Rapper-producer and entrepreneur Andre Romelle Young, better known by his stage name Dr. Dre, emerged to fame as a member of N.W.A, an influential gangsta rap group of late 80s. From the very childhood he showed interest in music as both of his parents were singers. He started his career as a DJ in his early teens, accomplished more than he desired and soon became one the most influential producers in hip-hop history. He co-founded Death Row Records in 1991 and in 1992 he released his first solo album ‘The Chronic’, which became an enormous success. Later, he worked with some of most successful rappers Eminem and 50 Cent and went on co-founding the company Beats Electronics, which, according to the reports of Financial Times, is soon going to be acquired by Apple for $3.2 billion.
Dr. Dre was born in Compton, California in 1965 to two passionate singers Verna and Theodore Young. After his parents’ separation, he went on moving from one place to another and changed several schools to avoid the gang violence and ended up finding his passion for music. He began performing in some local hip-hop clubs as a DJ and at the age of 19 in 1984, he formed the electro-hop World Class Wrecking Cru and named himself the ‘Master of Mixology’. He later got involved with Niggaz With Attitude with which he explored his potential and released his album ‘Straight Outta Compton’. The album sold more than two million copies and celebrated the new successful genre called gangsta rap mixed with own variation of sounds.
He has won six Grammy Awards including Producer of the Year, and Best Rap Solo Performance and received several Grammy nominations and won other prestigious music awards. Rolling Stone ranked him 56th on their list of “100 Greatest Artists of All-Time”. According to Forbes 2014, he is the second richest man in the American hip hop scene with a net worth of $550 million.
