Hip-hop icon Dr. Dre will be honored with the inaugural ASCAP Hip-Hop Icon Award at the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards Celebration of 50 Years of Hip-Hop. The ASCAP Hip-Hop Icon Award is “presented to ASCAP members whose musical contributions have made an indelible impact on the art and culture of hip-hop.”
The event will take place on Thursday, June 22, 2023 in Los Angeles, with legendary DJs Kid Capri and DJ Drama providing the music for the occasion.
In a press statement, Paul Williams, ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President, lauded Dr. Dre for his immense accomplishments over the course of his remarkable career.
“Dr. Dre’s groundbreaking early work laid a foundation for hip hop as we know it today. As a champion for some of today’s biggest artists and a successful entrepreneur, he changed the culture around hip hop,” Williams said. “Dre continues to be a pivotal figure in the music industry and we are thrilled to recognize him with the inaugural ASCAP Hip-Hop Icon Award as we mark 50 years of hip hop.”
Hailed as one of the greatest producers of all time, Dre came to prominence as a member of the groundbreaking rap collective NWA, which included Ice Cube, Eazy-E, DJ Yella and MC Ren, who released their trailblazing debut album Straight Outta Compton in 1988. In 2016, the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Dr. Dre went on to co-found Death Row Records and released his classic debut The Chronic in 1992, which sold over 5 million copies. The LP launched the careers of Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, Warren G. and Nate Dogg. After leaving Death Row in 1996, Dr. Dre founded Aftermath Entertainment, where he discovered and produced platinum-selling albums for Eminem, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar, and Anderson. Paak.
Outside of music, Dr. Dre and fellow music mogul Jimmy Iovine established Beats Electronics in 2008 and Beats Music, which was purchased by Apple for $3 billion in 2014. They also launched the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation and the Iovine and Young Center (IYC) Integrated Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship (IDTE) Magnet, a new high school in the Los Angeles School district.
Among his many accolades, Dr. Dre has won eight Grammy awards, plus three Emmy awards for his Pepsi Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show Starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, and 50 Cent.
