Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records, also having produced albums for and overseeing the careers of many rappers signed to those record labels, such as Snoop Dogg and Eminem. As a producer he is credited as a key figure in the popularization of West Coast G-funk, a style of rap music characterized as synthesizer-based with slow, heavy beats.
Dr. Dre began his career in music as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru and he later found fame with the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A with Eazy-E and Ice Cube which popularized the use of explicit lyrics in rap to detail the violence of street life. His 1992 solo debut, The Chronic, released under Death Row Records, led him to become one of the best-selling American performing artists of 1993 and to win a Grammy Award for the single "Let Me Ride." In 1996, he left Death Row to found his own label, Aftermath Entertainment, producing a compilation album, Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath, in 1996, and releasing a solo album titled 2001, in 1999, for which he won the Grammy producer's award the next year.
During the 2000s, he focused his career on production for other artists, while occasionally contributing vocals to other artists' songs. Rolling Stone named him among the highest-paid performers of 2001 and 2004. Dr. Dre has also had acting roles in movies such as Set It Off, and the 2001 films The Wash and Training Day.. In the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, it is rumored Carl Johnson (the main character) is inspired by him.
Dre is known for his production ability, and for helping many underground rappers become popular, such as Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and The Game, producing beats for them. He is focused on producing for other artists and rarely producing for himself. The only productions he made for himself were The Chronic and 2001, two of the most influental and essential hip hop albums of all time.
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