”.

(Dr. Dre (left) and Eminem (right))

Dr. Dre’s 2nd solo album “The Chronic: 2001” was released in 1999. The album was highly successful, charting at number two on the Billboard 200 charts and has since been certified six times platinum. Dr. Dre won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2000. The Fatback Band sued Dr. Dre over alleged infringement regarding their song "Backstrokin'" in his song "Let's Get High" from the “The Chronic: 2001” album. Dr. Dre appeared in 2 movies in 2001, The Wash and Training Day. Dr. Dre was ordered to pay $1.5 million to the band in 2003. In 2003 Dr. Dre produced 50 Cent’s album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’”. In April 2005, Dr. Dre was ranked 54th out of 100 artists for Rolling Stone magazine's list "The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time". In 2008 Dr. Dre released a brand of headphones called “Beats by Dre”.

(Dr. Dre with his “Beats by Dre” headphones)

Two genuine singles "Kush", a collaboration with Snoop Dogg and fellow rapper Akon, and "I Need a Doctor" with Eminem and singer Skylar Grey were released in the United States during November 2010 and February 2011. Both songs are from his unreleased album “Detox”. On November 14, 2011, Dre announced that he would be taking a break from music after he finished producing for artists Slim the Mobster and Kendrick Lamar.

(Kendrick Lamar (left) and Dr. Dre(right))

In 2014 Dr.Dre sold “Beats by Dre” to Apple Inc. for $3 billion, making him the 1st rap billionaire in history. In 2015 Dr. Dre released his album “Compton” for his biopic movie Straight Outta Compton. Dr. Dre produced the movie Straight Outta Compton about his group N.W.A.

(N.W.A. (top row) with the cast of Straight Outta Compton (bottom row))

Today he turns 51 years old and we would all like to say happy birthday Dr. Dre.

Albums by Dr. Dre

• “The Chronic” (1992)
• “The Chronic: 2001” (1999)
• “Compton” (2015)

Movies featuring Dr. Dre

• Set It Off (1996) as Black Sam
• Whiteboyz (1999) as Don Flip Crew #1
• Training Day (2001) as Paul
• The Wash (2001) as Sean

Videos featuring Dr. Dre

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdTWOf2Kjvo  “Dr. Dre - Nuthin' But A G Thang (Explicit/Dirty) Ft. Snoop Dogg”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wBTdfAkqGU  “2pac feat Dr.Dre - California Love HD”
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VA770wpLX-Q  “Dr. Dre - I Need A Doctor (Explicit) ft. Eminem, Skylar Grey”