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Profile: Dr Dre

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22/08/2015

Dr Dre

BBC Radio 4 - Profile, Dr Dre

Dr Dre has made an indelible mark on popular culture. Mark Coles tells his story.

Mark Coles tells the story of Dr Dre, the former NWA star who has made an indelible mark on popular culture and has become a hugely wealthy businessman.

Dr Dre's first album for 16 years is top of the charts and a film charting the rise of NWA - his breakout 90s gangsta rap group - is playing to packed cinemas.

Over the past 25 years Dr Dre has made an indelible mark on popular culture. After NWA he founded a record label and turned producer - making global stars of artists like Snoop Dogg and Eminem.

And he's a hugely successful businessman. His Beats brand - whose headphones have become a ubiquitous fashion accessory - was sold last year to Apple for $3bn (£1.8bn).

It's all a long way from his start in life as a poor child to a teenage mother in Los Angeles. But, as Mark Coles hears, there's a dark side to Dr Dre's story of almost unimaginable success.

Producers: Keith Moore and James Melley.

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