11 Of Dr. Dre’s Lesser-Known Hustles

1 of 12

❯

❮

Dr. Dre recently turned 50, which means he’s been getting money for a good 30 years and change. His blueprint is in N.W.A, Death Row Records, and even G-Unit.

photo: WENN

That said, not every one of Dr. Dre’s moves has been a proverbial home run. On his way to stacking a billion dollars worth of Beats Electronics money, there have been a number of ventures that either were forgotten or fizzled out. Check 11 of Dr. Dre’s lesser-known hustles to see the key to his money-making ways.

—
Photo: WENN

photo: WENN

Aftermath Cognac

Laugh all you want, but this one was so serious the higher ups sent out a press release to announce Dr. Dre’s partnership with Drinks Americas. The company is behind Trump Super Premium Vodka and Rheingold Beer. They’ve also been in a partnership with Universal Interscope Geffen A&M Records, since 2007, so this was a hardcore business move.

photo: WENN

Dr. Dre Kicks?

During his appearance at the 2014 Revolt Music Conference, Jimmy Iovine revealed that he initially talked Dre out of launching a sneaker line on the advice of his lawyer. Dre chose audio equipment over kicks, and it made him a billionaire.

World Class Wreckin’ Cru

Where would the Good Doctor be without his initial music hustle? Get your Google on, and you’ll see that Dr. Dre has been knee deep in this music hustle since the ‘80s.

photo: WENN

Let Me Ride Hydraulics

In happier times, Dr. Dre and Suge Knight shared at least two business ventures, including Let Me Ride Hydraulics. It was a car customization shop with about 15 employees that Suge made a point to mention in almost every press opportunity.

The Firm

Dr. Dre originally wanted The Firm on his newly launched Aftermath label. Dre made sure to keep in contact with Nas after they met on the Murder Was The Case set (hence “Nas Is Coming”). Ultimately, The Firm was a joint venture between Interscope, Columbia, and Aftermath.

photo: WENN

Diddy Beats

At one point, Jimmy Iovine was trying to get half of Interscope’s urban music division in bed with Beats. This included Diddy, as he got some earbuds in a partnership named Diddy Beats. Once that got the axe, they just rebranded the earbud idea as LeBron James bought a stake in Beats and rolled out PowerBeats. Chess not checkers.

Helter Skelter

The song “Natural Born Killaz” left people fiending for another Dr. Dre and Ice Cube collaboration, but their respective empires were too big to figure out the logistics. Immediately after dipping from Death Row, Dr. Dre told VIBE he was down to make the Helter Skelter album happen with Cube even if it took 10 years. Tick tock.

photo: WENN

Method Man’s Verse On “East Coast/West Coast Killas”

If you’re wondering why you’ve heard Method Man on a Daz Dillinger beat but never a Dr. Dre track, you have to ask Meth. Dre said he originally asked Method Man to drop a verse on “East Coast/West Coast Killas,” but something came up and he never heard back from Meth.

photo: WENN

Dre’s Please Listen To My Demo Autobiography

The closest we got to a tell all biography was the unsanctioned, Rollin’ with Dre: The Unauthorized Account: An Insider’s Tale of the Rise, Fall, and Rebirth of West Coast Hip-Hop in 2008. Dre had plans for an official bio, but somewhere along the line, he changed his mind.

photo: WENN

Beats Music: Daisy

This one gets confusing. Beats acquired streaming service MOG Music in 2014, and all signs pointed to a Beats Music streaming service with the codename “Daisy.” Beats had a short-lived run of its own before being acquired by Apple, and most are assuming Beats will be folded into a newer version of iTunes.

photo: WENN

HeartBeats

In another case of Jimmy Iovine presumably going in for the kill, he oversaw the nonsensical pairing of Lady Gaga and Dre for a headphone line called HeartBeats. The Monsters weren’t going though.