Dr Dre facts: 52 things you forgot about Dre (2024)

1. What is Dr Dre's net worth?

As of 2021, Dr Dre is reportedly worth around $820 million. He is one of the richest rappers in the world, falling just behind Kanye West, Jay-Z and P Diddy. Picture: Getty

2. Dr Dre suffered a brain aneurysm in early January 2021.

The producer was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's ICU in Los Angeles, California. Hours later, he confirmed he was doing well. "I'm doing great and getting excellent care from my medical team," he said. "I will be out of the hospital and back home soon," he added, "Shout out to all the great medical professionals at Cedars. One Love!!" Picture: Getty

3. Dr Dre's ex-wife Nicole Young filed for divorce in June 2020, citing irreconcilable differences.

The divorce proceedings grew bitter as Young demanded $2 million in spousal support, which included money for clothes, entertainment, cell phone bills and more. Dre also accused Young of making withdrawals from their business account without permission. Getty

4. Dr Dre has six children, four sons and two daughters, by five different women.

He had a son called Curtis Young, followed by a daughter called La Tanya Danielle Young, then a son called Andre Young Jr (who has since died). With singer Michel'le, he had son Marcel, and finally with his now-estranged wife Nicole, he had two more children, Trucie and Truly.

5. Dr Dre fathered his oldest son when he was just 16, but he didn't meet him for 20 years.

When he was just 16 years old, Dr Dre fathered a son called Curtis, who was brought up entirely by the boy's mother. Curtis and Dre only met 20 years after he was born. And guess what Curtis does for work? He's a rapper that goes by the name of Hood Surgeon. Picture: Getty

6. In 2008, Dr. Dre's 20-year-old son, Andre Young Jr., died of a drug overdose.

Dre's third child, who he had with a woman called Jenita Porter, was found dead at Dre's family home from an accidental overdose of heroin and morphine.

7. Dr Dre didn't know Eminem was white when he decided to work with him.

Eminem made no secret of the difficulty he felt he faced being a white man trying to make it in black-dominated industry, but he managed to get signed by Dre and go on to become one of the world's best rappers. In a past interview with Vibe Magazine, Dre revealed: "when I heard Em for the first time, I didn't even know he was White. I just knew I wanted to work with him. And that kind of actually made it better for me, because it was so different".

8. Has Dr Dre found the next Eminem?

Dr Dre has chosen his next Protégé, a 23-year-old guy from Texas called Justin Mohrle. Justin, who goes by the name JT, has reportedly moved indefinitely to California on Dr Dre's orders, after Dre heard some music that he and The D.O.C had been working on. Picture: Twitter/GarlandHighSchool

9. Dr Dre's career with Eazy E really begun after Eazy bailed Dre out of jail.

Dre was arrested and thrown in jail after his Mazda RX7 was impounded for compounding car fines of over $900. Eazy-E paid out in return for Dre’s production trade for E’s new record company 'Ruthless Records'. The more time Dre spent with E, the more disruption caused to 'World Class Wreckin' Crew,' but N.W.A was born as a result.

10. Warren G is Dr. Dre's step brother.

Dr Dre and Warren G became steps brothers when Dre's mum and Warren's dad married and brought the families together. It's actually through Warren G that Dre met Snoop and signed him, as Snoop originally worked with Warren G and Nate G.

11. Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg starred in a film called 'The Wash' back in 2001.

Judging by the IMDB decription, we can't say we're too shocked that it received only two stars: 'With the rent due and his car booted, Sean (Dr. Dre) has to come up with some ends...and fast. When his best buddy and roommate Dee Loc (Snoop Dogg), suggests that Sean get a job busting suds down at the local car wash. Comic tensions flare between the two...' you get the idea.

12. In 2011, Dre said he wanted Beats to be "second to Apple."

"We’re gonna keep new and exciting products coming" he told Fader. "We’re trying to eventually be second to Apple. And I don’t think that’s a bad position." Three years later, Beats was bought by Apple.

13. Word is that Dr Dre used men and baseball bats to get out of his contract with Ruthless Records.

Ice Cube was the first to leave N.W.A and Ruthless Records because of financial disputes, not long after Dre realised he too was getting the bum end of the deal, but he was stuck in a contract. Band member Jerry Heller says that to get out of it, Suge Knight (The D.O.C) showec up with some guys and weapons demanding Dre was dropped from the contract, which he was.

14. Dr Dre earned $52 million in 2001.

In 2001, Dr. Dre earned a total of about US $52 million from selling part of his share of Aftermath Entertainment to Interscope Records and his production of such hit songs that year as "Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige. The sum made him the second highest paid artist of that year

15. 'The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel' inspired Dre to get into music.

Dre was inspired to get into music when he heard Grandmaster Flash song 'The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel.' He told Vibe; "That made me want to DJ. It made me want to know what hip-hop was. That was the song that did it. I immediately went home and called some friends and we were taking apart one of my friend's mother's stereo sets.. We figured out how to make a mixer from the balance button and got it cracking—started making mixtapes."

16. TLC awarded Dr Dre the 'Best Rap Artist' award at the 94' AMAs.

T-Boz, Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes and Chilli, aka TLC, presented Dr. Dre with the 'Best Rap Artist' Award at the 1994 AMAs. During Dre's acceptance speech Snoop interrupted to tell the audience that they should all stand as he collects his award

17. Dr Dre's Next Album Will Not Be Called 'Detox'

The world has been waiting a long time for Dr Dre's next studio album 'Detox', and it looks like it will be waiting forever, as Aftermath producer Dawaun Parker has revealed that Dre scrapped the titled 'Detox' a long time ago. "The album he's working with is not called 'Detox', he [Dre] scrapped the titled a couple of years ago and came up with another title" Parker told Shots Fired. "I won't say what the title is cause I haven't seen that online or anything yet'.

18. Dr Dre's real name is Andre Romell Young.

Dre is a nickname that originated from his real name, Andre.

19. Jimmy Iovine once detailed how Beats came about.

“The whole headphones thing came to life on its own. Dre and I were out in Malibu, I know some of you think Dre lives in the hood, but he has a house in Malibu,” said Iovine. “Anyway, we’re on his terrace in Malibu, and he says, ‘My lawyers want me to sell sneakers.’ I look at him and I say, 'f*ck sneakers. Nobody cares what kind of sneakers you wear, but they would care about the speakers you use.' And speakers turned into headphones.”

20. 'The Chronic' has been re-released three times.

First as a remastered CD, then as a remastered DualDisc with enhanced stereo and four videos, and in 2009 as 'The Chronic Re-Lit' with a bonus DVD containing a 30 minute interview and 7 unreleased tracks

21. Diddy listened to Game's mixtape five months before Dr Dre ended up snapping him up.

Hard luck diddy! Picture: Getty

22. A film about Dr Dre's career beginnings called 'Straight Outta Compton' is out now.

The new film documents Ice Cube, Dr Dre, Eazy E, MC Ren and DJ Yella's beginnings in the industry, rise to success and of course, their Compton roots. The film premieres this August in the USA.

23. Dr Dre’s middle name, 'Romelle,' came from his father’s R&B singing group, The Romelles.

24. Dr Dre has made more money making Beats headphones than he ever did making music.

25. Believe it or not, The Chronic isn't Dr Dre's biggest selling album.

His follow-up album, 2001, was a bigger hit - becoming certified sextuple Platinum. That's a lot of copies.

26. The Chronic made The Rolling Stone's 'Top 500 Albums Of All Time'

Dr DreIt came it at number 138 on The Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, and also placed in the top 100 albums of the 90's.

27. Dr. Dre's 'Nuthin' But a G Thang' samples a Leon Haywood song.

The straight up funk of 'Nuthin' But A G Thang', form Dre's 1992 album 'The Chronic', is actually a sample of the Leon Haywood record 'I Want To Do Something Freaky To You'. Don't believe us? Go check it out.

28. NWA's debut album 'Straight Outta Compton' cost only $12,000 to make.

Ruthless Records co-founder Jerry Heller claims that the first money invested into Ruthless Records was his own $250,000, and that Straight Outta Compton was only recorded for $12,000.

29. Dr Dre was named the world's highest paid musician in 2014 by Forbes

Forbes have revealed their annual 'The Highest Paid Musicians Of The Year' list and the person that's topped it wont come as much of a surprise. Dr Dre sold Beats, the company he co-founded, to Apple for a huge $3 billion. The sale meant that before taxes, Dre pocketed $620 million - not bad for a year's earnings. Picture: Getty

30. Dre made history by creating the largest gap ever between the first and second top earners.

The sum means that Dr Dre has made history by creating the largest gap between himself and the number two top earner, with half a billion dollars separating them. In at number two is Beyoncé, who had an incredible 2014 with the aftermath of her self-titled album, the continuation of her 'The Mrs Carter World Tour' and her collaborative tour with Jay Z. The many ventures meant that she took home $115 million. Picture: Getty

31. Dr Dre is the inspiration behind Eminem shouting on songs.

Eminem wrote in his 2008 biography 'The Way I Am' that Dre urged him to start screaming in the booth: "Dre also showed me how to do things with my voice that I had no idea I could do. He had me screaming in the studio! I remember doing the chorus for 'Role Model,' shouting, "Don't you want to grow up to be just like me?" My throat was hurting. Dre would be, "Again. Do it again." And we stacked a few tracks to make the chorus. If you listen to 'Kim,' where I'm screaming, you can hear tPicture: PA

32. Kanye West measures his own music against 'The Chronic'.

Yeezy has been quoted as saying: 'The Chronic' is still the hip-hop equivalent to Stevie Wonder's 'Songs in the Key of Life'. It's the benchmark you measure your album against if you're serious."

33. Dr. Dre apparently received no royalties when he left Death Row Records.

Dre owned 50% of the label, so was entitled to some money when the two co-founders went their separate ways, but he reportedly left without taking a penny. "You can’t put a price on a peaceful state of mind" he was quoted as saying.

34. 'Nuthin But A G Thang' sold over a million copies.

It was certified Platinum on March 24, 1993 by the Recording Industry Association of America. Picture: Getty

35. Tons of artists signed to Aftermath never released full length albums.

In 2001, Aftermath released the soundtrack to the movie 'The Wash', it featured acts including Shaunta, Daks, Joe Beast and Toi. - all signed by Aftermath, but to this day none have released a full length album and they have all ended their relationships with the label.

36. Dr. Dre and the Neptunes are the only hip-hop producers to win Producer of the Year at the Grammys.

Picture: Getty

37. Dre is the CEO of Aftermath Entertainment.

Dr. Dre founded the record label Aftermath Entertainment in 1996, after leaving Death Row Records in 1995. The label has seen him sign stars including Eminem, 50 Cent, Game and Kendrick Lamar. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

38. 'California Love' was suppose to be Dr Dre's single, not Tupac's.

Word has it that when Suge Knight heard it he got Tupac involved on the second verse and ultimately made the late rapper the lead on the track.

39. Dr Dre has won 6 Grammy awards.

Including for producing 2001's 'Best Rap Album' Eminem's 'The Marshall Mathers LP' and 'Best Rap Solo Performance' for 'Let Me Ride' in 1994. Picture: Getty

40. Snoop Dogg refused to make music for Death Row Records after Dr Dre left.

When Dr Dre left Death Row Records, Snoop realised the company would own anything he made until his contract expired, so Snoop refused to produce any more records until that day came.

41. Dr Dre's first film appearance was in the 1996 film 'Set It Off'.

He played a weapons dealer called Black Sam alongside Jada Pinkett and Queen Latifah in the film.

42. In 2009, Dr Dre linked up with Lady Gaga for 'Heartbeats by Lady Gaga'

Dr. Dre and Lady Gaga attend the launch of Monster and Beats by Dr. Dre's first artist line "Heartbeats by Lady Gaga" in New York, USA. Picture: PA

43. Kendrick Lamar was on the set of Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg's 'California Love' video.

Perhaps Lamar got his taste for hip-hop and interest of Tupac after the video for the rapper's Dr Dre collaboration 'California Love' was shot near his house.

44. Actor Corey Hawkins played Dr Dre in the 'Straight Outta Compton' film.

Here are the cast members with the stars they are playing.

45. Dr. Dre has been married to his now-estranged wife Nicole Young for 24 years.

In 1996, Dr. Dre married Nicole Threatt, the ex-wife of NBA player Sedale Threatt. They have two children together.

46. In 2014, Dr Dre purchased a new house for $40 million.

Dre purchased the Los Angeles home of NFL quarterback Tom Brady and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen in the spring of 2014 for a whopping $40 million.