Who is Dr. Dre?
Dr. Dre is an American rapper, actor, record producer, record executive and entrepreneur. He is credited for popularizing the gangsta rap subgenre and is often regarded as a hip-hop legend. Dr. Dre is popularly known for hit songs like, “Forgot About Dre,” and “Family Affair” which he produced for Mary J. Blige.
Dr. Dre’s real name is Andre Romelle Young. He was born on February 18, 1965, in Compton, California, the United States to his parents – Theodore and Verna Young. His middle name, Romelle is derived from the Romells, the name of his father’s R&B group. As of July 2022, Dr. Dre is 57 years old.
About Dr. Dre’s parents
Dr. Dre’s mother, Verna Young is a Harlingen Consolidated Independent school teacher. She has also spent about nine years working as the principal of Bonham Elementary School. She married Dr. Dre’s father, Theodore Young in 1964 and divorced him in 1972, nine years after their marriage. Verna Young remarried Curtis Crayon and had three children with him. Her marriage to Curtis Crayon did not work out and so they got divorced again and she married Warren Griffin.
Dr. Dre’s father, Theodore Young has a strained relationship with his son. In a 2021 interview, Theodore Young claimed that Dr. Dre wanted absolutely nothing to do with him and that they don’t have a relationship.
He said:
“I haven’t seen Andre since his grandfather died and I can’t even remember when that was. We have no relationship. My other sons love me. They tell me they love me. But coming from where I come from, most young men like Andre who have a big success don’t give a damn about their dad.”
Theodore Young admitted that he was not exactly a paragon of good parenting during Dr. Dre’s childhood. He also added that after his split from Verna Young, Dr. Dre’s maternal grandmother raised him. He implied that Dr. Dre’s grandmother might have poisoned Dr. Dre’s mind against him.
About Dr. Dre’s siblings
Dr. Dre has four half-siblings from his mother’s other relationships after her split from his father, Theodore Young.
a. Warren G
American rapper and music producer Warren Griffin III became Dr. Dre’s stepbrother when Dre’s mother married Warren G’s father. Later on, Dr. Dre met Snoop Dogg through Warren G. Warren G was born on November 10, 1970, in Long Beach, California. As of July 2022, he is 51 years old.
b. Tyree DuSean Crayon is another of Dr. Dre’s stepbrothers. He was born to Verna Young, Dr. Dre’s mother and his stepfather, Curtis Crayon. Tyree Crayon passed away on June 25, 1989, at the age of 21. He was killed while trying to break up a street fight on Slauson Avenue in Compton. His murder remains unsolved to this day.
c. Jerome Crayon is also Dr. Dre’s stepbrother. He was born to Verna Young and Curtis Crayon. Jerome Crayon died in infancy from pneumonia. About the loss of his two brothers, Dr. Dre said:
There’s this certain pain that I feel, and I don’t know if it’s because of my brothers’ deaths or (other) deaths in the family. But it’s this thing.
d. Shameka Crayon is Dr. Dre’s only stepsister. She was born to Verna Young and Curtis Crayon. She is the only living child from Young’s marriage to Crayon.
About Dr. Dre’s marriage and wedding
Despite having a long list of previous relationships, Dr. Dre has been married and divorced once. He was married to Nicole Young in 1996 and they got divorced in 2021. He was also previously engaged to R&B singer, Michel’le but the controversial relationship ended following stories of assault and violence from Dr. Dre’s side.
List of Dr. Dre’s girlfriends
Below is a list of women Dr. Dre has reportedly dated or hooked up with.
- Cassandra Joy Greene and Dr. Dre dated in 1980.
- Jenita Porter and Dr. Dre dated in 1987.
- Michel’le and Dr. Dre dated in 1988.
- Nicole Young and Dr. Dre started dating in the mid-1990s and got married in 1996.
- Karrine Steffans and Dr. Dre dated in 2000.
- Apryl Jones allegedly dated Dr. Dre in 2020.
- Lisa Johnson and Dr. Dre dated in 1982.
List of Dr. Dre’s baby mamas
- Cassandre Greene
- Lisa Johnson
- Jenita Porter
- Michel’le
- Nicole Young
About Dr. Dre’s relationship with Cassandra Greene
Cassandra Joy Greene and Dr. Dre dated back in 1980. At the time, Dr. Dre was 16 years old and Cassandra Joy Greene was 15 years old. They have a son called Curtis together.
About Dr. Dre’s relationship with Lisa Johnson
Dr. Dre and Lisa Johnson dated in 1982. They welcomed their daughter, LaTanya in 1983 . Apart from LaTanya, Dr. Dre and Lisa Johnson have two other daughters together named LaToya and Ashley. Lisa Johnson met Dr. Dre when she was 14 years old and Dr. Dre was 16 years old. Lisa Johnson claimed that after Dr. Dre’s rise to fame, she did not receive any child support.
She said:
“He didn’t do any child support and he didn’t stop contacting me.”
With the help of her aunt, Lisa Johnson later filed a domestic violence restraining order against Dr. Dre.
About Dr. Dre’s relationship with Jenita Porter
Jenita Porter and Dr. Dre started dating in 1987. Sadly, the relationship did not last and they broke up a year later in 1988. During their relationship, Jenita Porter and Dr. Dre had a son called Andre Young Jr. together. After the split, Porter sued Dr. Dre seeking five thousand dollars in child support per month.
About Dr. Dre’s relationship with Michel’le
Michel’le is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. Dr. Dre and Michel’le started dating in 1988. They were also engaged for a while. In 1991, Michel’le and Dr. Dre welcomed their son, Marcel. During their relationship, Michel’le alleged that Dr. Dre often beat her. According to her, Dr. Dre broke her nose, cracked her ribs and blackened her eyes. In an interview, Michel’le said:
“When you’re living in it, you can’t see it. But I couldn’t believe that I was really living like that. And it really resonated with me. Never did I wake up and ask Dre, ‘Why did you hit me?'”
In response to Michel’le’s physical assault allegations, Dr. Dre released a statement saying that while some of the allegations were true, he is a changed man.
He said:
“I made some fucking horrible mistakes in my life. I was young, fucking stupid. I wouldn’t say all the allegations aren’t true, some of them are. Those are some of the things that I would really like to take back. It was really fucked up. But I paid for those mistakes and there’s no way in hell that I will ever make another mistake like that again.”
About Dr. Dre’s marriage to Nicole Young
Dr. Dre and Nicole Young met in the mid-90s when she was still in a relationship with Sedale Threatt. Dr. Dre reportedly sent Nicole Young a romantic letter and so, after her divorce from Sedale Threatt, she got together with Dr. Dre. The two tied the knot in 1996 after four months of dating. They welcomed their only son together, Truice in 1997 and their daughter, Truly in 2001. In 2015, when Michel’le and hip-hop journalist, Dee Barnes came forward with abuse allegations against Dr. Dre, Nicole Young stood by her husband. Sadly, in June 2020, Nicole Young filed for divorce from Dr. Dre, also accusing him of domestic abuse and citing irreconcilable differences as the reason for their split.
In a statement, Nicole Young said:
“During our marriage, I considered calling the police several times; but as I fell deeper into the abusive relationship, my fear of Andre outweighed any confidence I had that the police could help me.”
Nicole Young accused Dr. Dre of two counts of physical assault where he allegedly held her at gunpoint in 2000 and 2001. Dr. Dre denied the allegations, stating that she was using it as a strategy. As settlement, Nicole Young gets an estimated amount of three hundred thousand dollars in spousal support from Dr. Dre every month.
About Dr. Dre’s children
As of July 2022, Dr. Dre has a total of nine children from five different women. Two of his children are from his marriage to Nicole Young and the other seven from women he has been romantically involved with in the past. One of Dr. Dre’s 9 children died of an overdose of drugs in 2008.
List of Dr. Dre’s children
- Curtis Young
- LaTanya Young
- Tyra Young
- LaToya Young
- Ashley Young
- Andre Young Jr.
- Marcel Young
- Truice Young
- Truly Young
a. Curtis Young
Curtis Young was born on December 15, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, the United States to Dr. Dre and his ex-girlfriend, Cassandra Joy Greene. As of July 2022, Curtis Young is 40 years old. According to information gathered by DNB Stories Africa, Dr. Dre did not meet Curtis Young until he was 20 years old. Curtis Young is a rapper and goes by the moniker, Hood Surgeon. He started releasing albums and mixtapes in 2006 and in July 2021, it was reported that he was to star in the upcoming film, “Charge It To The Game.” Curtis Young is happily married to Vanessa Young and they reportedly have two sons together.
b. LaTanya Young
LaTanya Danielle Young was born in 1983 to Lisa Johnson and Dr. Dre. In December 2020, LaTanya Young claimed that she hadn’t seen her father in seventeen years and that Dr. Dre has never met her children. In August 2021, LaTanya Young claimed that she was struggling financially and was homeless and living out of her car to make ends meet.
She said:
“I’m taking odd jobs just to make it now. I get paid fifteen dollars an hour as an assembler at a warehouse. I’m trying to keep my head above water. I’ve been in debt for a while.”
She added that the only way she could contact Dr. Dre was through his lawyers. LaTanya Young said that while Dr. Dre has helped her in the past, he stopped in January 2020 because she talked to the press about him.
c. Andre Young Jr.
Andre Young Jr. was born in 1988 to Dr. Dre and Jenita Porter. Sadly, he passed away on August 23, 2008, at the age of 20. He was reportedly discovered to be dead by his mother, Jenita Porter. According to the Los Angeles coroner, the cause of death was ruled to be an overdose of heroin and morphine.
d. Truice Young
Truice Young was born in 1997 in Los Angeles, California, the United States to Dr. Dre and his ex-wife, Nicole Young. Truice Young works in the music industry as a music producer and has worked with several artists. He is currently 25 years old.
e. Truly Young
Truly Young was born in 2001 to Nicole Young and Dr. Dre. As of July 2022, she is 21 years old.
f. Marcel Young
Marcel Young is Dr. Dre’s son with singer Michel’le. He is 30 years old as of 2022. Not much is known about him as he likes to stay out of the media.
Information about Dre’s other children is currently scarce in the media.
About Dr. Dre’s altercation with Dee Barnes
Back when Dr. Dre was dating Michel’le in the 90s, he allegedly attacked hip-hop journalist, Dee Barnes. The reason for the attack was that Barnes did an interview with Ice Cube that left Dr. Dre feeling disrespected.
About the incident, Dee Barnes said:
“He picked me up by my hair and my ear and smashed my face and body into the wall… Next thing I know, I’m down on the ground and he’s kicking me in the ribs and stomping on my fingers. I ran into the women’s bathroom to hide but he burst through the door and started bashing me in the back of my head.”
At the time of the altercation, Dr. Dre was unapologetic towards Barnes and so she sued him for $22 million dollars before they settled out of court. However, in 2017, Dr. Dre apologized to Barnes and the other women that he allegedly abused.
He said:
“I apologize to the women I’ve hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives. Twenty-five years ago, I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life. However, none of this is an excuse for what I did. I’ve been married for 19 years and everyday, I’m working to be a better man for my family, seeking guidance along the way. I’m doing everything I can do I never resemble that man again.”
