Dr. Dre is now 52 years old, with a self-made fortune to his credit of nearly $1 billion. It’s quite a trajectory for someone who grew up in tough Compton, California, with a drug-addicted father, dealt with the murder of his own brother and later fought a lengthy bout with alcohol abuse.
Dr. Dre is notoriously press-shy, which makes his participation in the new HBO docuseries “The Defiant Ones” all the more surprising — and enriching.
“As far as a lot of cameras around me like this … I’m at a place right now where I’m comfortable enough to … talk about these things,” the rapper says in the series, as reported by Rolling Stone.
Interweaving archival footage and in-depth interviews with legendary musicians like Bono, Snoop Dogg and Bruce Springsteen, director Allen Hughes (known for making “Menace to Society,” “Dead Presidents” and “From Hell” with his twin brother, Albert) takes viewers on a behind-the-scenes look at how Dr. Dre (whose real name is Andre Young) and veteran music executive Jimmy Iovine together rose to fame.
“I really liked the dynamic of their relationship, and that’s what I wanted to explore,” Mr. Hughes told The Washington Times on the red carpet for the documentary’s Hollywood premiere. “These two have influenced and nurtured countless iconic artists and redefined the very way people listen to music.”
Mr. Hughes, who produced Dr. Dre’s song “I Need a Doctor,” said he has known both men for a quarter-century, and “The Defiant Ones” finally presented a way for the three to work together.
“I have respected them greatly as artists and friends,” Mr. Hughes said. “What they accomplished was just incredible … during a time of real innovation and collaboration,” Mr. Hughes, who grew up in Southern California, said.
In addition to shining a light on their artistic success, “The Defiant Ones” also worms its way into dark corners, such as Dr. Dre’s alcoholism leading to such notorious incidents as assaulting journalist Dee Barnes. (“I was outta my … mind at the time,” he says in the footage.) Furthermore, Mr. Iovine waxes candidly about how his own actions may have spurred the East Coast/West Coast rap feuds of the ’90s that led to the deaths of such artists as Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.
However, at the Television Critics Press Tour, Mr. Iovine said that, in a time of
great cultural division, the successful story of a black man and a white man working together is especially timely. America, he said, is “so screwed up in this area,” and he bemoaned what he believes is a step back in U.S. race relations in the Trump era.
Both he and Dr. Dre “grew up in racially charged neighborhoods, and the reason why I agreed to do this was because it was about the relationship,” Mr. Iovine said.
Mr. Iovine was raised in a middle-class area of Brooklyn and started his career as a studio assistant, eventually becoming a sound engineer for numerous A-list musicians like Mr. Springsteen and Patti Smith. He created Interscope Records, which is where he met Dr. Dre in 1992, when the rapper came into Interscope’s offices to play him his nuanced solo debut, “The Chronic.”
“We just hit it off, and through very difficult circumstances … that have never been seen in entertainment before,” Mr. Iovine said. “We stuck together, and
that’s what the story is about, really.”
On the opposite side of the country, Dr. Dre first found his voice as a member of the World Class Wreckin’ Cru before vaulting into worldwide fame with N.W.A. Dr. Dre, who founded Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, was also previously the co-owner of Death Row Records, the label lorded over by the notorious Marion “Suge” Knight.
Mr. Iovine said talent such as Dr. Dre’s is rare, and he related what Ahmet Ertegun, the onetime president of Atlantic Records, told him of discovering such ability: “He said, ’If you bump into a genius on a beach, never let him go.’
“We went through this together, and there were some pretty rough … and dangerous times,” Mr. Iovine said. “Dre is an extraordinary talent and an extraordinary person.”
Dr. Dre — who, according to Forbes, is the third-richest figure in hip-hop, with a net worth of $740 million — acknowledges the many other demons he has faced in his personal and professional lives.
“I have always been underestimated,” he says in the “The Defiant Ones.”
“The Defiant Ones” premieres at 9 p.m. Sunday on HBO.
— Eric Althoff contributed to this report from Washington.
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