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List Price: $24.95 | | Publisher: Da Capo Press
Salesrank: 165969
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| Our Price: $4.97 |
| Used Price: $2.49 |
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| Media: Hardcover |
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Editorial Review:
Born on February 18, 1965 to a sixteen-year-old single mom, Andre Young, AKA Dr. Dre, co-founded the notorious rap group N.W.A. The group was one of the most successful hip-hop groups of the late 1980s and, most importantly, started what the media quickly dubbed Gangsta Rap. His departure from N.W.A. was a story right out of a pulp fiction novel. His new mentor, Suge Knight, allegedly used guns, baseball bats and a kidnap threat to get Dr. Dre released from his contract. Dre and Knight went on to build Death Row Records and turned it into a multi-billlion dollar company. Yet despite its unprecedented success with stars such as Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tupac Shakur, the company quickly unraveled in a firestorm of rivalries, greed, violence, and scrutiny by both the government and the media. Not one to fade into the background, Dr. Dre's next move was to start his own record company, Aftermath Entertainment. As CEO, he discovered and created new stars like Eminem, 50 Cent, The Game, and Eve. In this essential addition to any music section, award-winning author Ronin Ro details the rise, fall, and resurrection of one of the biggest names in rap music.
Dr. Dre: The Biography Reviews:
For Those Who Look Beyond The Music 
2007-08-24 - This book is a chronicle of Andre Young's life, better known as Dr. Dre. It is a book written to inform and tell a story, rather than just re-count the life of a hip-hop legend. I recommend this book to anyone who looks beyond the music to the motives and the characteristics that make a Producer create music the way they do, or where they get their inspiration from. The book follows Dr. Dre through his life, beginning with a little background about his troubled life through high school, and ending with the current status of his record label, Aftermath Records. It gives a glimpse into the very personal life of this amazing producer, which is rare for any producer in music as to the nature of their work is in the studio for most of their days. It talks about his affiliations with record labels, the hardships he faced with the women, labels, friends, enemies, and death of his younger brother. This book is a must read for any Dr. Dre fan and is a must for any aspiring producer or current producer who looks beyond the music.
Nothin' But A G Thang... 
2007-07-28 - DR. DRE is the life story of the rise of a prolific hip hop producer and his struggles to succeed in the ever changing music industry. Ro attempts to share with readers Andre Young aka Dr. Dre's life from birth until now.
Born on February 18, 1965 to teenage parents, Dr. Dre's life was not an easy one living in California. However, his mom and stepfather provided a safe environment, but could not truly motivate Dr. Dre with his education. They purchased him his first mixer and found music was his motivation. From his early days as a DJ until his becoming a Grammy awarding winning producer, Dr. Dre has had to deal with change in the industry standards and even the violence he rapped about as part of NWA. He also dealt with tragedies such as the death of his brother Tyrell. Included in this biography are bits and pieces of a more personal Dr. Dre including his numerous children and the change his marriage made in how he viewed music. Impressive was the ability to chronicle how Dr. Dre rapped about life in the streets when he wasn't from the streets in the sense of being a gang banger or dealer, as well as how the hip hop changed from gangster rap to lyrics of excess and a lot less shocking in its nature.
Ro's biography of Dr. Dre seems inclusive, but at times stiff and jagged in its delivery. The life story seems to be based on information already reported in different mediums with little coming from Dr. Dre or others involved in his life. I would have liked to have seen a smoother flow of the biography where it didn't seem years overlapped and clarity of when some things took place. Although some readers will appreciate the dissection of the lyrics, I was more interested in learning something new about this producer who has produced the likes of hip hop legends and some of the new generation of hip hop. Even though I learned Dr. Dre had to deal with a lot of malcontent in the music industry, I wanted a more personal read about the man and what truly made him successful. This is a good showcase of the history of hip hop.
Reviewed by Cashana Seals
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
Great book..
2007-07-01 - First of all I'd like to say i love this book and that i have followed dre's career since the days of NWA.. I know a lot about his career but this book focused on his personal life before music and behind the scenes while he was making hits. It goes into his creative process for making hits and what his session players do. When a new character is introduced, that person gets the spotlight put on them with a little mini biography as well.. Warren G(dre's little step brother) plays a part here as well. This book also goes into detail about why Rakim and King Tee's albums were shelved.. The only problem i had with the book was a few facts were twisted as well as quotes. For example, Suge Knight's exact quote on stage at the 1995 Source Awards was misquoted and Daz's part in the making of DOGGYSTYLE wasn't included.. I wouldn't take a star away from the book for those reasons.. I recommend this book to any dre fan or music fan.. You will definately look at him different after reading this. For better or worse.
Rap Music Producer King 
2007-06-03 - this Book is a Good Chop on Dr.Dre's career as the Best Producer in Rap Music History period. Dr.Dre has often been a Mysterious and often a quite figure despite all the controversy that has often been associated with him,but make no mistakes about it, Dr.Dre is as close to a forrest Gump figure in Rap Music history as you can get. He started out with World class Wreckin crew,but His first real claim to fame was with NWA. NWA were the Sex Pistols of Rap Music and any other Musical figure that was considered a Outlaw Bad Boy type. NWA changed the whole landscape of Rap Music forever with there debut Album 'Straight outta compton". there impact and effect is still felt on Rap Music to this day. Dre's Beats and trademark Synth Grooves with the Low string vibes are part of his formula along with catchy past Hooks and grooves of yesteryear that have made him the Quincy Jones of Rap Music. and as a talent scout He is the Man who Put Snoop Dogg and Eminem truly on the Map with his touch. Ronin Ro does a really good job at chopping and creating a Book that flows really well. Dr.Dre is One of the Most Important Musical Figures over the past 25 years. also add in the fact that He was part of Ruthless Records which was Owned by the Late Eazy E,and then Dre Help Form Death Row Records and then his own Aftermath Records. either as a Artist,producer, CEO and conceptionalist Dr.Dre has had a strong hand in creating so much that has taken Rap Music to the next level and that makes the Man a Trail-Blazer of his time this Book covers his personal losses,his drama with Ruthless,Death Row and Sug Knight also his battles within the Politics of the Music Industry and being a Black Man. a Good read.
A Journalistic Re-Mix
2007-03-11 - Ronin Ro is probably perferct for hip-hop journalism since his style of writing seems to borrow the sampling technique found in most rap music. If you've followed Dre's press career, no matter how sparse, you'll quickly realize that most, if not all the quotes in this book, are "samples" from other magazines. Like an expert hip-hop producer, Ro chops up all the press and then brilliantly re-arranges it all into a coherent and remarkably seamless story. While a lot of biographies do this, they don't pull it off to the extent that Ro does.
I am grateful that this book brings all of those previously disparate pieces under the same roof. Having the puzzle finally put together reveals a man who really had to fight uphill to become the Producer that he is today. In a lot of ways, according to this book, Dre's rise to fame seem destined, but destiny sometimes seems to have taken the rockiest road.
If you haven't followed Dre's career closely, or if you simply don't remember the reportage of Dre over the years, than this book will feel fresh or, at the least, a re-fresher on the years spanning the life of hip hop's most noted producer. And in someways that's the danger of this book: because it pulls so heavily from pre-existing interviews, there's nothing really new to be presented here. But that's hardly the fault of the author, since Dre, being press shy, probably will never give a biographer any new material to work with. And maybe all that there is to say about Dre's past has been said before, and the most we can expect than is a creative narrative and Re-mix of those words.
