Dr. Dre: The Biography [Hardcover]

Ronin Ro (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2007

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Prolific rap chronicler Ro presents the most comprehensive treatment yet of a pivotal figure and founder of the rap industry. Dre has had a hand in nearly every development, feud, and trend since the early 1990s, when he and his seminal hip-hop aggregation N.W.A. (stands for Niggaz with Attitude, in case you've forgotten) emerged from Compton, California. He later managed, produced, or mentored superstars Busta Rhymes, Rakim, and 50 Cent and guaranteed platinum sellers Snoop Dog and Eminem. Ro uncovers a more reflective and introspective side of a man who has certainly seen it all, as far as the meteoric rise and contentious history of rap is concerned. In 1988, N.W.A. released Straight Outta Compton, arguably the first gangsta rap album. Its provocative tracks brought radio bannings and public hand-wringing about the threat to society N.W.A., its songs, and its ilk represented. It made N.W.A. notorious and wealthy and led to the founding of Death Row Records, the East-West rap feud, and the gangland-style murders of rival rappers. Dre maintained a thoughtful composure. Probably one of the 10 best books on rap. Mike Tribby
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Prolific rap chronicler Ro presents the most comprehensive treatment yet of a pivotal figure and founder of the rap industry. Dre has had a hand in nearly every development , feud, and trend since the early 1990s, when he and his seminal hip hop aggregation N.W.A. (stands for Niggaz With Attitude, in case you've forgotten) emerged from Compton, California. He later managed, produced or mentored superstars Busta Rhymes, Rakim, and 50 Cent, and guaranteed platinum sellers Snoop Dog and Eminem. Ro uncovers a more reflective and introspective side of a man who has certainly seen it all, as far as the meteoric rise and contentious history of rap is concerned. In 1988, N.W.A. released Straight Outta Compton, arguably the first gangsta rap album. Its provocative tracks brought radio bannings and public hand-wringing about the threat to society N.W.A., its songs, and its ilk represented. It made N.W.A. notorious and wealthy, and led to the founding of Death Row Records, the east-west rap feud, and the gangland-style murders of rival rappers. Dre maintained a thoughtful composure. Probably one of the 10 best books on rap. -- Booklist, April 15, 2007

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (March 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560259213
• ISBN-13: 978-1560259213
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,866 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After penning a column for Dance Music Report magazine, Ronin Ro began a groundbreaking run in The Source. From here, Ro contributed to SPIN, Rolling Stone, VIBE, Rap Pages, XXL, Vanity Fair, Playboy, USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, and more. To date, Ro has authored eight Books, including the classic Have Gun Will Travel, the definitive Jack Kirby bio Tales to Astonish, Raising Hell (containing original interviews with Run-D.M.C. and others), Dr. Dre: The Biography, the controversial novella Street Sweeper (whose hero, Jerome Usher, reputedly inspired a similar hero in the motion picture Man on Fire) and the upcoming Prince: Inside the Music and the Masks. Currently in New York City, known for epic, classically-structured works, the influential Author is currently at work on two nonfiction projects.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Journalistic Re-Mix, March 10, 2007

By 

Ahmad Jordan "Ahmad Jordan" (Bufalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dr. Dre: The Biography (Hardcover)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rap Music Producer King, June 3, 2007

By 

A customer "mistermaxxx" (usa) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dr. Dre: The Biography (Hardcover)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Hate to piggy-back a review, but Ahmad's review got it right..., December 23, 2008

By 

Vince A. (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Dr. Dre: The Biography (Hardcover)

I can't add much more than what Ahmad said in his review. This book was not very insightful about Dr. Dre beyond what many of us have heard or read through the years. This book felt like one long article from Vibe or The Source. Although it was all chronological and brought together the information in a clear format, it still felt like very "surface" information. Some of the best info revolved around the transition from N.W.A. to trying to complete/distribute the Chronic.

I would recommend the book for a Dre fan. For someone looking for a good hip hop bio/auto-bio I would recommend Jermaine Dupri's book which has a lot more in depth info regarding J.D. and the things that happened to get him where he is today. Its not totally fair to compare a biography with an autobiography, so this Dre book did what it could given what I'm sure was available to work with.