Share

Dr. Dre biography

1 photo

Quick Facts

more about Dr. Dre

Best Known For

Rapper and producer Dr. Dre performed with N.W.A, co-founded Death Row Records and went multi-platinum with his solo album The Chronic.


Synopsis

Born 1965 in Los Angeles, André Romelle Young took the stage name Dr. Dre in the early 1980s, when he was performing as a hip-hop deejay at parties in LA's south-central district. With rapper Ice Cube, he founded the group N.W.A, which pioneered the gangsta rap movement. Dr. Dre also co-founded Death Row Records with Suge Knight, and his first solo album The Chronic was a major success.

Contents

Profile

(born Feb. 18, 1965, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.) American rapper and hip-hop producer who helped popularize the gangsta rap subgenre. He is known for layering slick beats and melodies beneath harsh, often profane lyrics depicting the lifestyle of street gangs.

Born to teenage parents who aspired to singing careers, André Young took the stage name of Dr. Dre in the early 1980s. He performed as a hip-hop deejay and as part of the group World Class Wreckin' Cru at clubs and parties in Los Angeles's south-central district. In 1986 he founded N.W.A. (Niggaz with Attitude) with fellow rappers Eazy-E and Ice Cube. The group's second album, Straight Outta Compton (1988), was a breakthrough for the nascent gangsta rap movement, featuring explicit descriptions (and often glorifications) of street violence and drug dealing. While Dre appeared prominently as a rapper in N.W.A., his most lauded role was as a producer, crafting ambitiously noisy, multilayered sonic collages to back the group's inflammatory lyrics.

Dre left N.W.A. in 1992 and cofounded Death Row Records with Marion (“Suge”) Knight. That year his solo debut, The Chronic, introduced the “G-funk” production style, characterized by plodding tempos, synthesizer washes, and copious musical “sampling” of 1970s funk records, especially those by Parliament-Funkadelic. The Chronic's multiplatinum success helped make this sound dominant in mainstream hip-hop in the mid-1990s. In 1996 Dre left Death Row to form Aftermath Records and solidified his shift from recording his own albums to producing other artists' work. Some of his most notable protégés include rappers Snoop Doggy Dogg and Eminem. Among the artists he collaborated with in the early years of the 21st century were Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, and 50 Cent.

Copyright © 1994-2011 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. For more information visit Britannica.com

ADVERTISEMENT

GetGlue

507628 507628
profile id: 507628
profile name: Dr. Dre
profile occupation:
related profile id: 507628
related profile name: Dr. Dre
related profile occupation:
related profile img: /imported/images/Biography/Images/Profiles/D/Dr.-Dre-507628-1-402.jpg
related profile URL: /people/dr-dre-507628
profile
pop
Your Connections

Sign in with Facebook to see how you and your friends are connected to famous icons.

specific profile connection
Your Friends' Connections
specific friend connection
Profile Connections
    Show More Connections
    Included In These Groups
    • Musical Monikers

      When musicians land big fame, there typically comes a moment of reinvention in which the 'Rock Star' identity is born. This new persona often requires a new name, a way to differentiate between the private and public versions of themselves. Musical monikers take different forms, from the simple, one-word name—like Madonna—to the glamorized version of a childhood nickname—like Jay-Z. As artists change and grow, these nicknames begin to represent a new self, as full of personality as the artist it represents.

      View group

      Musical Monikers 50 people in this group

    • Name Changers

      In entertainment, where the line between fiction and reality is often blurry, names are a crucial part of a celebrity's image. Stage names are often chosen to make an actor or musician's name easier to pronounce or remember, or simply to make it sounds more attractive. Here are famous celebrities who have changed their names.

      View group

      Name Changers 235 people in this group

    • Soul Train Guests 110 people in this group
      presented by Soul Train Guests

    See all related groups

    Celebrity Connections

    Show More Connections
    Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!