Dr Dre is one of the biggest names in music but his troubled family life recently hit headlines again after his allegedly estranged homeless daughter spoke out.
It comes after the music star also suffered the tragic death of his son at only 20 years old, and after controversy amid multiple claims that the rapper was violent with women.
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The 56-year-old, whose real name is Andre Young, first made it big with hip-hop group NWA in the 1980s but later enjoyed success as a solo act after releasing his first album in 1992.
He co-founded Death Row Records in 1991 before starting up Aftermath Entertainment in 1996, signing Eminem and 50 Cent to his label.
Dre would later go on to be the richest rapper in the world after his sale of Beats to Apple pushed his net worth up to $A1 billion ($US800 million).
Yet despite his continued status as a top music mogul, the producer has still found himself the subject of family trouble with a nasty divorce currently going through the courts.
After first becoming a father in high school, Dre would not meet his first son Curtis until the boy was 20 years old, according to Biography.com.
Curtis has since followed in his father’s footsteps, rapping under the name “Hood Surgeon.”
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Creative state of mind... Raised to riseð¯ #nosilverspoon#humble#hungry#driven#curtisyoungpic.twitter.com/I3BpAd57Tr
— CURTIS YOUNG (@mrcurtisyoung) February 1, 2018
His first daughter La Tonya – his second child – was also born while he was still in high school.
Dre had his third child with singer Michel’le after they worked together on World Class Wreckin’ Crew, and in the 1980s fathered another son, Andre R Young Jr, with Jenita Porter.
The rapper had his fifth and sixth children, a son named Truth and a daughter named Truly, with wife Nicole Threatt, whom he married in 1996.
Dre’s fourth child, Andre R Young Jr, tragically died of a drug overdose aged 20 in August 2008.
He had reportedly been out with friends the night before and was discovered in bed by his mother in their California home.
The Los Angeles County coroner said he overdosed on heroin and morphine and it was ruled an accident.
Young Jr had been the subject of a paternity dispute in 1990.
Porter filed a lawsuit against Dre for $5000-a-month in child support, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Dre was 25 when the suit was filed and Young Jr was only two years old.
Porter said that Dre had promised to support their child before he was born but she only received a few gifts and a small amount of cash.
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Earlier this month, Dre’s second child La Tonya also claimed that she is living in her car despite begging for help from her billionaire dad.
LaTanya Young, a 38-year-old single mother of four who works for food delivery services and in a warehouse, said she has not received money from her famous dad in 18 months.
Young told The Daily Mail that she has not seen her father in 18 years and has to go through his team when she needs to contact him.
Young’s mother, Lisa Johnson, split from Dre when their daughter was only five years old.
Young said she is living out of a rental car to try to make ends meet.
“I’m homeless and I’ve been reaching out to my dad for help,” she said.
“His lawyer has said that my dad doesn’t want to help me because I’ve spoken about him in the press.
“I feel like I’m damned if I do, I’m damned if I don’t. I’m just trying to communicate with him and see if he wants to talk to his grandkids.”
Young said that her children, who are staying with friends as she tries to make some money, don’t understand why they’ve never met their grandfather.
Assault Against Journalist
The allegations of Dre’s violence against women first emerged in 1991 after hip-hop journalist Dee Barnes said he assaulted her after an interview he didn’t like.
Barnes had been speaking to former NWA member Ice Cube who said negative things about the group at the time, Variety reports.
Dre reportedly then approached Barnes at a party.
Her 1991 statement claimed that he began “slamming her face and right side of her body repeatedly against a wall near the stairway.”
Dre, who was 26 at the time, then allegedly followed her into the bathroom, grabbed her by the hair, and started hitting the back of her head.
“Next thing I know, I’m down on the ground and he’s kicking me in the ribs and stamping on my fingers,” she told the Los Angeles Times.
“I ran into the women’s bathroom to hide, but he burst through the door and started bashing me in the back of the head.”
Barnes’ lawsuit against Dre was settled out of court and the terms were not disclosed.
The music star also pleaded no contest to misdemeanour battery charges in August 1991 and was fined $A3402 ($US2513), sentenced to 240 hours of community service, and 24 months probation.
He later spoke out about the incident and admitted his guilt in an HBO documentary series about his work.
“No woman should ever be treated that way. Any man that puts his hands on a female is an idiot. He’s out of his f**king mind,” he said, according to the Washington Post.
“And I was out of my f**king mind at the time. I f**ked up. I paid for it. I’m sorry for it. And I apologised for it.
“I have this dark cloud that follows me, and it’s going to be attached to me forever. It’s a major blemish on who I am as a man, and every time it comes up, it just makes me feel f**ked up.”
Allegations that Dre assaulted other women including former girlfriend Michel’le resurfaced in 2015 after the release of the biopic Straight Outta Compton.
“I apologise to the women I’ve hurt,” Dre said in a statement to the New York Times at the time.
“I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives.”
Nasty divorce
Claims of abuse have also emerged in Dre’s divorce from his wife Nicole Threatt, 51.
She made the accusations of abuse earlier this year as she filed an unsuccessful application for a restraining order.
Threatt filed for force from the rapper in June 2020 citing irreconcilable differences after 24 years of marriage.
They had not been seen together in months.
The Beats By Dre founder allegedly claimed that Threatt didn’t make her accusations until after the divorce filing as she realised the prenup would prevent her from aiming for half of his fortune.
He alleged that she was trying to squeeze money out of him in their $1 billion divorce, according to TMZ.
Nicole is requesting roughly $A2.7 million ($US2 million) for temporary spousal support and an additional $A6.8 million ($US5 million) in lawyer fees.
She claimed he “could lose a portion” of his $1 billion fortune in their divorce because he allegedly “tore up” their prenup after he felt bad for pressuring her into signing it.
Dre’s worth skyrocketed after he sold his headphones brand Beats by Dre to Apple in 2014 for $A3 billion ($US2.2 billion).
Drunk driving charges
In August 1994, Dre was charged with five months in jail after pleading no contest to drink driving charges, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The then 28-year-old was ordered to pay a $A1425 ($US1053) fine and attend an alcohol education program.
The Grammy winner was arrested on January 10 of that year after failing a sobriety test following an early morning high-speed chase through Beverly Hills.
The entertainer was jailed as the judge ruled he had broken the terms of a three-year probated sentence stemming from a 1992 battery conviction in which he had allegedly punched a man and broken his jaw.
Mystery brain aneurysm
Dre was hospitalised in January this year after reportedly suffering a mystery brain aneurysm.
He was allegedly rushed to intensive care but told fans he will be “back home soon.”
Alongside a snap of himself in the studio on Instagram, Dre said: “Thanks to my family, friends, and fans for their interest and well-wishes.
“I’m doing great and getting excellent care from my medical team. I will be out of the hospital and back home soon. Shout out to all the great medical professionals at Cedars. One Love!!”
It was not initially known what caused the bleeding.
Younger brother killed
Dr Dre’s half-brother Tyree died in 1989 just as he was in the middle of touring Straight Outta Compton.
He was reportedly attacked and left with a broken neck.
The entertainer dedicated the song The Message to him.
Dre’s brother Jerome also died of pneumonia when he was only a year old.
This story originally appeared in The Sun and is reproduced here with permission
