Dr. Dre now has a place on Hollywood Boulevard.
The West Coast rap pioneer was honored Tuesday, March 19, with the 2,775th sttar on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent, Xzibit, and Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine all attended the ceremony, as Dre’s star was unveiled in the category of recording.
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The star is located at 6840 Hollywood Blvd., next to Snoop’s star on the Los Angeles landmark.
With his friends by his side, Dr. Dre joked that Snoop and 50 Cent were inducted into the Walk of Fame before him “for some f–ing reason.”
“No, but in all seriousness, I love the idea of being memorialized on the Hollywood Walk of Fame,” Dre said. “It’s an incredible tribute to my artistry. Growing up in Compton, I never imagined that I would one day be represented here among some of my childhood heroes.”
Jimmy Iovine, who established Beats Electronics with Dre in 2006 and later launched Beats Music with the rapper, talked about getting into business with his friend.
“Dr. Dre is the greatest partner, friend and ally you could possibly have,” said Iovine.
After taking the podium, Snoop looked back on making music with Dre for three decades.
“Take a look at us, over 30 years later and we’re still on the grind in the studio, and you still make me do every line 100 motherf–ing times,” Snoop said jokingly. “You always bring out the best of the Dogg, Dr. Dre, and that I do appreciate.”
Los Angeles radio legend Big Boy hosted the ceremony, which streamed live online for fans across the globe.
Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, was born in Compton in 1965.
He was a DJ on Los Angeles radio station KDAY back in the day.
In 1985, he co-founded groundbreaking Compton gangsta rap group N.W.A, which was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
He launched his solo career in 1992 with the release of his album, The Chronic, which has been certified triple platinum by the RIAA, and won a Grammy for Best Rap Solo Performance (“Let Me Ride”).
Dr. Dre started Aftermath Entertainment in 1996, and is credited with discovering Eminem, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar, and Anderson .Paak.
In 2013, the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation was established.
The two music moguls expanded their efforts to create educational opportunities in 2022, by partnering with the Los Angeles Unified School District to create the Iovine and Young Center (IYC) Integrated Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (IDTE) Magnet, a new high school aimed at developing young leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs.
Dre also donated 10 million dollars to Compton High School for a new performing arts center.
In 2022, he collaborated with Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, 50 Cent, Eminem, and Kendrick Lamar on the Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood.
The performance won three Emmys, including for Outstanding Variety Special, which was the only time the Super Bowl halftime show picked up the Emmy in that category.
A year earlier, Dre was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for a brain aneurysm.
Last week, he revealed he suffered three strokes while undergoing treatment. Dre said the health scare “definitely makes you appreciate being alive,” during an interview on the “This Life of Mine with James Corden” podcast.
