Quick Links
Andre Romelle Young is known to the world as the infamous Dr. Dre. Reports indicate he was born into a very humble life that was full of adversity, yet he managed to find a way to rise above a series of misfortunes and tragedies, to become one of the biggest moguls in the world of music. A true force to be reckoned with, Dr. Dre has single-handedly influenced fans of varying generations from across the globe, and his success has inspired millions of people from all walks of life, to persevere through their challenges. He continued to push past some very difficult obstacles to reach the uppermost levels of success in his career. No matter what life threw at him, Dr. Dre laughed in the face of fear, despair, and tragedy, and displayed unmatched tenacity and strength.
His Single Mother Face A Tough Road
Dr. Dre was born to a very young mother, who had just turned 16 at the time of his birth. Shortly after that, his father left, and Dr. Dre was raised by his well meaning, yet highly disadvantaged teenage single mother. In spite of every effort she made to give him the best possible life that she could offer, Dr. Dre's mother found herself struggling to make ends meet, and going from one abusive relationship to another. This difficult lifestyle put a continuous strain on his life, and Dr. Dre quickly abandoned his childhood and discovered survival skills that would keep himself, and his mother, afloat.
He Was Affiliated With Gangs And Drug Lords
Dr. Dre has had a stint in jail in 1995 after taking police on a high speed car chase while he was intoxicated behind the wheel. He has also been through the court system for assault and battery charges.
It seems he has had connections to the underworld for much of his life, the first major occurrence dating back to 1987. Dr. Dre had a series of misdemeanors, inclusive of unpaid traffic tickets, which ended up costing him time in jail, so he turned to the only resource he knew he could at the time, the drug lord and gangster that he was affiliated with on the street - Eric Wright.
Wright agreed to bail him out on the condition that he would pay his debt off by producing his record, which ironically turned out becoming Dr. Dre's lucky break. Soon he was introduced to Ice Cube, and Wright took on the persona of Eazy-E. A band was soon formed and introduced to the world as N.W.A.
He Was Estranged From His Eldest Son
Dr. Dre's personal life has been 'busy,' to say the least. He has a total of 5 women that have given birth to his 7 children. He fathered his eldest child when he was just 16 years old, but sadly, he didn't engage in a relationship with him. Becoming a father while he himself was just in high school, was too much for Dr. Dre to handle at the time.
In fact, reports indicate that his son, Curtis, didn't even know his father was Dr. Dre until he was 12 years old. Even then, this was a revelation without tangibility, as the two had not yet spent any time together.
Dr. Dre was estranged from his first born child until Curtis was 20 years old. Following in his father's footsteps, Curtis is now a rapper that is known by his entertainment name, Hood Surgeon.
His Son Dies
Adding to the tumultuous life of Dr. Dre was the fact that one of his children passed away at a young age. It was 2008 when Dr. Dre's son, Andre Young Jr. died of a drug overdose in his home. He was the child that Dr. Dre had with Jenita Porter, and the entire situation was devastating for everyone involved.
Andre had gone out for a night of fun with his friends and he managed to make his way home, but unfortunately he was found without vital signs the next morning. His tragic death was reported as being caused by an accidental overdose of heroin and morphine.
Understandably, the family was left shaken. Andre was just 20 years old.
Two Of His Brothers Passed Away
Sadly, there has been a lot of mourning and grieving surrounding Dr. Dre, and he's been forced to contend with much of this sadness from an early age.
When he was just one year old, his family broke the news to him that one of his brothers named Jerome had just passed away from pneumonia. Of course, this was shocking and traumatic for the very young Dr. Dre to process.
In 1989, at the height of his career, Dr. Dre was stopped in his tracks by the news that his half brother, Tyree Crayton, had also lost his life too soon.
Tyree was involved in an attack, and sustained serious injuries. His broken neck was ultimately the cause of death, and Dr. Dre was left to grieve the loss of a sibling once again.
He Suffers A Near-Fatal Brain Aneurysm
2021 started with a huge scare for Dr. Dre as he suffered from a very serious medical emergency.
The music icon was rushed to the hospital after suffering a potentially life-threatening brain aneurysm. His life had been very stressful leading up to his collapse, as his marriage had fallen apart and he was in the middle of a very tumultuous divorce battle.
Media channels across the globe reported on his dire condition as he was rushed to the ICU at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles with a very serious bleeding aneurysm.
Fans, friends, and family held vigil for the star and prayed for his recovery.
Miraculously, Dr. Dre seems to have made a full recovery, and appears to be in good spirits and top physical form.
His life has been full of tragedy, strife, and struggle, but for each instance of pain and suffering, he has gained strength from putting his energy towards music, and is credited for producing some of the most legendary music the world has ever seen.
Sources: Capital Xtra, The Guardian, Nicki Swift