6 Things You May Not Know About Dr. Dre

Earlier this month, Dr. Dre was rushed to the hospital after suffering a brain aneurysm and spent over a week in the ICU. But, Dre remains tough as ever -- the day after his January 17th release, he was back into the studio. Grammy-winning producer shared a picture of Dre with him and others with the caption "My big Bro is Super Good!!!! We Working..." 

Those familiar with Dr. Dre and his incredible drive won't be surprised at his tenacity during recovery, as it's just one more accomplishment in an astounding career and life. In case you are at risk of forgetting about Dre, we share six things you may not know about the star DJ, producer and entrepreneur. 

1. N.W.A's debut "Straight Outta Compton" was recorded for just $12,000. 

The album received almost no traditional support from the music industry when it was released in August, 1988. The video for the title track was quickly banned from MTV. Despite all that, it had hit gold record status by April of the following year and platinum by July.  

2.  Dre has made more money from Beats than he has from music. 

Apple bought the company for $3.2 billion in 2014, increasing Dr. Dre's personal fortune to $800 million overnight. Beats headphones came about because Dr. Dre confided in Jimmy Iovine that his lawyers wanted him to market Dre-branded sneakers. Iovine told him that no one would care what kind of shoes Dr. Dre wore, but they'd be interested in audio equipment from him. 

3. Together with Jimmy Iovine, he created an entrepreneurial program at USC. 

In 2013, Dre and Iovine donated $70 million to create a unique undergraduate program at the University of Southern California. The USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation creates a place for undergrads with interest in entrepreneurship, marketing, computer science, audio and visual design and the arts. 

4. Dre made amends with Eazy-E before he died. 

The Eazy-E/Dr. Dre beef is one of the best known in hip hop. Although the two stayed estranged for years, they conversed on the phone after Eazy-E learned he was ill. The two discussed an N.W.A. reunion; however, Eazy-E was hospitalized for the last time two weeks after the conversation. 

5. Dr. Dre is a perfectionist. 

According to an interview with Snoop Dogg published on Dubcnn.com, Dr. Dre made then-new artist Bishop Lamont re-record the same bar of vocals 107 times. In his own book How to Rap, Lamont said that Dre will give rappers a great deal of leeway when writing lyrics, but will give a great deal of input into the delivery. 

6. He left Death Row Records with no royalties. 

Despite owning 50% of the record label, Dre says that, when he left Death Row Records, he took nothing with him. Explaining why he didn't pursue the funds, Dre reportedly said "You can’t put a price on a peaceful state of mind."

Sources: 

https://ew.com/music/dr-dre-back-studio-release-hospital-brain-aneurysm/ 

https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/10/suge-knight-dr-dre-murder-for-hire/ 

https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-news/dr-dre-talks-n-w-a-biopic-eazy-es-death-eminem-and-making-new-music-165078/ 

https://www.biography.com/musician/dr-dre 

https://www.uselessdaily.com/world/dr-dre-trivia-40-interesting-facts-about-the-rapper/ 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dr-Dre 

https://www.capitalxtra.com/artists/dr-dre/lists/facts/ 

https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/n-w-as-straight-outta-compton-12-things-you-didnt-know-707207/

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