Dr Dre
Rapper, producer, and
founder of Aftermath Records, there are few artists in the game bigger than Dr
Dre. As a solo artist, he has released some of the most influential hip hop
albums of all time, and as a producer he has been responsible for the discovery
and development of many of the biggest names in rap today, including Snoop
Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent. Although Dre has focused more on production for other
artists during the last decade, he remains one of the most recognisable names
in hip hop.
Dre began his life in the projects of Compton, California. Born Andre Romelle Young, he struggled whilst at school, but unlike many of his contemporaries did not turn to a life of crime. Inspired by one of the fathers of hip hop, Grandmaster Flash, he became a DJ at The Eve After Dark club, and eventually joined electro-hop group World Class Wreckin’ Cru in 1984. After meeting Ice Cube in 1986, Dre and DJ Yella left the group to form N.W.A., who became seminal artists of the gangsta rap genre.
After producing numerous high-selling albums for N.W.A.’s label, Ruthless Records, Dre was regarded as one of the hottest producers in the business. However, feeling that he was not getting the respect or reward his work deserved, Dre left the label and the group in 1991. Along with his bodyguard, Suge Knight, Dre set up his own label, Death Row Records, and shortly afterwards discovered Snoop Dogg, whom he signed to the label. In 1992, Dre released his debut album, ‘The Chronic’, heralding the birth of a new style of rap music, Gangsta-Funk. The style was characterised by use of funk samples played at a slow tempo, with explicit gangsta rap lyrics laid over the top.
Now one of the biggest players in the hip hop scene, Dre produced Snoop Dogg’s first album, ‘Doggystyle’, which was also a massive success. However, all was not well behind the scenes. Just as Suge Knight was signing Tupac Shakur, he was also engaged in a contractual dispute with Dre. Unable to resolve the matter, Dre left Death Row to set up his own label, Aftermath Entertainment, in 1995.
The first years at Aftermath were difficult. Dre backed a hip hop ‘supergroup’ group called The Firm, who despite initial hype, met with poor sales and negative critical response on release of their debut, ‘The Album’. However, things rapidly turned around for Dre in 1999, after signing and producing for an unknown white rapper called Enimem, whose debut album ‘The Slim Shady LP’ proved a massive success. Dre cemented his return to form with a second solo album, ‘2001’, which made it to number two on the Billboard 200 Album Chart.
Since then, Dre has largely produced for other artists, such as Eminem, Mary J Blige and 50 Cent. However, with his third album, ‘Detox’ due sometime in 2010, it looks like the world could be ready to go Dre-crazy all over again.
