Inspired by the Grandmaster Flash song “The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel“, Dr. Dre often attended a club called Eve’s After Dark to watch many DJs and rappers performing live. He subsequently became a DJ in the club, initially under the name “Dr. J”, based on the nickname of Julius Erving, his favorite basketball player. At the club, he met aspiring rapper Antoine Carraby, later to become member DJ Yella of N.W.A.^[15] Soon afterwards he adopted the moniker Dr. Dre, a mix of previous alias Dr. J and his first name, referring to himself as the “Master of Mixology”.^[16]

Eve After Dark had a back room with a small four-track studio where Dre and Yella recorded several demos. In their first recording session, they recorded a song entitled “Surgery” in 1984.^[17][18][19] Dr. Dre’s earliest recordings were released in 1994 on a compilation titled Concrete Roots. Critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic described the compiled music, released “several years before Dre developed a distinctive style”, as “surprisingly generic and unengaging” and “for dedicated fans only”.^[20]

Dre later joined the musical group World Class Wreckin’ Cru, which released its debut album under the Kru-Cut label in 1985.^[21] The group would become stars of the electro-hop scene that dominated early-mid 1980s West Coast hip-hop. “Surgery”, which was officially released after being recorded prior to the group’s official formation, would prominently feature Dr. Dre on the turntable. The record would become the group’s first hit, selling 50,000 copies within the Compton area.^[22] Dr. Dre and DJ Yella also performed mixes for local radio station KDAY, boosting ratings for its afternoon rush-hour show The Traffic Jam.^[23]

In 1986, Dr. Dre met rapper O’Shea Jackson—known as Ice Cube—who collaborated with him to record songs for Ruthless Records, a hip-hop record label run by local rapper Eazy-E. N.W.A and fellow West Coast rapper Ice-T are widely credited as seminal artists of the gangsta rap genre, a profanity-heavy subgenre of hip-hop, replete with gritty depictions of urban crime and gang lifestyle. Not feeling constricted to racially charged political issues pioneered by rap artists such as Public Enemy or Boogie Down Productions, N.W.A favored themes and uncompromising lyrics, offering stark descriptions of violent, inner-city streets. Propelled by the hit “Fuck tha Police“, the group’s first full album Straight Outta Compton (1989) became a major success, despite an almost complete absence of radio airplay or major concert tours. The Federal Bureau of Investigation sent Ruthless Records a warning letter in response to the song’s content.^[24]

After Ice Cube left N.W.A in 1989 over financial disputes, Dr. Dre produced and performed for much of the group’s second album Efil4zaggin. He also produced tracks for a number of other acts on Ruthless Records, including Eazy-E’s 1988 solo debut Eazy-Duz-It, Above the Law‘s 1990 debut Livin’ Like Hustlers, Michel’le‘s 1989 self-titled debut, the D.O.C.’s 1989 debut No One Can Do It Better, J.J. Fad‘s 1988 debut Supersonic and funk rock musician Jimmy Z‘s 1991 album Muzical Madness.^[25][26]

After a dispute with Eazy-E, Dre left the group at the peak of its popularity in 1991 under the advice of friend, and N.W.A lyricist, the D.O.C. and his bodyguard at the time, Suge Knight. Knight, a notorious strongman and intimidator, was able to have Eazy-E release Young from his contract and, using Dr. Dre as his flagship artist, founded Death Row Records. In 1992, Young released his first single, the title track to the film Deep Cover, a collaboration with rapper Snoop Dogg, whom he met through Warren G.^[24] Dr. Dre’s debut solo album was The Chronic, released under Death Row Records with Suge Knight as executive producer. Young ushered in a new style of rap, both in terms of musical style and lyrical content, including introducing a number of artists to the industry including Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Daz Dillinger, RBX, the Lady of Rage, Nate Dogg and Jewell.^[27]

On the strength of singles such as “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang“, “Let Me Ride“, and “Fuck wit Dre Day (and Everybody’s Celebratin’)” (known as “Dre Day” for radio and television play), all of which featured Snoop Dogg as guest vocalist, The Chronic became a cultural phenomenon, its G-funk sound dominating much of hip-hop music for the early 1990s.^[24] In 1993, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the album triple platinum,^[28] and Dr. Dre also won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for his performance on “Let Me Ride”.^[29] For that year, Billboard magazine also ranked Dr. Dre as the eighth-best-selling musical artist, The Chronic as the sixth-best-selling album, and “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” as the 11th-best-selling single.^[30]

Besides working on his own material, Dr. Dre produced Snoop Dogg’s debut album Doggystyle, which became the first debut album for an artist to enter the Billboard 200 album charts at number one.^[31] In 1994 Dr. Dre produced some songs on the soundtracks to the films Above the Rim and Murder Was the Case. He collaborated with fellow N.W.A member Ice Cube for the song “Natural Born Killaz” in 1995.^[24] For the film Friday, Dre recorded “Keep Their Heads Ringin’“, which reached number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Hot Rap Singles (now Hot Rap Tracks) charts.^[32]

In 1995, Death Row Records signed rapper 2Pac, and began to position him as their major star: he collaborated with Dr. Dre on the commercially successful single “California Love“, which became both artists’ first song to top the Billboard Hot 100.^[24][33] However, in March 1996 Young left the label amidst a contract dispute and growing concerns that label boss Suge Knight was corrupt, financially dishonest and out of control. Later that year, he formed his own label, Aftermath Entertainment, under the distribution label for Death Row Records, Interscope Records.^[24] Subsequently, Death Row Records suffered poor sales by 1997, especially following the death of 2Pac and the racketeering charges brought against Knight.^[34]

Dr. Dre also appeared on the single “No Diggity” by R&B group Blackstreet in 1996: it too was a sales success, topping the Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks, and later won the award for Best R&B Vocal by a Duo or Group at the 1997 Grammy Awards.^[35] After hearing it for the first time, several of Dr. Dre’s former Death Row colleagues, including 2Pac, recorded and attempted to release a song titled “Toss It Up“, containing numerous insults aimed at Dr. Dre and using a deliberately similar instrumental to “No Diggity”, but were forced to replace the production after Blackstreet sent the label a cease and desist letter stopping them from distributing the song.^[36]

The Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath album, released on November 26, 1996, featured songs by Dr. Dre himself, as well as by newly signed Aftermath Entertainment artists, and a solo track “Been There, Done That“, intended as a symbolic farewell to gangsta rap.^[37] Despite being certified platinum by the RIAA,^[28] the album was not very popular among music fans.^[24] In October 1996, Dre performed “Been There, Done That” on Saturday Night Live.^[38] In 1997, Dr. Dre produced several tracks on the Firm‘s The Album; it was met with largely negative reviews from critics. Rumors began to abound that Aftermath was facing financial difficulties.^[39] Aftermath Entertainment also faced a trademark infringement lawsuit by the underground thrash metal band Aftermath.^[40]

First Round Knock Out, a compilation of various tracks produced and performed by Dr. Dre, was also released in 1996, with material ranging from World Class Wreckin’ Cru to N.W.A to Death Row recordings.^[41] Dr. Dre chose to take no part in the ongoing East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry of the time, instead producing for, and appearing on, several New York artists’ releases, such as Nas‘ “Nas Is Coming”, LL Cool J‘s “Zoom” and Jay-Z‘s “Watch Me”.

The turning point for Aftermath came in 1998, when Dre’s close friend, Jimmy Iovine, the co-founder of Interscope Records (parent label for Aftermath), suggested that Dr. Dre sign Eminem, a white rapper from Detroit. Dre produced three songs and provided vocals for two on Eminem’s successful and controversial debut album The Slim Shady LP, released in 1999.^[42] The Dr. Dre-produced lead single from that album, “My Name Is“, brought Eminem to public attention for the first time, and the success of The Slim Shady LP – it reached number two on the Billboard 200 and received general acclaim from critics – revived the label’s commercial ambitions and viability.^[42][43][44]

“Still D.R.E.”

Duration: 29 seconds.0:29

from 2001

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Dr. Dre’s second solo album, 2001, released on November 16, 1999, was considered an ostentatious return to his gangsta rap roots.^[45] It was initially titled The Chronic 2000 to imply being a sequel to his debut solo effort The Chronic but was re-titled 2001 after Death Row Records released an unrelated compilation album with the title Suge Knight Represents: Chronic 2000 in May 1999. Other tentative titles included The Chronic 2001 and Dr. Dre.^[46]

The album featured numerous collaborators, including Devin the Dude, Snoop Dogg, Kurupt, Xzibit, Nate Dogg, Eminem, Knoc-turn’al, King T, Defari, Kokane, Mary J. Blige and new protégé Hittman, as well as co-production between Dre and new Aftermath producer Mel-Man. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of the website AllMusic described the sound of the album as “adding ominous strings, soulful vocals, and reggae” to Dr. Dre’s style.^[45] The album was highly successful, charting at number two on the Billboard 200 charts^[47] and has since been certified six times platinum,^[28] validating a recurring theme on the album: Dr. Dre was still a force to be reckoned with, despite the lack of major releases in the previous few years. The album included popular hit singles “Still D.R.E.” and “Forgot About Dre“, both of which Dr. Dre performed on NBC’s Saturday Night Live on October 23, 1999.^[48] Dr. Dre won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2000,^[24] and joined the Up in Smoke Tour with fellow rappers Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Ice Cube that year as well.^[49]

Following the success of 2001, Dr. Dre focused on producing songs and albums for other artists. He co-produced six tracks on Eminem’s landmark Marshall Mathers LP, including the Grammy-winning lead single, “The Real Slim Shady“. The album itself earned a Grammy and proved to be the fastest-selling rap album of all time, moving 1.76 million units in its first week alone.^[50] He produced the single “Family Affair” by R&B singer Mary J. Blige for her album No More Drama in 2001.^[51] He also produced “Let Me Blow Ya Mind“, a duet by rapper Eve and No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani^[52] and signed R&B singer Truth Hurts to Aftermath in 2001.^[53]

Dr. Dre produced and rapped on singer and Interscope labelmate Bilal‘s 2001 single “Fast Lane“, which barely missed the Top 40 of the R&B charts.^[54] He later assisted in the production of Bilal’s second album, Love for Sale,^[55] which Interscope controversially shelved because of its creative direction.^[56] Dr. Dre was the executive producer of Eminem’s 2002 release, The Eminem Show. He produced three songs on the album, one of which was released as a single, and he appeared in the video for “Without Me“. He also produced the D.O.C.’s 2003 album Deuce, where he made a guest appearance on the tracks “Psychic Pymp Hotline”, “Gorilla Pympin'” and “Judgment Day”.

In 2002, Dr. Dre signed rapper 50 Cent to Aftermath in a joint venture between Interscope and Eminem’s Shady Records. Dr. Dre served as executive producer for 50 Cent’s commercially successful February 2003 debut studio album Get Rich or Die Tryin’. Dr. Dre produced or co-produced four tracks on the album, including the hit single “In da Club“.^[57] Eminem’s fourth album since joining Aftermath, Encore, again saw Dre taking on the role of executive producer, and this time he was more actively involved in the music, producing or co-producing a total of eight tracks, including three singles.

Dr. Dre also produced “How We Do“, a 2005 hit single from rapper the Game from his album The Documentary,^[58] as well as tracks on 50 Cent’s successful second album The Massacre. For an issue of Rolling Stone magazine in April 2005, Dr. Dre was ranked 54th out of 100 artists for Rolling Stone magazine’s list “The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time”. Kanye West wrote the summary for Dr. Dre, where he stated Dr. Dre’s song “Xxplosive” as where he “got (his) whole sound from”.^[59]

In November 2006, Dr. Dre began working with Raekwon on his album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II.^[60] He also produced tracks for the rap albums Buck the World by Young Buck,^[61] Curtis by 50 Cent,^[62] Tha Blue Carpet Treatment by Snoop Dogg,^[63] and Kingdom Come by Jay-Z.^[64] Dre also appeared on Timbaland‘s track “Bounce”, from his 2007 solo album, Timbaland Presents Shock Value alongside, Missy Elliott, and Justin Timberlake.^[65] During this period, the D.O.C. stated that Dre had been working with him on his fourth album Voices through Hot Vessels, which he planned to release after Detox arrived.^[66][67]

Planned but unreleased albums during Dr. Dre’s tenure at Aftermath have included a full-length reunion with Snoop Dogg titled Breakup to Makeup, an album with fellow former N.W.A member Ice Cube which was to be titled Heltah Skeltah,^[25] an N.W.A reunion album,^[25] and a joint album with fellow producer Timbaland titled Chairmen of the Board.^[68]

In 2007, Dr. Dre’s third studio album, formerly known as Detox, was slated to be his final studio album.^[69] Work for the upcoming album dates back to 2001,^[70] where its first version was called “the most advanced rap album ever”, by producer Scott Storch.^[71] Later that same year, he decided to stop working on the album to focus on producing for other artists, but then changed his mind; the album had initially been set for a fall 2005 release.^[72] Producers confirmed to work on the album include DJ Khalil, Nottz, Bernard “Focus” Edwards Jr.,^[73] Hi-Tek,^[74] J.R. Rotem,^[75] RZA,^[76] and Jay-Z.^[77] Snoop Dogg claimed that Detox was finished, according to a June 2008 report by Rolling Stone magazine.^[78]

After another delay based on producing other artists’ work, Detox was then scheduled for a 2010 release, coming after 50 Cent’s Before I Self Destruct and Eminem’s Relapse, an album for which Dr. Dre handled the bulk of production duties.^[79][80] In a Dr Pepper commercial that debuted on May 28, 2009, he premiered the first official snippet of Detox.^[81][82] 50 Cent and Eminem asserted in a 2009 interview on BET‘s 106 & Park that Dr. Dre had around a dozen songs finished for Detox.^[83]

On December 15, 2008, Dre appeared in the remix of the song “Set It Off” by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall (also with Pusha T); the remix debuted on DJ Skee‘s radio show.^[84] At the beginning of 2009, Dre produced, and made a guest vocal performance on, the single “Crack a Bottle” by Eminem and the single sold a record 418,000 downloads in its first week^[85] and reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart on the week of February 12, 2009.^[86] Along with this single, in 2009 Dr. Dre produced or co-produced 19 of 20 tracks on Eminem’s album Relapse. These included other hit singles “We Made You“, “Old Time’s Sake“, and “3 a.m.” (The only track Dre did not produce was the Eminem-produced single “Beautiful“.).

On April 20, 2010, “Under Pressure”, featuring Jay-Z and co-produced with Scott Storch, was confirmed by Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre during an interview at Fenway Park as the album’s first single.^[87][88] The song leaked prior to its intended release in an unmixed, unmastered form without a chorus on June 16, 2010;^[89] however, critical reaction to the song was lukewarm, and Dr. Dre later announced in an interview that the song, along with any other previously leaked tracks from Detox‘s recording process, would not appear on the final version of the album.^[90]

Two genuine singles – “Kush“, a collaboration with Snoop Dogg and fellow rapper Akon, and “I Need a Doctor” with Eminem and singer Skylar Grey – were released in the United States during November 2010 and February 2011 respectively:^[91][92] the latter achieved international chart success, reaching number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and later being certified double platinum by the RIAA and the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).^[28][93] On June 25, 2010, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored Dr. Dre with its Founders Award for inspiring other musicians.^[94][95]

In an August 2010 interview, Dr. Dre stated that an instrumental album, The Planets, was in its first stages of production; each song being named after a planet in the Solar System.^[96] On September 3, Dr. Dre showed support to longtime protégé Eminem, and appeared on his and Jay-Z‘s Home & Home Tour, performing hit songs such as “Still D.R.E.”, “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang”, and “Crack a Bottle”, alongside Eminem and another protégé, 50 Cent. Sporting an “R.I.P. Proof” shirt, Dre was honored by Eminem telling Detroit’s Comerica Park to do the same. They did so, by chanting “DEEE-TOX”, to which he replied, “I’m coming!”^[97]

On November 14, 2011, Dre announced that he would be taking a break from music after he finished producing for artists Slim the Mobster and Kendrick Lamar. In this break, he stated that he would “work on bringing his Beats By Dre to a standard as high as Apple” and would also spend time with his family.^[98] On January 9, 2012, Dre headlined the final nights of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2012.^[99]

In June 2014, Marsha Ambrosius stated that she had been working on Detox, but added that the album would be known under another title .^[100] In September 2014, Aftermath in-house producer Dawaun Parker confirmed the title change and stated that over 300 beats had been created for the album over the years, but few of them have had vocals recorded over them.^[101]

The length of time that Detox had been recorded for, as well as the limited amount of material that had been officially released or leaked from the recording sessions, had given it considerable notoriety within the music industry.^[102] Numerous release dates (including the ones mentioned above) had been given for the album over the years since it was first announced, although none of them transpired to be genuine.^[103][104] Several musicians closely affiliated with Dr. Dre, including Snoop Dogg, fellow rappers 50 Cent, the Game and producer DJ Quik, had speculated in interviews that the album will never be released, due to Dr. Dre’s business and entrepreneurial ventures having interfered with recording work, as well as causing him to lose motivation to record new material.^{[103][104][105][106]}

On August 1, 2015, Dre announced that he would release what would be his final album, titled Compton. It is inspired by the N.W.A biopic, Straight Outta Compton, and is a compilation-style album, featuring a number of frequent collaborators, including Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Xzibit and the Game, among others. It was initially released on Apple Music on August 7, with a retail version releasing on August 21.^[107][108] In an interview with Rolling Stone, he revealed that he had about 20 to 40 tracks for Detox but he did not release it because it did not meet his standards. Dre also revealed that he suffers from social anxiety and due to this, remains secluded and out of attention.^[109]

On February 12, 2016, it was revealed that Apple would create its first original scripted television series for its then-upcoming Apple TV+ streaming service.^[110] Titled Vital Signs, it was set to reflect Dre’s life.^[110] He was also an executive producer on the show^[111] before the show’s cancellation sometime in September 2018, due to its graphic depictions of drugs, gun violence and sex.^[112] In October 2016, Sean Combs brought out Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and others on his Bad Boy reunion tour.^[113]

In 2018, he produced four songs on Oxnard by Anderson .Paak. He was the executive producer on the album, as so its follow-up, 2019’s Ventura.

Dr. Dre was the executive producer of Eminem’s 2020 release, Music to Be Murdered By. He produced four songs on the album. He also produced two songs on the deluxe edition of the album, Side B, and appeared on the song, “Gunz Blazing”. On September 30, 2021, it was revealed that Dre would perform at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show alongside Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. In December 2021, an update for the video game, Grand Theft Auto Online, predominantly featured Dre and added some of his previously unreleased tracks which was released as an EP, The Contract, on February 3, 2022.^[114][115] Around this time, Dre announced he was collaborating with Marsha Ambrosius on Casablanco, and with Mary J. Blige on an upcoming album.^[116][117] Later that year, Snoop Dogg announced that he and Dr. Dre are in the process of recording their new album, Missionary. Snoop said the album will be released via Death Row and Aftermath.^[118][119]

On February 13, 2022, Dr. Dre performed at the Super Bowl LVI halftime show alongside Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige,^[120] with surprise appearances from 50 Cent and Anderson .Paak.^[121] The performance was met with critical acclaim and is the first Super Bowl halftime show to win the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live).^[122] The show also won the Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special and Outstanding Music Direction.^[123][124] The same year, he produced numerous songs including “The King and I”, a collaboration between Eminem and CeeLo Green for the 2022 biopic, Elvis, and a remix of Kanye West‘s song “Use This Gospel” for DJ Khaled‘s album God Did, the latter of whom was originally intended for Kanye West and Dr. Dre’s joint gospel album, Jesus Is King Part II, which remains unreleased, even though it surfaced online in leaks around September 2023.^{[125][126][127]}

In September 2022, it was reported that Dr. Dre will compose the original score for the upcoming animated series, Death for Hire: The Origin of Tehk City. The show is created by Ice-T and Arabian Prince; based on the graphic novel of the same title, it features the voice talent of Ice-T, his wife Coco Austin, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, and Treach among others.^[128]

In February 2023, Dre and Marsha Ambrosius held a listening party for the Casablanco album in Los Angeles.^[129] The album was released on June 28, 2024, through Aftermath Entertainment and received critical acclaim.^[130][131]

In February 2024, Snoop launched a range of pre-mixed cocktails with Dr. Dre named after their hit single, Gin and Juice. Flavours include apricot, citrus, melon and passionfruit.^[132][133] A short prohibition themed trailer was created to support the release.^[134] A gin called “Still G.I.N.”, a reference to the track Still D.R.E., was also released later in 2024.^[135] The Venetian glass bottle was designed by Ini Archibong.^{[136][137][132]}

He also produced two songs on Eminem’s 12th studio album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce) released on July 12, 2024, namely Lucifer and Road Rage.^[138] The album received generally mixed reviews from music critics.

Later in 2024, Snoop Dogg announced a new album coming out called Missionary, entirely produced by Dr. Dre, serving as a spiritual sequel to Snoop Dogg’s first album Doggystyle, which was also produced by Dr. Dre.^[139][119] The album’s first single “Gorgeous” was released on November 1, 2024, followed by the album’s release on December 13, 2024, via Death Row/Aftermath and Interscope, while the latter label serving as its new signee.^[140] The album features guest appearances from Eminem, Dr. Dre, 50 Cent, Method Man, and Sting, and received generally favorable reviews with praise directed towards Snoop’s lyrics and Dr. Dre’s production.^[141]