HIP-HOP AT 50:
STILL D.R.E.
Dr. Dre will receive ASCAP's inaugural Hip-Hop Icon Award during its Rhythm & Soul Music Awards Celebration of 50 Years of Hip-Hop Thursday (6/22) at the London West Hollywood. Fellow hip-hop artists Kid Capri and DJ Drama will serve as musical guests.
“Dr. Dre’s groundbreaking early work laid a foundation for hip-hop as we know it today,” said ASCAP President/Chairman Paul Williams. "As a champion for some of today’s biggest artists and a successful entrepreneur, he changed the culture around hip-hop.”
Dr. Dre's career began in 1983 with electro outfit World Class Wreckin' Cru. In the late '80s, he took a hard left and formed the trailblazing gangsta rap group N.W.A alongside Eazy-E, DJ Yella, MC Ren, Ice Cube and Arabian Prince. Their debut album, Straight Outta Compton, arrived on Ruthless Records in 1988 and forever changed the rap landscape.
After branching out on his own, Dre released his seminal solo album, The Chronic, on Death Row Records in 1992. Four years later, he went on to form Aftermath Entertainment in partnership with Interscope, home to artists like Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game and, for a brief time, Eve. Over the years, he's produced tracks for JAY-Z, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Nas and many more.
In 2014, Apple purchased Beats by Dre—the good doctor's headphone company with Jimmy Iovine—which included $2.6b in cash and roughly $400m in stock, making Dre the wealthiest hip-hop artist in the world.
