Dr Dre (1965– )

US rapper and rap music producer. He is credited with creating the sound and name of gangsta rap or ‘G-funk’ (gangsta funk). He collaborated with rappers Eazy E and Ice Cube in the controversial rap trio NWA (1987–92). His first solo album The Chronic (1992) went platinum, and he won a 1994 Grammy award for his single ‘Let Me Ride’. He went on to become one of rap's most influential producers, working with major stars such as Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tupac Shakur, and Eminem.

Dr Dre produced, under his Death Row Records production label, Snoop's debut album Doggystyle (1993), Warren G's album Regulate (1994), Ice Cube's single ‘Natural Born Killaz’ (1994), Tupac Shakur's single ‘California Love’ (1996), and Eminem's The Slim Shady LP (1997) and The Marshall Mathers LP (2000). He established another label, Aftermath Records, and released Dr Dre Presents...The Aftermath, a compilation featuring the single ‘Been There Done That’, in 1996. Other solo albums include Dr Dre 2001 (1999), 2001 Instrumental (1999), and Maximum Dr Dre (2001).

He was born in South Central Los Angeles, California, and raised by his mother and grandmother in a Compton housing project rife with gang violence. He entered the music business as a DJ at the Eve After Dark nightclub in Los Angeles and recorded several demos in the early 1980s.

NWA was known for its hardcore sound and controversial lyrics. Their albums include Straight Outta Compton and Efil4zaggin (1991). Their single ‘F∗∗∗ tha Police’ drew a warning from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).