Occupation: Musician, Rapper, Record producer Date of Birth: February 18, 1966 Place of Birth: Los Angeles, Calif., USA Sign: Sun in Aquarius, Moon in Aquarius Relations: Stepbrother: Warren G. (rap artist); wife: Nichole Threatt; kid: Marcel (by singer Michel'le)
Dr. Dre People in the suburbs, they can't go to the ghetto, so they like to hear about what's goin' on. . . Everybody wants to be down.
Dr. Dre, on why people listen to "gangsta" rap
CONSIDERED by some as "revolutionary rap visionaries," Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, and others from L.A.'s Compton neighborhood were founding members of N.W.A. (Niggaz With Attitude). "F*** Tha Police," off their first album (Straight Outta Compton, released in 1988), upset so many people that the group was investigated by the F.B.I. It also made N.W.A. rich and famous. After the crew disbanded, Dre's first solo effort, The Chronic, became the sixth-biggest seller of 1993. The album earned him two Grammys including one for best rap solo performance, for the single "Let Me Ride." Dre's hot label, Death Row Records, launched the careers of Warren G. and Snoop Doggy Dogg; it grossed $75 million in 1994.
In the early '90s, Dre was sued by a woman who accused him of assaulting her in a nightclub (it was settled out of court) and by a colleague, the late Eazy-E (his label, Ruthless Records, sued Dr. Dre's Death Row Records for alleged racketeering; the suit was dismissed in 1993). The godfather of gangsta rap was convicted of assaulting a record producer, and arrested for punching a cop. On probation, he wore an electronic monitor and had to be at his million dollar home by nine p.m. The rapper's rap sheet got longer in 1994. After being pulled over for doing 90 in his Ferrari, Dre failed the alcohol test. He was sentenced to five months in the slammer for violating probation. It could be worse: Death Row partner Suge Knight ("the Spielberg of hip-hop") was convicted of weapons violations and assault.