We already brought you the first part of our list of 15 things you probably didn’t know about Dr. Dre, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more facts we bet you didn’t know about this rapper, record producer and all-around successful entrepreneur. You might be surprised by what you learn!
Number Eight: Dre Is Not Exactly a Doctor. Though Dre has made some brilliant business decisions, he has also had several major brain farts. When Dr. Dre first heard about Eminem, he had no idea that Eminem was white.
Number Seven: He Got His Middle Name From Music. Dr. Dre’s father was in a band called The Romelles. Dr Dre’s middle name is Romelle, which he got from his father’s R&B group we just mentioned. How sweet!
Number Six: He Made More Money Listening to Music Than He Ever Did Making It. Thanks to the huge success of the sale of Beats to Apple, Dr. Dre has made more money from his headphones than he did by making music. Beats was sold to Apple for a whopping $3.2 billion.
Number Five: He Is Admired by Kanye. According to Kanye, Dr. Dre’s album, The Chronic, “…is still the hip-hop equivalent to Stevie Wonder’s Songs in the Key of Life. It’s the benchmark you measure your album against if you’re serious.” Does this mean Kanye thinks Dr. Dre is a better rapper than he is? The jury is out on that one.
Number Four: He Has an Interesting Connection to Tom Brady. Dr. Dre spent $40 million to buy a home in Los Angeles in 2014 that had previously belonged to NFL quarterback Tom Brady and his wife Gisele Bundchen. That’s quite a hefty price for a home, no matter how rich you are.
Number Three: He Was Almost Part of a NWA Reunion. Though rumors of a NWA reunion with Snoop Dogg replacing Eazy-E have been flying around for decades, it never actually happened. However, NWA did perform during the Up In Smoke tour, and the group recorded a song for the soundtrack of Next Friday.
Number Two: He Has Been Successful From the Beginning. Though NWA’s debut album, Straight Outta Compton, cost just $12,000 to make, it sold three million copies. It is now known as one of the most classically recognized and admired rap albums of all time.
Number One: He Is on His Way to Becoming Rap’s First Billionaire. Since selling Beats, Dr. Dre has an estimated net worth of $700 million. He is one of the richest rappers alive and is well on his way to becoming the first billionaire in the industry.