LA Independent News Services
Hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame – with Eminem, 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg among the stars celebrating him.
Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, began his career as a founding member of gangsta rap group N.W.A and later was a central figure in West Coast G-funk hip-hop.
Dr Dre said he was “incredibly grateful” for the support from fans over the years.
“Most of us have grown up together and at nearly 60 years old, you’re still rocking with me, and I appreciate that,” he said.
“Which is really good because I’m nowhere near done, you better believe there’s a lot more coming.”
Then while appearing on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ the rap icon shared the news of his protégé’s 12th record.
“Eminem is working on his own album, which is coming out this year,” said Dre, who has a production credit on some of the album’s tracks. “He said it was OK for me to make an announcement right here on the show.
“I’m actually going to get the entire album for the first time tomorrow … I haven’t even heard anything complete that I’ve done, but I’m going to hear it and he’s putting out an album in 2024.”
The release of “The Chronic” in 1992 catapulted Dr. Dre to the top of the rap game as an artist and president of Death Row Records. He went on to found Aftermath Records and become one of the rap genre’s most sought-after producers in the 2000s.
Dr. Dre then had a second act as founder and CEO of Beats Electronics, which was bought by Apple six years after its debut for $3.4 billion. In the past decade, Dr. Dre has also focused on philanthropy, donating $70 million to USC to create a new academy there, and $10 million to Compton High School.
Eminem’s new release will be his 12th studio album, following 2020’s “Music to Be Murdered By.” That album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, becoming Eminem’s 10th consecutive album to achieve this feat.
Dr. Dre brought the rapper to national attention by signing him to a major label deal and producing his 1998 breakout hit, “My Name Is,” and two other tracks on the Detroit-native’s debut record.
Four years later, Dr. Dre played the same mentor role to another protégé, rapper 50 Cent, who also joined him on Kimmel with Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre’s longtime friend and collaborator.
The two told Kimmel’s audience stories of their years working with Dr. Dre, from ’90s hits from Dr. Dre’s debut masterpiece, “The Chronic,” through 50 Cent’s Dre-produced “In da Club” over a decade later, and their appearance together at the 2022 Super Bowl Halftime Show.
