Dr. Dre just became the richest person in Hip Hop.
That is crazy. The mastermind behind N.W.A.'s beat-making and the guy responsible for launching the careers of Snoop, Eminem, 50 Cent, and most recently Kendrick Lamar was estimated at a worth of $550 billion dollars. According to Forbes, Dre's net worth was only second to P.Diddy's in Hip Hop, who is reportedly worth $700 billion dollars.
But, scratch that. Earlier this week, Dre sold his "Beats" brand to Apple for a reported 3.2 billion dollars! After taxes, Dre is estimated to be worth $800 million, making him the wealthiest Hip Hop entrepreneur.
This news has coincided with my own Dr. Dre renaissance. I've been knee deep in writing this week and have been on a Dr. Dre binge.
From well-established hits to leaked singles from his long anticipated "Detox" album, I've been enjoying the simple and hypnotic sounds of Dre's production style. His style might not work for you, but he has forever changed the ways that we look at producing and has a sound all his own.
For the past couple years, people in the industry have speculated that Dre was going to release Detox. In 2010, he came out and said that the final album was done and that he was deep into mixing and mastering the album. Like you, I waited eagerly for the album to drop. In an era when consumers buy singles off iTunes, I waited on pins and needles, hoping that Detox would mark his triumphant return to Hip Hop.
But, 3 years have passed and Detox still isn't out. As time goes by, people are becoming increasingly skeptical about Detox ever being released. I recently saw an interview with Juelz Santana, who said that Dre must be scared to drop it because of the already insanely high bar that he has set for himself.
His previous two albums -- The Chronic and Chronic 2001-- are Hip Hop classics. Mix that with Dre's long known perfectionist tendencies, and you get a picture of a guy who might be stuck in his own head about this album. Or, so it seemed.
A recent article in the Guardian has shed additional light on why he might have been reluctant to release Detox. Some of you might remember when he released "Kush," a song with both Snoop Dogg and Akon. The article mentions the lukewarm reception to this and other singles and suggests that Dre and his team didn't want to drop Detox out of fear that it might hurt the Beats brand. So, in addition to possible anxiety about Detox and his artistic legacy, Dre may have been concerned that a lukewarm (or worse critical) response to Detox could hurt his pockets. So long as Dre continued working on building his brand and producing for other artists, he could avoid having Detox flop and having people say that he fell off.
In the end, we may never get the pleasure of hearing a complete Detox LP. But, I'm holding out. Even if it doesn't live up to the hype or his past, I feel like Hip Hop needs Dre back in the game.
That is crazy. The mastermind behind N.W.A.'s beat-making and the guy responsible for launching the careers of Snoop, Eminem, 50 Cent, and most recently Kendrick Lamar was estimated at a worth of $550 billion dollars. According to Forbes, Dre's net worth was only second to P.Diddy's in Hip Hop, who is reportedly worth $700 billion dollars.
But, scratch that. Earlier this week, Dre sold his "Beats" brand to Apple for a reported 3.2 billion dollars! After taxes, Dre is estimated to be worth $800 million, making him the wealthiest Hip Hop entrepreneur.
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| Dre in the lab |
From well-established hits to leaked singles from his long anticipated "Detox" album, I've been enjoying the simple and hypnotic sounds of Dre's production style. His style might not work for you, but he has forever changed the ways that we look at producing and has a sound all his own.
For the past couple years, people in the industry have speculated that Dre was going to release Detox. In 2010, he came out and said that the final album was done and that he was deep into mixing and mastering the album. Like you, I waited eagerly for the album to drop. In an era when consumers buy singles off iTunes, I waited on pins and needles, hoping that Detox would mark his triumphant return to Hip Hop.
But, 3 years have passed and Detox still isn't out. As time goes by, people are becoming increasingly skeptical about Detox ever being released. I recently saw an interview with Juelz Santana, who said that Dre must be scared to drop it because of the already insanely high bar that he has set for himself.
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| "And you don't stop..." A young Snoop with Dre |
A recent article in the Guardian has shed additional light on why he might have been reluctant to release Detox. Some of you might remember when he released "Kush," a song with both Snoop Dogg and Akon. The article mentions the lukewarm reception to this and other singles and suggests that Dre and his team didn't want to drop Detox out of fear that it might hurt the Beats brand. So, in addition to possible anxiety about Detox and his artistic legacy, Dre may have been concerned that a lukewarm (or worse critical) response to Detox could hurt his pockets. So long as Dre continued working on building his brand and producing for other artists, he could avoid having Detox flop and having people say that he fell off.
In the end, we may never get the pleasure of hearing a complete Detox LP. But, I'm holding out. Even if it doesn't live up to the hype or his past, I feel like Hip Hop needs Dre back in the game.
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