Dr. Dre

Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, record executive, actor, and audio engineer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and was previously co-owner of Death Row Records. Dr. Dre began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru in 1985, but found fame with the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A, which popularized explicit lyrics in rap to detail the violence of street life. He is credited as a key figure in the crafting and popularization of West Coast G-funk, a subgenre of hip hop characterized by a synthesizer foundation and slow, heavy beats. As of 2018, he is the second-richest figure in hip hop, with an estimated net worth of US$800 million.

Dr. Dre's solo debut studio album The Chronic (1992), released under Death Row Records, made him one of the best-selling American music artists of 1993. It earned him a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for the single "Let Me Ride", as well as several accolades for the single "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang". That year, he produced Death Row labelmate Snoop Doggy Dogg's quadruple platinum debut Doggystyle, and mentored producers such as his step-brother Warren G (leading to the multi-platinum debut Regulate...G Funk Era in 1994) and Snoop Dogg's cousin Daz Dillinger (leading to the double-platinum debut Dogg Food by Tha Dogg Pound in 1995). In 1996, Dr. Dre left Death Row Records to establish his own label, Aftermath Entertainment. He produced a compilation album, Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath, in 1996, and released a solo album, 2001, in 1999. During the 2000s, Dr. Dre focused on producing other artists, occasionally contributing vocals. Dr. Dre signed Eminem in 1998 and 50 Cent in 2002, and co-produced their albums.

Dr. Dre has won six Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year; Non-Classical. Rolling Stone ranked Dre number 56 on the list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He has produced albums for and overseen the careers of many rappers, including 2Pac, Eminem, The D.O.C., Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Knoc-turn'al, 50 Cent, The Game, Kendrick Lamar and Anderson .Paak. He has also had acting roles in movies such as Set It Off, The Wash and Training Day.

Early life
Dr. Dre was born Andre Romelle Young in Compton, California on February 18, 1965, the first child of Theodore and Verna Young. His middle name, Romelle, is derived from his father's amateur rhythm and blues singing group, The Romells. His parents married in 1964, separated in 1968, and divorced in 1972. His mother later remarried to Curtis Crayon and had three children: sons Jerome and Tyree (both deceased) and daughter Shameka. In 1976, Dr. Dre began attending Vanguard Junior High School in Compton, but due to gang violence, he transferred to the safer suburban Roosevelt Junior High School. The family moved often, and they lived in apartments and houses in Compton, Carson, Long Beach and in the Watts and South Central neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Dr. Dre has said that he was mostly raised by his grandmother in New Wilmington Arms housing project in Compton. His mother later married Warren Griffin, which added three stepsisters and one stepbrother to the family; the stepbrother would eventually become rapper Warren G.

Convictions
Dr. Dre pleaded guilty in October 1992 in a case of battery of a police officer and was convicted on two additional battery counts stemming from a brawl in the lobby of the New Orleans hotel in May 1991.

On January 10, 1994, Dr. Dre was arrested after leading police on a 90 mph pursuit through Beverly Hills in his 1987 Ferrari. It was revealed Dr. Dre had a blood-alcohol of 0.16, twice the state's legal limit. The conviction violated Dre's battery conviction in 1991 and he was sentenced to eight months in prison in September 1994.

Income
In 2001, Dr. Dre earned a total of about US$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. Rolling Stone magazine thus named him the second highest-paid artist of the year. 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 endeavors in 2012, making him the highest–paid artist of the year.

Income from the 2014 sale of Beats to Apple, contributing to what Forbes termed "the biggest single-year payday of any musician in history", made Dr. Dre the world's richest musical performer of 2015.