André Romell Young (born on February 18, 1965 in Los Angeles, California), who is better known by his stage name Dr. Dre is an influential Grammy-Award winning American record producer, hip hop producer, rapper, actor and record executive. He is also the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment. Dre's popularity as a hip-hop performer grew as a member of iconic gangsta rap group N.W.A, then continued his success as a best-selling rapper, and most notably, the co-founder of Death Row Records with Suge Knight and the founder of Aftermath Entertainment. He launched the careers of rap superstars Snoop Dogg, The Game, and Eminem, and is widely regarded as hip hop's greatest producer, noted for advancing the use of the synthesizers, keyboards, and heavy bass in his hip-hop beats. The artists on his sizeable Aftermath roster today include multi-platinum artists such as Eminem, and more recently Busta Rhymes, Eve, 50 Cent and himself. The Game has left aftermath because of his feud with 50 Cent. His albums The Chronic and 2001 were both critical and commercial successes, and the former is credited with revolutionizing rap by beginning West Coast G-funk's four-year dominance of mainstream rap (1992-96) and having a lasting influence. Contents [hide] 1 Biography 2 Musical Techniques 2.1 Early work 2.2 G-funk 2.3 2001 and beyond 3 Music samples 4 Discography 4.1 With N.W.A 4.2 Solo 4.3 Compilations 4.4 Production 4.5 Mixtapes 4.6 Singles 4.7 Featured Singles 5 External links [edit] Biography Young was born in Los Angeles in 1965, and grew up in the city's South Central district. His parents divorced before he was born. Young grew up idolizing then-basketball star Dr. J, and when he started DJing at parties and clubs (eventually landing an ongoing gig at the "Eve After Dark" club) he would DJ, sing and play keyboards under the name "Dr. J" in tribute to the star.[1] When he got older, his mother married Warren Griffin Jr., father of future West Coast rapper Warren Griffin III, artistically known as Warren G, who later introduced Young to Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr. artistically known as Snoop Dogg. Young started his career as a DJ and poster boy for the World Class Wreckin' Cru during the first half of the 1980s, taking the name Dr. Dre (from his first name, Andre). It is stated in the World Class Wreckin' Cru track "Surgery" that Dr. Dre has Ph.D. in "mixology". In 1986, after Dre had begun to dip more into actual production of beats, he and fellow World Class Wreckin' Cru member DJ Yella left the group to become two of the founding members of N.W.A. Dr. Dre enjoyed significant success with N.W.A. and The D.O.C., greatly increasing his popularity in the West Coast rap scene. Young's rapping style and image was still very much evolving at the time, which was drastically different from the "gangsta rap" style he later would be known for. His verse on the song "Express Yourself" off the album Straight Outta Compton is an example: Some drop science; while I'm droppin' English Even if Yella, makes it a-capella I still express, yo, I don't smoke weed or cess Cause it's known to give a brother brain damage And brain damage on the mic don't manage - NUTHIN but makin' a sucka and you equal Don't be another sequel... After a dispute with Eric Wright (artistically known as Eazy-E, a founding member of N.W.A and Ruthless Records), Young left the group at the peak of its popularity in 1991 to form Death Row Records with Marion Knight, Jr., (artistically known as Suge Knight), who was an N.W.A. bodyguard. Young released his first solo single, "Deep Cover," (also known as "187") in the spring of 1992. This was the beginning of his collaboration with Broadus, then artistically known as Snoop Doggy Dogg (who is now simply known as Snoop Dogg, following his departure from Death Row Records), a rapper who had recorded homemade tapes with Griffin, (Warren G). Young decided to meet with Broadus, after Griffin played his mixtapes for him which began a lifelong association. Broadus' voice appeared on Young's 1992 debut album The Chronic as much as Young's did. Because of the single "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang," and hits like "Let Me Ride" and "Fuck Wit Dre Day (And Everybody's Celebratin')" (Shortened to 'Dre Day' for Radio and Television Play), The Chronic became a multi-platinum seller, making it virtually impossible to hear mainstream hip-hop that wasn't affected in some way by Young. Shortly after its release, The Chronic became one of the best-selling hip hop albums in history. The song "Let Me Ride" gave Young the 1993 Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance. "The Chronic" was followed shortly by a string of multi-platinum albums from Young’s protégés, including Broadus’ debut album Doggystyle and Griffin's Regulate... G Funk Era. The following year, Young produced Broadus' debut album Doggystyle, with similar subject matter and musical style. Doggystyle achieved phenomenal success, being the first debut album for an artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard charts. In 1996, the song "California Love", a highly successful collaboration with Death Row artist Tupac Shakur, helped further establish both Death Row and Young as a major force in the music industry. By the end of the year, however, the fortunes of Death Row had taken a dramatic turn, following the death of Tupac Shakur and racketeering charges against Suge Knight. Foreseeing the label's collapse, Young left Death Row to form his own Aftermath Entertainment label. The Dr. Dre Presents...The Aftermath album, released at the end of the year, featured songs by the newly signed Aftermath artists, and a solo track "Been There, Done That". The track was intended as a symbolic good-bye to gangsta rap, in which Dre suggested that he is moving on to another level of music and lifestyle. While going platinum, the album was considered a critical disappointment by Dre's standards, failing to raise much talk of the label. In 1997, Young produced several tracks on Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album; although the album went platinum, it was met with similarly negative reviews from critics. The turning point for Aftermath came in 1998, when Dre signed underground Detroit rapper Marshall Mathers, artistically known as Eminem to his label, producing his controversial album The Slim Shady LP in 1999, followed by the even more successful and controversial The Marshall Mathers LP in 2000. Though he was heavily involved in the latter, producing five beats with collaborator Mel-Man, by the time The Eminem Show was released in 2002, Mathers was producing the bulk of his output himself. However, Encore featured substantially increased production involvement from his mentor. Young released his second solo album, Dr. Dre 2001 (sometimes referred to by fans as "The Chronic 2001"), or more often simply '2001' in 1999. Once again, the album featured about as much of Young's voice as the voices of numerous collaborators, including Devin the Dude, Hittman, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Nate Dogg and Eminem. The album was highly successful, thus reaffirming a recurring theme featured in its lyrics, stating that Dr. Dre is still a force to be reckoned with, despite the lack of major releases in the previous few years. In 2000, Dre won the Grammy award for Producer Of The Year, for his work on "The Marshall Mathers LP" and "2001". The albums followed a new musical direction, characterised by high-pitched piano and string melodies over a deep and rich bassline. The style was also prominent in his following production work for other artists, including hits such as "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" by Eve and Gwen Stefani (whom he would produce again on the Stefani and Eve track "Rich Girl"), "Break Ya Neck" by Busta Rhymes, and "Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige. Young has also appeared in the movies Set It Off, The Wash and Training Day, though he later stated that he does not intend to pursue a career in acting. A song of his, "Bad Intentions" (featuring Knoc-Turn'Al) and produced by Mahogany, was featured on the soundtrack to The Wash. Young also appeared on two other songs "On the Blvd." and "The Wash" along with his co-star Snoop Dogg (Broadus). In 2002, Young and Mathers produced the major-label debut Get Rich or Die Tryin' for Queens rapper 50 Cent, featuring the Dre-produced hit single "In Da Club." The release of Detox, which was to be the Dr.'s final solo album, was planned for 2004. The project was pushed back to the summer of 2007, as he decided to put all his effort into producing the artists on his Aftermath label, including Eminem, 50 Cent, Eve, The Game, Stat Quo, and Busta Rhymes. However, in November 2004, Young and Interscope confirmed that Detox was still in the works and is currently scheduled to be released in the summer of 2007. On Mather's song "Encore", which features Young, he (Mathers) says "aftermath... 2006...we gon' make Dre do it." Dr. Dre supposedly releases an album every 7 years, (The Chronic in 1992, 2001 in 1999, and Detox in 2006), which The Game refers to on his title track, "The Documentary". Currently, Young is also working on Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II. He and Busta Rhymes have completed Busta's Aftermath debut The Big Bang. He has also reunited with Snoop Dogg to produce several records on the latter's next album, The Blue Carpet Treatment, which is scheduled to be released in 2006. Other albums Dre is working on are Jay-Z's Kingdom Come, Nas' Hip-Hop Is Dead, Bishop Lament's The Reformation, Chauncey Black's Church Boy and a few other projects. Dre is believed to be flooding the industry with beats before he releases the long awaited Detox in 2007. Young (Dr. Dre) has two sons, Curtis (born on December 15, 1981), and Marcel (who is nine years younger). Curtis seems to be following in his father's footsteps, and is rapping under the name Hood Surgeon. Dr. Dre can be seen at the end of the video "I Love My Bitch [Chick]" by Busta Rhymes. [edit] Musical Techniques [edit] Early work Young's production technique has evolved considerably over the span of his career, and has often been influential to the sound of other producers, especially those from the West Coast. Early on, while working with the World Class Wrecking Cru, he was still strictly a DJ--though witnesses from the time cite that he had a good musical ear. After beginning to make actual beats with N.W.A. in the mid-1980s, often co-producing beats with DJ Yella, his style was still steeped with the characteristics of the time: a very regular meter, with heavy drums and thumping bass. His backings were largely funk-influenced and usually very uptempo, making it ideal to label as dance and party music. Later in his tenure with N.W.A., Young began a series of three albums produced almost entirely by himself. (Young has a habit of co-producing beats with another artist, usually leading to allegations that he had ghost producers). The D.O.C.'s 1989 debut No One Can Do It Better featured roughly the same production as N.W.A.'s albums had, but with more differences in tempo (both faster and slower tracks), and Young delved into reggae and rock music on some of the songs. [edit] G-funk Main article: G-funk The second of this trio, The Chronic, was considered the flagship of g-funk. Similarly funk-fueled and alternately rugged and smooth, The Chronic and other songs he did for soundtracks at the time (Murder Was the Case, Above the Rim and Deep Cover) utilized heavy samples from George Clinton and Funkadelic. Broadus' (Snoop Dog) ensuing album Doggystyle (which would be the final project that Young produced completely for an artist besides himself) featured a smoother and more laid-back style of G-Funk, shifted to suit Broadus' (Snoop Dogg) style. Doggystyle uses beats, samples and quotes from the movie Superfly, and the soundtrack by Curtis Mayfield. [edit] 2001 and beyond When Young released the Presents...The Aftermath compilation, he was in transition, somewhere between G-funk and the spacey synthesizers and organs of 2001, his second release. That album (produced mainly with the help of Mel-Man) still had thumping bass and hard drums, but also heavily used synthesizers and organs instead of his previous use of flute and funk samples. [edit] Music samples As a performer Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang (sample) (file info) — play in browser (beta) Short sample of Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang, by Young (Dr. Dre) (featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg), from his 1992 album The Chronic. This sample shows Young's fairly straightforward rapping technique, and his classic G-funk production style. Problems listening to the file? See media help. As a producer Fuck Tha Police, by N.W.A (file info) — play in browser (beta) From the 1989 album Straight Outta Compton, jointly produced by Young and DJ Yella. Although "Judge Dre" talked in the introduction and conclusion to the song, this sample is of Eazy-E's verse. Problems listening to the file? See media help. Gin and Juice, by Snoop Doggy Dogg (file info) — play in browser (beta) Released on Snoop Doggy Dogg's 1993 Doggystyle album, this track is G-funk. Problems listening to the file? See media help. Kill You, by Eminem (file info) — play in browser (beta) Produced in 2000, and one of the tracks cited in his Grammy nomination, Kill You features a very stripped-down sound for a Dr. Dre production, which serves to highlight the gratuitously offensive lyrics. It was co-produced by Mel-Man. Problems listening to the file? See media help. [edit] Discography [edit] With N.W.A N.W.A. and the Posse, Ruthless Records, 1987. Straight Outta Compton, Ruthless Records, 1989. 100 Miles and Runnin' , Ruthless Records, 1990. Efil4zaggin, Ruthless Records, 1991. [edit] Solo Album cover Album information The Chronic Released: December 15, 1992 Label: Death Row/Interscope Chart positions: #3 US, #30 UK (2004) Last RIAA certification: 3x Platinum Singles: "Nuthin' but a “G” Thang," "Dre Day" and "Let Me Ride" 2001 aka The Chronic 2001 Released: November 16, 1999 Label: Aftermath/Interscope Chart positions: #2 US, #2 UK Last RIAA certification: 6x Platinum Singles: "Still D.R.E.," "Forgot About Dre," and "The Next Episode" Detox Released: January 18 2007 Label: Aftermath/Interscope Chart positions: [TBA]] Last RIAA certification: TBA Singles: 'TBA' [edit] Compilations Album cover Album information Dr. Dre Presents...The Aftermath Released: November 26, 1996 Label: Aftermath/Interscope Chart positions: #6 US Last RIAA certification: Platinum Singles: "East Coast/West Coast Killas" and "Been There, Done That" Concrete Roots Hitman Music, 1994 Exec. Prod.DJ Flash; #43 US, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 14 Greatest Hits, Central Station , 1996 First Round Knock Out, Triple X, 1996 — collection of early recording and Dre-produced material; #52 US, Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 18 Back 'N The Day, Blue Dolphin , 1996 — Budget-priced compilation of mid-1990s remixes of pre-N.W.A Dre tracks Maximum Dr. Dre, Orchard, 2001 Chronicle: Best of the Work, Death Row Records, 2002; #172 UK Greatest Hits V.2, Central Station, 2004 [edit] Production Bobby Jimmy And The Critters - Back And Proud, Macola Record Co., (1987) (Producer, song: "Milkshake") Bobby Jimmy And The Critters - Bobby Jimmy You A Fool - The Best Of Bobby Jimmy & The Critters, K-Tel, (1990) (Remixing, song: "Ugly Knuckle Butt") C.I.A. - ' 'My Posse (1987), Macola Record Co., (Demo EP) (Executive Producer) Eazy-E - Eazy-Duz-It, Ruthless/Priority, 1988 (2x Platinum) (Producer) N.W.A - Straight Outta Compton Ruthless/Priority, 1988 (2x Platinum) (Producer & Rapper). N.W.A - 100 Miles and Runnin' Ruthless/Priority, 1989 (Platinum) (Producer & Rapper). N.W.A - Efil4zaggin Ruthless/Priority, 1991 (Platinum (Producer & Rapper). The D.O.C - No One Can Do It Better, Ruthless/Priority, 1989 (Platinum) (Producer) Jimmy Z - Muzical Madness, Ruthless/Priority, 1991 (producer/Producer) Snoop Doggy Dogg -Doggystyle, Death Row/Interscope,1993(5xPlatinum(Executive Producer) Nas - It Was Written, Columbia Records, 1996 (2x Platinum) (Producer)(Performer "Nas Is Coming") 2Pac - All Eyez on Me, Death Row/Interscope 1996 (9xPlatinum) (Producer) The Firm - Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album, Aftermath/Interscope, 1997 (Platinum) (Producer) Snoop Dogg - No Limit Top Dogg, No Limit Records, (1999), (Producer, songs: "Buck 'Em", "Bitch Please", "Just Dippin'") Eminem - The Slim Shady LP, Aftermath/Interscope, 1999 (4xPlatinum) (Executive producer/Producer) Eminem - The Marshall Mathers LP, Aftermath/Interscope, 2000 (Dimond) (Executive producer/Producer) Snoop Dogg - Tha Last Meal, Priority Records, (2000),(2x Platinum) (Producer, songs: "Intro", "Hennessey N Buddah", "True Lies", "Lay Low") Ice Cube - War & Peace - Volume 2 (The Peace Disc), Priority, 2000 (Gold) (Producer, song:"Hello") D12 - Devil's Night, 2001 Shady/Interscope (2x Platinum) (Producer) Busta Rhymes- Genesis, J Records, 2001 (1x platinum) (Producer) Eminem - The Eminem Show, Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2002 (9Platinum) (Executive producer/Producer) 50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin', Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2003 (6x Platinum) (Executive producer/Producer) Obie Trice - Cheers, 2003 Shady/Interscope (2xPlatinum) (Producer) G-Unit - Beg for Mercy, 2003 G-Unit/Interscope (Platinum) (Producer) D12 - D12 World, 2004 Shady/Interscope (2x Platinum) (Producer) Eminem - Encore, Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2004 (5x Platinum) (Executive producer/Producer) The Game - The Documentary, G-Unit/Aftermath/Interscope, 2005 (2x Platinum) (Executive producer/Producer) 50 Cent - The Massacre, G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2005 (5x Platinum) (Executive producer/Producer) 50 Cent - Get Rich or Die Tryin' (soundtrack) G-Unit/Interscope, 2005 (Platinum) (Producer) Eminem - Curtain Call: The Hits, Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2005 (3x Platinum) (Executive producer/Producer) Busta Rhymes - The Big Bang (Gold), Aftermath/Interscope, 2006 (Executive producer/Producer) Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - The Bone Thugs Story, Full Surface/Interscope, 2006 (Producer) Nas - Hip-Hop is Dead, Ill Will/Def Jam, 2006 (Producer) Snoop Dogg - The Blue Carpet Treatment, Doggystyle, (2006) (Producer) The Game - The Doctor's Advocate, Black Wall Street/Geffen/Interscope, 2006 (Executive producer/Producer) Raekwon - Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II, Universal, 2006 (Producer)) Stat Quo - Statlanta, Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2006 (Executive producer/Producer) Jay-Z - Kingdom Come, Rocafella/Def Jam, 2006 (Producer) Papoose - The Nacirema Dream, Flipmode/Streetsweepers/Jive, 2006 (Producer) 50 Cent - What I Get..., G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath/Interscope, 2006 (Executive producer/Producer) Bishop Lamont - The Reformation, Aftermath/Interscope, 2007 (Executive Producer/Producer) G.A.G.E. - My Life, Aftermath/Interscope, 2007 (Executive Producer/Producer] [edit] Mixtapes Detox - Millennium Of Aftermath (by DJ Rukiz), Pickwick, 2005. #183 UK Pretox 2005 Dretox 2005 Look Out For Detox Dr. Dre 2006 2006 Jay-Z and Dr.Dre - The Chronic 3000 (Mixed by DJ Egg Nice) 2006 Dr. Dre's Mixture Remix (with Xplicit) [edit] Singles Year Title Chart Positions Album US Hot 100 US R&B/ Hip Hop US Rap UK Singles Chart Rhythmic Top 40 1992 "Dre Day" [Gold] #8 #6 #13 #59 #6 The Chronic 1993 "Nuthin' But a "G" Thang" [Platinum] #2 #1 #1 #31 #2 The Chronic 1993 "Let Me Ride" #34 #34 #3 #31 #21 The Chronic 1996 "East Coast/West Coast Killas" - - - - - Dr. Dre Presents...The Aftermath 1996 "Been There, Done That" - - - - #40 Dr. Dre Presents...The Aftermath 1999 "Still D.R.E." #93 #32 #11 #6 #29 2001 1999 "Forgot about Dre" #25 #14 - #7 #3 2001 2000 "The Next Episode" #25 #11 #9 #7 #2 2001 2001 "Put It on Me" - #62 - - #36 Training Day [OST] 2002 "Bad Intentions" - #33 - #4 - The Wash [OST] 2002 "The Wash" - #43 - - - The Wash [OST] [edit] Featured Singles This song or music-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it. Year Title Chart Positions Album US Hot 100 US R&B/ Hip Hop US Rap UK Singles Chart 1990 "We're All In The Same Gang" (West Coast All-Stars) #35 #10 #1 - We're All In The Same Gang VLS 1991 "Funky Flute" (feat. Jimmy Z) - - - - Muzical Madness 1992 "Deep Cover" - #46 #4 - Deep Cover OST 1994 "Natural Born Killaz" (Dr. Dre & Ice Cube) - - - 45 Murder Was the Case 1995 "Keep Their Heads Ringin'" #10 [Gold] #10 #1 #25 Friday OST 1996 "How Do U Want It"/"California Love" (2Pac feat. Dr. Dre) #1 [2x Platinum] #1 #1 #6 All Eyez on Me 1996 "No Diggity" (Blackstreet feat. Dr. Dre) #1 [Platinum] #1 - #9 Another Level 1997 "Puppet Master" (feat. DJ Muggs and B-Real) - #73 - - Soul Assassins Vol.1 1998 "Zoom" (with LL Cool J) - - - #15 Bulworth OST 1998 "Ghetto Fabulous" (Ras Kass feat. Dr Dre & Mack 10) - #56 - - Rasassination 1999 "Guilty Conscience" (Eminem feat. Dr. Dre) - #56 - #5 The Slim Shady LP 2000 "U Know" (Xzibit feat Dr. Dre) - #63 - - Restless 2000 "Chin Check" (NWA incl. Snoop Dogg) - #71 - - Next Friday OST 2000 "Just Be A Man About It" (Toni Braxton feat Dr. Dre) #32 #6 - #6 The Heat 2001 "Fast Lane" (Remix) (Bilal Feat Dr. Dre & Jadakiss) - #41 - - 1st Born Second 2001 "Put It on Me" (feat. DJ Quik) - #62 - - Training Day OST 2002 "Knoc"(Knoc-Turn'al with Dr. Dre & Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott) #98 #67 #13 - The Way I Am 2002 "Bad Intentions" (Dr. Dre feat. Knoc-Turn'al) - #33 - #4 The Wash soundtrack 2002 "The Wash" (Dr. Dre feat. Snoop Dogg) - #43 - - The Wash soundtrack 2002 "Symphony In X Major" (Xzibit feat Dr. Dre) - #63 - - Man Vs. Machine 2004 "Encore" (Eminem feat. Dr Dre & 50 Cent) #25 #48 #20 - Encore [edit] External links Official Site Aftermath Records Aftermath Entertainment Dr. Dre Productions C.V. on Dubcc.com Dr. Dre at the Internet Movie Database Dr. Dre at MySpace Rap Samples FAQ Dr.Dre Lyrics Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Dre"