Young Housewife, Oil on canvas. The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Housewife is a term used to describe a married woman whose main occupation is running or operating the family's home—caring for and educating her children, cooking and storing food, buying goods the family needs in day to day life, cleaning or maintaining parts of the home, making clothes for the family, etc.—and who does not generally maintain employment outside the home^[1]. Merriam Webster describes a housewife as a married woman who is in charge of her household. Homemaker is a mainly American^[2][3] gender-neutral term for a housewife or also a stay-at-home dad.

The term may sometimes be used in a derogatory sense, as part of a contrast with a career woman.

The term has also been used since the 18th century to refer to a small sewing kit, and is still used to describe a personal sewing kit used by soldiers and others, usually written and pronounced "hussif" in Britain.

SAHM is an abbreviation that refers to a "stay at home mom".

Multicultural norms[link]

In rural studies, the word "housewife" is occasionally used to refer to the person who does the majority of the chores within a farm's compound as opposed to field and livestock work^{[citation needed]}.

India[link]

Being a diverse country, India has different approaches in different ethnic groups.

In a Hindu family, the head of the family is the Griha Swami(Lord of the House) and his wife is the Griha Swamini(Lady of the House). The Sanskrit words Grihast and Grihasta perhaps come closest to describing the entire gamut of activities and roles undertaken by the householder or housewife. Grih is the Sanskrit root for house or home; Grihasta and Grihast are derivatives of this root, as is Grihastya. The couple lives in the state called Grihastashram or family system and together they nurture the family and help its members (both young and old) through the travails of life. They are a housewife team. The woman who increments the family tree and protects the procreated wealth of the family is described as the Grihalakshmi (the wealth of the house) and Grihashoba (the glory of the house). The elders of the family are known as Grihshreshta. The husband or wife may engage in countless other activities which may be social, religious, political or economic in nature for the ultimate welfare of the family and society. However, their unified status as a householder or housewife is the nucleus from within which they operate in society. This 'status', as housewives, anchors them in society and provides meaning to their activities within the social, religious, political and economic framework of their world. However, as India is modernising, lots of women are in employment, particularly in the larger cities such as Mumbai or Delhi, where most women will work.

In Muslim families, use of the term housewife (or its equivalent) is uncommon, even though housewives are very common and stay-at-home husbands are extremely rare. Muslim society sets different expectations for the husband and wife, but respects their individuality. Families are generally viewed as sets and not units^{[citation needed]}.

China[link]

In imperial China (excluding periods of the Tang dynasty when women had higher status in society), women were bound to homemaking by the doctrines of Confucianism and cultural norms. Generally, girls did not attend school and, therefore, spent the day following their mothers and female relatives in household chores (for example, cooking and cleaning), which would assist them after their marriages. In most cases, the husband was alive and able to work, so the wife was almost always forbidden to take a job and mainly spent her days at home or doing other domestic tasks. As Confucianism spread across East Asia, this social norm was also observed in Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

After the founding of the Republic of China in 1911, these norms were gradually loosened and many women were able to enter the workforce. Shortly thereafter, a growing number of females began to be permitted to attend schools; China's literacy rate rose to 85% for females in just a few years' time.^[4] Starting with the rule of the People's Republic of China in 1949, all women were freed from compulsory family roles. During the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, some women were required by the government to do heavy work that they were not physically suited for. This policy was later abolished.

In modern China, housewives are no longer as common, especially in the largest cities and other urban areas. Nearly all women work simply because one person's income is insufficient to support the family, a decision made easier by the fact that it is common for Chinese grandparents to watch after their grandchildren until they are old enough to go to school. Nonetheless, the number of Chinese housewives has been steadily rising in recent years as China's economy expands.

Formal education[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

In previous decades, there were a large number of mandatory courses for young women to learn the skills of housework. In high school^[where?], courses included sewing, cooking, nutrition, home economics, family and consumer science (also known as F.A.C.S) and food and cooking hygiene. More recently, these courses have been mostly abolished, and many people of both sexes in high school and college would be more likely to explore resources^[vague] on the more academic topics of child development, child psychology and managing children's behaviour^{[citation needed]}.

Modern mothers[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Some contemporary women are leaving the paid workforce and concentrating full-time on child-rearing; particularly through their child(ren)'s early years (before entering kindergarten). There is considerable variability within the stay-at-home mother population with regard to their intent to return to the paid workforce. Some plan to work from their homes, some will do part-time work, some intend to return to part or full-time work when their children have reached school age, some may increase their skill sets by returning to higher education, and others may find it economically feasible to refrain from entering (or re-entering) the paid workforce.

Similarly, there is considerable variation in the stay-at-home mother's attitude towards domestic work not related to caring for children. Some may embrace a traditional role of housewife, cooking and cleaning in addition to caring for children. Others see their primary role as that of child-care providers, supporting their children's physical, intellectual, and emotional development while sharing or outsourcing other aspects of home care

Economics[link]

Some feminists^[5][6], and non-feminist economists (particularly proponents of historical materialism) note that the monetary contribution of housewives' work to society is ignored in standard formulations of economic output, such as GDP or employment figures. Housewives work many unrecorded hours a week, while depending for money on their husbands' employment.

See also[link]

• Gender roles in agriculture
• Good Wife's Guide
• Home and family blog
• Soccer mom

^[7]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Campbell, D'Ann. Women at War with America: Private Lives in a Patriotic Era (1984), on World War II
• Draznin, Yaffa Claire. Victorian London's Middle-Class Housewife: What She Did All Day (2001) 227pp
• McMillan, James F. Housewife or Harlot: The Place of Women in French Society, 1870-1940 (1981) 229pp
• Ogden, Annegret S. The Great American Housewife: From Helpmate to Wage Earner, 1776-1986 (1987)
• Palmer, Phyllis. Housewives and Domestic Servants in the United States, 1920-1945. (1990)
• Ramey, Valerie A., “Time Spent in Home Production in the Twentieth-Century United States: New Estimates from Old Data,” Journal of Economic History, 69 (March 2009), 1–47.
• Robertson, Una A. Illustrated History of the Housewife, 1650-1950 (1997) 218pp on Britain
• Sim, Alison. Tudor Housewife, (1996), on 1480 to 1609
• Ulrich, Laurel Thatcher. Good Wives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650-1750 (1982)

External links[link]

Look up homemaker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Home Economics Archive: Tradition, Research, History (HEARTH), An e-book collection of over 1,000 classic books on home economics spanning 1850 to 1950, created by Cornell University's Mann Library.
• Homemaking at the Open Directory Project

The Cribs
The Cribs in Sao Paulo, Brazil, June 2011
Background information
Origin	Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England
Genres	Indie rock, garage rock, punk rock, lo-fi
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Wichita, Warner Bros., Universal
Website	www.thecribs.com
Members
Gary Jarman Ryan Jarman Ross Jarman
Past members
Johnny Marr

The Cribs are an English three-piece indie rock band originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The Smiths and Modest Mouse guitarist Johnny Marr who was made a formal member of the group in 2008. Marr would remain as part of the band until 2011; his departure was officially announced on 11 April through the band's website. Despite returning to the original trio, the band currently enlists David Jones of Nine Black Alps as a second guitarist for live shows. The band, who first became active on the concert circuit in 2002, were initially tied to other like-minded UK bands of that time, most notably The Libertines, by a British music press that were looking for a 'British rearguard' to the wave of popular US alternative rock bands of the time. They had outgrown this tag by the time of the commercial success of their third LP. In 2008, Q magazine described the band as "The biggest cult band in the UK".

History[link]

Formation and early years (2001–2003)[link]

The Cribs were formed in late 2001 as a recording project for the three brothers, who had set up their own Springtime Studios, a lo-fi, all analogue affair in an ancient mill.^[1] After recording a demo and garnering label interest, the band started playing live around this time, at venues like the Brudenell Social Club in Leeds, and "squats and warehouse parties" with artists such as Calvin Johnston, Subway Sect, Herman Dune, and Ballboy. They also released a split 7" single on Leeds based garage/riot grrrl/punk label Squirrel Records during this period with former Shove/Boyskout member Jen Schande.^[2] Limited to 300 copies on blue vinyl the record is now a rarity that sells for upwards of $150 on eBay.^[3] According to Mojo magazine, 'On the strength of one demo, the rush to find the UK Strokes saw the three-piece fielding calls from major labels, pluggers and label managers' in 2002.^[1] After several high profile support slots, the band signed to the fledgling independent label Wichita Recordings in 2003 "we thought (they) were great because they sounded a bit like Pavement and had a big hook. We went to see them at the Metro on Oxford Street and completely fell in love with them. They seemed like such an obvious pop band. Every song sounded like a single" - Mark Bowen, Wichita Recordings.^[4]

[edit] The Cribs (2004)

After signing with Wichita Recordings, the band began re-recording many of the songs from the original demo, as well as several new tracks for what would be their debut record. Sessions began in London with Chicago based avant-garde musician Bobby Conn producing, after the band had supported him on some UK dates and impressed him "They had this cassette demo they had recorded on a boom-box, I suggested overdubs, they were too kitchen-sink for overdubs. I tried handclaps, they were 'not sure about handclaps'. It was all 'Keep it real'" - Bobby Conn.^[1] Then sessions moved to Toe Rag Studios studios in Hackney with the band self-producing. The album was completed in 7 days, live to 8-track tape, with Ed Deegan engineering.

Released on 8 March 2004, the album found early supporters in the NME, who commented on its "supreme pop melodies", and referred to it as "lo-fi, hi fun" giving it an 8/10 review.^[5] Lo-fi would be a term that would follow the band around for the next few years, and something that became synonymous with the group. Again, from the NME in 2011: "Recorded in a week, it's the definition of indie lo-fi. But not willful indie lo-fi; the scratches, clangs and gawwumps all heard here are genuinely the product of the trio's shoestring methods rather than the usual contrived fuzz that bands spend ages poring over beaten up eight-tracks to achieve".^[6] Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq was also an early champion. Lois Wilson of Mojo magazine described the album in 2009 as "intelligent lyrics on a background of clipped guitars and tumbling drums, with nods to The Strokes, Beat Happening, and C86's inept charm"^[1] Three singles were released from the album – the limited edition 7" only "Another Number"/"Baby Don’t Sweat" in November 2003, followed by first single proper "You Were Always the One", which climbed to #2 in the indie charts. "What About Me" was the third and final single from the album, again making the indie top 10. The Cribs toured extensively throughout 2004 and into 2005, both as headliners as well as supporting artists like old friend Bobby Conn, Death Cab For Cutie and The Libertines. Over the campaign they toured the UK and Ireland, Europe, Japan, and the USA, as well as several significant international festival appearances such as Reading and Leeds Festivals, Summersonic, T in the Park and Pukkelpop amongst others.^[7] Though only a moderate underground success at the time "Another Number" has gone on to become one of the band's most enduring ‘hits’ – seldom being left off the set-list and usually accompanied by a full crowd sing-along of the signature, repeated guitar riff.^[4][8]

[edit] The New Fellas (2005–2006)

After concluding touring duties for the first record, the band were taken off the road to start writing the follow up. However, The Cribs decided they still wanted to tour and took to posting their phone numbers and email addresses on the internet, professing to play anywhere for fuel money and a crate of beer. This DIY approach is something the band and label now feel was a key factor in their success, as it helped nurture a very strong, passionate fanbase.^[4][9]

The New Fellas, the band's second album release, was recorded with Edwyn Collins, the singer-songwriter and guitarist from Glasgow's influential Orange Juice in London at his own West Heath Studios. Again, it was a comparatively unpolished record sonically, as both the producer Collins and the band themselves were achieving sounds similar to those heard on the Orange Juice records. This was, however, the intention and the reason the band and producer were put together. "They had definite ideas what they wanted the record to sound like…They had this work ethic, there was nothing spoiled about them - they were proper indie; everything done on a shoe-string and they just got on with it….they were tremendous" - Edwyn Collins.^[1] One song, "Haunted", was even recorded on Scarborough beach on a whim, after hearing a Steve Martin ukulele duet recorded on a beach.^[10]

The first release from the record was the single "Hey Scenesters!" on 18 April 2005. It reached no. 27 in the UK charts, and started their run of 7 consecutive top 40 singles. The album followed on 20 June 2005 although it had leaked onto the internet several months prior to the official release date, hampering its first week sales. The record has however, gone on to be certified Silver by the BPI, and in a recent poll held by the NME was proved to be the overall fans favourite record.^[6] The other singles released from the record were "Mirror Kissers", "Martell", and non album track "You're Gonna Lose Us" (produced by Bernard Butler), which was paired with "The Wrong Way To Be" as a AA side. The extensive New Fellas world tour took in several UK tours, Europe, USA, Canada, Japan, Australia, Scandinavia, and their first trip to Iceland.^[11][12] They appeared at numerous festivals at this time, including an appearance on the main stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals (becoming the first band to ever progress through all three stages in consecutive years), headlining the tent at T in the Park, Fuji Rock festival in Japan as well as an extensive USA arena tour with Death Cab for Cutie and Franz Ferdinand. A European tour during this period with ex Pavement man Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks would introduce Gary to his future wife Joanna Bolme.

Shortly before their appearance at the Fuji Rock festival, The Cribs released a Japan-only mini album called Arigato Cockers, made up of B-sides and rarities from both the first and second albums.

In their year-end issue, the NME made The New Fellas the #11 album of the year, and Hey Scenesters a single of the year.^[13]

[edit] Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever (2007–2008)

At the conclusion of The New Fellas campaign, The Cribs signed a major label deal with Warner Bros. Records – though they remained on Wichita in the UK at the bands insistence. The subsequent album, Men's Needs, Women's Needs, Whatever saw the band finally take steps to progress forth from their 'lo-fi' roots, being recorded in Vancouver, BC, Canada with Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand as producer. The band and producer had met during the US tour the bands did together with Death Cab for Cutie, and hit it off immediately.^[14] The album was mixed by Andy Wallace (Nirvana, Foo Fighters). They collaborated with Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth on the track "Be Safe" – Ranaldo contributing his spoken word poetry to the band's music.

Prior to the records release The Cribs took in a run of small UK club dates to preview songs from the new record. This is documented in the first Cribs documentary Leave Too Neat. The first cut from the album was the single "Men's Needs", released on 7 May. It proved to be the band's first breakthrough with mainstream radio and reached no. 17 in the UK charts, becoming their biggest hit to date. The accompanying video, filmed in Hollywood by director Diane Martel has achieved over 7 million Youtube views to date.^[15]

The album was released on 21 May 2007, and entered the UK album charts at #13.

Touring began at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 30 March for the Teenage Cancer Trust. The rest of 2007 and most of 2008 was spent on the road promoting the record, taking in extensive UK and European touring, several USA and Canada tours, Japan, and the band's first trip out to Mexico for a main stage appearance at the MX Beat Festival, as well as some later headline shows.^[16][17] During their US touring schedules they appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Late Show with David Letterman, and the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.

The second single to be released from the record was "Moving Pictures", again charting in the UK Top 40, and then later a 7" only release of "I'm a Realist". The latter was backed with a cover of The Replacements song "Bastards of Young", a band The Cribs cite as a large influence.^[18] Another non-album single "Don't You Wanna Be Relevant" was paired with album cut "Our Bovine Public" and again climbed to the UK top 40. There were numerous festival slots around this time including main stage slots at Lollapalooza, T in the Park, and V festival, as well as returning to Fuji Rock, and a first time appearance at Coachella amongst others. In November 2007, The Cribs were invited by a re-formed The Sex Pistols to play with them for three nights at Brixton Academy in celebration of the 30 year anniversary of Never Mind the Bollocks^[19] In December the band announced three intimate shows at their old haunt the Brudenell Social Club in aid of Cystic Fibrosis where they would play all three albums to date in sequence with secret unannounced support bands each night (Franz Ferdinand, Kate Nash, and Kaiser Chiefs respectively). This was documented for the band's second DVD, the 3 disc Live at the Brudenell Social Club. In the year-end issues "Men's Needs" was named third-best track of 2007 by NME^[20] with the album coming in at #9,^[21] Track of the Year 2007 by the Metro newspaper and finishing in the 100 best tracks in Rolling Stone magazine in the USA.

2008 began with The Cribs being nominated for 4 awards at the annual NME awards ceremony (Best British Band, Best Live Band, Best Track and Hero of the Year for Ryan Jarman).^[22] Through this they were asked to headline the annual NME Awards Tour, which they undertook through January and February featuring some of the bands largest headline shows up to that point and culminating in a show at the o2 Arena in London. They also made a live appearance at the Awards ceremony itself, playing "I'm a Realist" and a cover of The Smiths' "Panic", featuring their new guitarist Johnny Marr (of the aforementioned The Smiths), who had been guesting with them throughout the tour. Another USA tour followed this, and then some more festival appearances including main stage slots at the Isle of Wight Festival, Rockness, Primavera Festival, Fuji Rock and Sziget, as well as a headline appearance on the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury, and headlining the second stage at Reading and Leeds Festivals.^[17]

[edit] Ignore the Ignorant (2009–2010)

After a chance meeting with Johnny Marr (at the time a member of Modest Mouse) in Portland, OR The Cribs and Johnny became close friends.^[23] Once Modest Mouse completed touring duties for their record, The Cribs and Johnny started to hang around and jam together - "It's been going well and it would be shame to cut it short, the original intention was to be doing an EP" the band told BBC 6 Music in January 2008.^[24] However it was later announced that they would be working on an album together and that Johhny had joined as a full-time member of the group.

Much of the remainder of 2008 was spent writing new material in Portland, OR, Manchester and Wakefield, followed by a short UK tour taking in Glasgow ABC, Bradford St. Georges Hall, two nights at Manchester Ritz, and Heaven in London to road-test some of the new songs before recording commenced. Studio time was booked for March 2009 in Los Angeles with veteran producer Nick Launay (Nick Cave, PIL, Yeah Yeah Yeahs).^[25] Ross Jarman performed most of the drum tracks for the recording with a broken wrist after a skateboard accident.^[26]

Preceded by the single "Cheat On Me", the album Ignore the Ignorant was released on 7 September 2009, and scored The Cribs their first UK Top Ten album. Released the same week that The Beatles re-issued their entire 13 LP back-catalogue, Ignore The Ignorant managed to out-sell all but two of them to chart at number 8, something the band described as "surreal". Touring began with a headline slot at the White Air festival in Brighton followed by a UK tour of large halls. The band then went on to tour Japan (including a show at Budokan with Arctic Monkeys) then on to South Korea where they headlined the Grand Mint festival at the Olympic Park, Seoul. Next was a USA/Canada tour, as well as a European arena tour with Franz Ferdinand before The Cribs returned to the UK for their largest headline shows to date.^[27]

In December 2009, Ignore the Ignorant was placed at number 11 in Mojo magazine's "Albums of the Year", and at number 7 in The Fly's "Albums of the Year". NME also placed it at #30 in their end of year list,^[28] as well as making "Cheat On Me" a track of the year. In Japan, Crossbeat magazine placed it at #8 in its "Albums of 2009" list, whilst Music Magazine called it the #1 album of 2009. Both magazines are leading publications in Japan. At the same time, The New Fellas was named an "Album of the Century" by Q.

2010 began with another extensive USA and Canada tour, before heading off for dates in Australia and New Zealand. Festival appearances including Glastonbury, Lollapalooza, Fuji Rock, Benecassim, and Pukkelpop amongst others followed. During this time the band were invited to support Aerosmith at two arena shows in Spain and France.^[29] For Record Store Day 2010 The Cribs released "So Hot Now" as a split 7" single with Portland, OR band The Thermals on legendary riot grrrl label Kill Rock Stars. On 9 August 2010, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe announced during his show that he would be playing a brand new Cribs song that night. The very next day, "Housewife" was released officially on iTunes. No one, from music industry insiders to the band's fans, had any idea that a new single was being geared up until that moment.^[30] The cover art featured Ryan and Gary in drag.^[31] Later that month the band appeared on the main stage once again at the Reading and Leeds festivals to close the album campaign. These would be Marr's last shows with The Cribs.

[edit] In the Belly of the Brazen Bull (2011–present)

After announcing Marr's departure from the group on 11 April 2011,^[32] The Cribs started work on writing the follow up to Ignore the Ignorant, mooted for a May 2012 release.^[33] They played several headlining slots at UK festivals in 2011, as well as a show at Le Zenith in Paris with The Strokes. In June 2011 they made their first trip to Brazil, playing two shows in São Paulo. In December 2011 they headlined the Clockenflap festival in Hong Kong.^[34]

The Cribs announced the title of their fifth studio album as In the Belly of the Brazen Bull and its track-listing on 14 January 2012. The album was recorded at Tarbox Road studio in New York with David Fridmann, London’s Abbey Road and Chicago's EAR studio with engineer Steve Albini. On 14 February, BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe premiered the first taster from the album, "Chi-Town", on his radio show and played the song 3 times. During this time, both the band and the song title were trending on Twitter.

On 29 February 2012, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull was made available for pre-order via the Wichita Recordings web store. Pre-order options include various bundles containing items such as an exclusive t-shirt, a 'making of the album' DVD and a signed poster, as well as the chance to win a ‘Golden Laminate’ which will gain free entry to any Cribs headline show in the world, for life.^[35] The album was released on 7 May 2012.

Band members[link]

Current members

• Gary Jarman – bass, vocals (2000–present)
• Ryan Jarman – guitar, vocals (2000–present)
• Ross Jarman – drums (2000–present)

Former members

• Johnny Marr – guitar (2008–2011)

Touring members

• David Jones – guitar (2011–present)

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Cribs official site

Jay Brannan
Brannan performs in Edinburgh, Scotland, in August 2008
Background information
Born	(1982-03-29) March 29, 1982 (age 30)[1]
Occupations	singer-songwriter
Instruments	singing, guitar
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Great Depression Records Nettwerk[2]
Website	jaybrannan.com

Jay Brannan (born March 29, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. He was born in Texas and briefly studied in Ohio, but moved to California to become an actor. Brannan appeared in the 2006 movie Shortbus, which included one of his songs in its soundtrack, and began to build a fan base by performing on YouTube. He released an EP and acted in Holding Trevor in 2007. Since then, he has toured and released two albums.

Early life and career[link]

Brannan was born 1982 in Texas in a middle-class family and grew up as the son of a petroleum engineer and a teacher.^[3][4][5] He described his family as conservative Baptists and discussed their difficulty with accepting his homosexuality.^[6][7] Brannan went to college for one semester in Cincinnati, Ohio, and went to California, first to Palm Springs and later to Los Angeles, trying to become an actor.^[3][5] In 2002, he was shown a casting notice and, after the end of a relationship, moved to New York City and submitted an audition tape.^[3]

Brannan was cast in 2003 for the movie Shortbus, which featured him in an explicit sex scene, and worked as a proofreader and in other jobs to support himself.^[8] He contributed the song "Soda Shop" to the film's soundtrack, which he stated was his "first professionally recorded track".^[8] The song was also released on Team Love Records.^[9] Brannan began to record sparse music videos for YouTube, accompanying himself on the guitar, and built an international fan base without corporate sponsorship, using MySpace and Blogspot.^[10][11] In 2007, he appeared in the movie Holding Trevor as the promiscuous best friend of the protagonist, and released a limited-edition EP with fours songs named disasterpiece or Unmastered, adding two additional songs for a 2008 re-release.^[4][12]

In July 2008, Brannan released the album Goddamned through his own label, Great Depression Records, and toured ten dates, a departure from his previous practice of short tours of about four concerts.^[10][13] The same year, Brannan left his proofreading job and sustained himself with earnings from concerts and merchandise.^[11] His second album, In Living Cover, was released in 2009 and reached number ten on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart for the week of July 25, 2009.^[14] Brannan promoted the album in an interview on ABC News's Now in July 2009.^[15]

Style[link]

Jay Brannan in Hamburg, Germany, in 2009

Brannan is a tenor.^[3] Allmusic described his style as contemporary singer-songwriter and compared him to female artists, including Ani DiFranco, Lisa Loeb, Sinéad O'Connor, and Liz Phair.^[4] Goddamned was described as lo-fi and Brannan compared his concerts to intimate performances in his home.^[11][16] He has performed with Terra Naomi and both were compared in style and described as performing indie folk.^[16] The New York Times stated in 2006 that Brannan was sometimes compared to singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright and that Brannan saw himself as echoing the angry and sad sound of female singers like Tracy Chapman and Joni Mitchell.^[3]

Discography[link]

EPs

• Unmastered (aka disasterpiece) (2007, re-released 2008 with additional tracks)

Albums

• Goddamned (2008)
• In Living Cover (2009)
• Rob Me Blind (2012)^[17]

Songs

• "Soda Shop" (track on the 2006 Shortbus soundtrack)
• "Lower My Gun" (track on the 2008 Holding Trevor soundtrack)
• "My Love, My Love" and "Takeoff" (two tracks on the 2011 Cloudburst soundtrack)^[18]

Filmography[link]

• Shortbus as Ceth (2006)
• Holding Trevor as Jake (2007)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jay Brannan

• jaybrannan.com. Official website.
• Jay Brannan's channel on YouTube
• Jay Brannan at Allmusic
• Jay Brannan at the Internet Movie Database
• Jay Brannan at AllRovi
• Works by or about Jay Brannan in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

"Andre Young" redirects here, for the football player, see Andre Young (American football).

Dr. Dre
Dr Dre, backstage at Pussycat Dolls in Los Angeles 2008
Background information
Birth name	Andre Romelle Young[1]
Born	(1965-02-18) February 18, 1965 (age 47) Compton, California, U.S.
Origin	Los Angeles, California
Genres	Hip hop
Occupations	Record producer, rapper, entrepreneur
Instruments	Vocals, synthesizer, keyboards, turntables, drum machine, sampler
Years active	1983–present
Labels	Priority, Death Row, Aftermath, Interscope, Ruthless
Associated acts	World Class Wreckin' Cru, N.W.A, Ice Cube, 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Eminem,Eazy-E ,50 Cent, Game, Akon, Jay-Z, Nate Dogg, Obie Trice, Kendrick Lamar
Website	drdre.com

Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), better known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records. He has produced albums for and overseen the careers of many rappers, including Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 Cent and Game. As a producer he is credited as a key figure in the popularization of West Coast G-funk, a style of rap music characterized as synthesizer-based with slow, heavy beats. As of 2011, Dr. Dre is ranked as the third richest figure in the American hip hop scene by Forbes with a net worth of $250 million.^[2]

Dre began his career in music as a member of the World Class Wreckin' Cru and he later found fame with the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A with Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella which popularized the use of explicit lyrics in rap to detail the violence of street life. His 1992 solo debut, The Chronic, released under Death Row Records, led him to become one of the best-selling American performing artists of 1993 and to win a Grammy Award for the single "Let Me Ride". In 1996, he left Death Row to establish his own label, Aftermath Entertainment. Under that label, he produced a compilation album titled Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath in 1996, and released a solo album titled 2001 in 1999, for which he won the Grammy producer's award the next year.

During the 2000s, he focused his career on production for other artists, while occasionally contributing vocals to other artists' songs. Dr. Dre signed Eminem and 50 Cent to his record label in 1998 and 2003 respectively while contributing production on their albums. Rolling Stone named Dr. Dre among the highest-paid performers of 2001 and 2004. Dr. Dre has also had acting roles in movies such as Set It Off, and the 2001 films The Wash and Training Day.

Early life[link]

André Romelle Young was born in Compton, California on February 18, 1965. He was the first child of Theodore and Verna Young, ages 17 and 16, respectively at that time.^{[citation needed]} André's middle name, Romelle, is derived from his father's amateur R&B singing group, The Romells. Married in 1964, André's parents divorced in 1968.^{[citation needed]} Verna later married Curtis Crayon. They had three more children together, two sons named Jerome and Tyree (both deceased)^[3][4] and daughter Shameka.^[5]

In 1976, Young began attending Vanguard Junior High School in Compton, but due to gang violence, he transferred to the safer suburban Roosevelt Junior High School.^[6] Verna later married Warren Griffin, whom she met at her new job in Long Beach,^[7] which added three stepsisters and one stepbrother to the family. That stepbrother, Warren Griffin III, would eventually become rapper Warren G.^[8] Young attended Centennial High School in Compton during his freshman year in 1979, but transferred to Fremont High School due to poor grades. Young attempted to enroll in an apprenticeship program at Northrop Aviation Company, but poor grades at school made him ineligible. Thereafter, he focused on his social life and entertainment for the remainder of his high school years.^[9] Young fathered a son, Curtis, born December 15, 1981, with Lisa Johnson. Curtis Young was brought up by his mother and first met his father 20 years later, when Curtis became rapper Hood Surgeon.^[10]

Music career[link]

1984–85: World Class Wreckin' Cru[link]

Inspired by the Grandmaster Flash song "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel", he often attended a club called The Eve After Dark to watch many DJs and rappers performing live. He subsequently became a DJ in the club, initially under the name "Dr. J", based on the nickname of Julius Erving, his favorite basketball player. At the club, he met aspiring rapper Antoine Carraby, later to become member DJ Yella of N.W.A.^[11] Soon afterwards he adopted the moniker Dr. Dre, a mix of previous alias Dr. J and his first name, referring to himself as the "Master of Mixology".^[12] He later joined the musical group World Class Wreckin' Cru under the independent Kru-Cut Records in 1984. The group would become stars of the electro-hop scene that dominated early 1980s West Coast hip hop, and their first hit "Surgery" would prominently feature Dr. Dre on the turntables and sell 50,000 copies within the Compton area.^[13] Dr. Dre and DJ Yella also performed mixes for local radio station KDAY, boosting ratings for its afternoon rush-hour show The Traffic Jam.^[14] Dr. Dre's earliest recordings were released in 1994 on a compilation titled Concrete Roots. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of the website Allmusic described the compiled music, released "several years before Dre developed a distinctive style", as "surprisingly generic and unengaging" and "for dedicated fans only".^[15]

His frequent absences from school jeopardized his position as a diver on his school's swim team. After high school, he attended Chester Adult School in Compton following his mother's demands for him to get a job or continue his education. After brief attendance at a radio broadcasting school, he relocated to the residence of his father and residence of his grandparents before returning to his mother's house.^[16] He later dropped out of Chester to focus on performing at the Eve's After Dark nightclub.

1986–91: N.W.A and Ruthless Records[link]

	"Fuck Tha Police" noicon from Straight Outta Compton
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In 1986, Dr. Dre met rapper Ice Cube, who collaborated with Dr. Dre to record songs for Ruthless Records, a rap record label run by local rapper Eazy-E. N.W.A and fellow West Coast rapper Ice-T are widely credited as seminal artists of the gangsta rap genre, a profanity-heavy subgenre of hip hop, replete with gritty depictions of urban crime and gang lifestyle. Not feeling constricted to racially charged political issues pioneered by rap artists such as Public Enemy or Boogie Down Productions, N.W.A favored themes and uncompromising lyrics, offering stark descriptions of violent, inner-city streets. Propelled by the hit "Fuck tha Police", the group's first full album Straight Outta Compton became a major success, despite an almost complete absence of radio airplay or major concert tours. The Federal Bureau of Investigation sent Ruthless Records a warning letter in response to the song's content.^[17]

After Ice Cube left N.W.A in 1989 over financial disputes, Dr. Dre produced and performed for much of the group's second album Efil4zaggin. He also produced tracks for a number of other rap acts on Ruthless Records, including Above the Law, and The D.O.C. for his 1989 album No One Can Do It Better.^[18] In 1991, at a music industry party in Hollywood, he assaulted television host Dee Barnes of the Fox television program Pump it Up, feeling dissatisfied with a news report of hers regarding the feud between the remaining N.W.A members and Ice Cube. Thus, Dr. Dre was fined $2,500 and given two years' probation and 240 hours of community service, as well as a spot on an anti-violence public service announcement on television.^[19][20]

[edit] 1992–95: The Chronic and Death Row Records

	"Nuthin' But a "G" Thang" noicon from The Chronic
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After a dispute with Eazy-E, Dre left the group at the peak of its popularity in 1991 under the advice of friend, and N.W.A lyricist, The D.O.C. and his bodyguard at the time, Suge Knight. Knight, a notorious strongman and intimidator, was able to have Eazy-E release Young from his contract and, using Dr. Dre as his flagship artist, founded Death Row Records. In 1992 Young released his first single, the title track to the film Deep Cover, a collaboration with rapper Snoop Dogg, whom he met through Warren G.^[17] Dr. Dre's debut solo album was The Chronic, released under Death Row Records. Young ushered in a new style of rap, both in terms of musical style and lyrical content.^[21]

On the strength of singles such as "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang", "Let Me Ride", and "Fuck wit Dre Day (and Everybody's Celebratin')" (known as "Dre Day" for radio and television play), all of which featured Snoop Dogg as guest vocalist, The Chronic became a cultural phenomenon, its G-funk sound dominating much of hip hop music for the early 1990s.^[17] In 1993 the Recording Industry Association of America certified the album multi-platinum,^[22] and Dr. Dre also won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance for his performance on "Let Me Ride".^[23] For that year, Billboard magazine also ranked Dr. Dre as the eighth best-selling musical artist, The Chronic as the sixth best-selling album, and "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang" as the 11th best-selling single.^[24]

Besides working on his own material, Dr. Dre produced Snoop Dogg's debut album Doggystyle, which became the first debut album for an artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 album charts.^[25] In 1994 Dr. Dre produced some songs on the soundtracks to the films Above the Rim and Murder Was the Case. He collaborated with fellow N.W.A member Ice Cube for the song "Natural Born Killaz" in 1995.^[17] For the film Friday, Dre recorded "Keep Their Heads Ringin'", which reached No.10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No.1 on the Hot Rap Singles (now Hot Rap Tracks) charts.^[26]

In 1995, just as Death Row Records was signing rapper 2Pac and positioning him as their major star, Young left the label amidst a contract dispute and growing concerns that label boss Suge Knight was corrupt, financially dishonest and out of control. In 1996, he formed his own label, Aftermath Entertainment, under the distribution label for Death Row Records, Interscope Records.^[17] Subsequently, Death Row Records suffered poor sales by 1997, especially following the death of 2Pac and the racketeering charges brought against Knight.^[27]

1996–98: Move to Aftermath Entertainment[link]

The Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath album, released on November 26, 1996, featured songs by Dr. Dre himself, as well as by newly signed Aftermath Entertainment artists, and a solo track "Been There, Done That", intended as a symbolic farewell to gangsta rap.^[28] Despite being classified platinum by the RIAA,^[29] the album was not very popular among music fans.^[17] In October 1996, Dre performed "Been There, Done That" on Saturday Night Live.^[30] In 1997, Dr. Dre produced several tracks on The Firm's The Album; it was met with largely negative reviews from critics. Rumors began to abound that Aftermath was facing financial difficulties.^[31] Aftermath Entertainment also faced a trademark infringement lawsuit by the underground thrash metal band Aftermath.^[32] First Round Knock Out, a compilation of various tracks produced and performed by Dr. Dre was also released in 1996, with material ranging from World Class Wreckin' Cru to N.W.A to Death Row recordings.^[33]

Despite the mixed reception to his label's album, Dr. Dre was featured on two Billboard Hot 100 No.1 singles in 1996, those being 2Pac's "California Love" and R&B group Blackstreet's "No Diggity". They were Dr. Dre's first No.1 singles as a lead or featured artist.

The turning point for Aftermath came in 1998, when Jimmy Iovine, the head of Aftermath's parent label Interscope, suggested that Dr. Dre sign Eminem, a rapper from Detroit. Dre produced three songs and provided vocals for two on Eminem's successful and controversial debut album The Slim Shady LP, released in 1999.^[34] The Dr. Dre-produced lead single from that album, "My Name Is", would help propel Eminem into stardom. The album was eventually certified 4x Platinum and helped to revive the Aftermath label. Also during this time, Dre assisted on the mix for Nine Inch Nails' track "Even Deeper", from 1999 album The Fragile.

[edit] 1999–2000: 2001

	"Still D.R.E." noicon from 2001
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Dr. Dre's second solo album, 2001, released on November 16, 1999, was considered an ostentatious return to his gangsta rap roots.^[35] It was initially titled The Chronic 2000 to imply being a sequel to his debut solo effort The Chronic but was re-titled 2001 after Death Row Records released an unrelated compilation album with the title Chronic 2000: Still Smokin in May 1999. Other tentative titles included The Chronic 2001 and Dr. Dre.^[36] The album featured numerous collaborators, including Devin the Dude, Hittman, Snoop Dogg, Xzibit, Nate Dogg and Eminem. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of the website Allmusic described the sound of the album as "adding ominous strings, soulful vocals, and reggae" to Dr. Dre's style.^[35] The album was highly successful, charting at number two on the Billboard 200 charts^[37] and has since been certified six times platinum,^[22] validating a recurring theme on the album: Dr. Dre was still a force to be reckoned with, despite the lack of major releases in the previous few years. The album included popular hit singles "Still D.R.E." and "Forgot About Dre", both of which Dr. Dre performed on NBC's Saturday Night Live on October 23, 1999.^[38] Dr. Dre won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2000,^[17] and joined the Up in Smoke Tour with fellow rappers Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Ice Cube that year as well.^[39]

During the course of 2001's popularity, Dr. Dre was involved in several lawsuits. Lucasfilm Ltd., the film company behind the Star Wars film franchise, sued him over the use of the THX-trademarked "Deep Note".^[40] The Fatback Band also sued Dr. Dre over alleged infringement regarding its song "Backstrokin'" in his song "Let's Get High" from the 2001 album; Dr. Dre was ordered to pay $1.5 million to the band in 2003.^[41] The online music file-sharing company Napster also settled a lawsuit with him and heavy metal rock band Metallica in the summer of 2001, agreeing to block access to certain files that artists do not want to have shared on the network.^[42]

2001–08: Focus on production[link]

Following the success of 2001, Dr. Dre focused on producing songs and albums for other artists. He co-produced six tracks on Eminem’s landmark Marshall Mathers LP, including the Grammy-winning lead single, “The Real Slim Shady”. The album itself earned a Grammy and proved to be the fastest-selling rap album of all time, moving 1.76 million units in its first week alone.^[43] He produced the single "Family Affair" by R&B singer Mary J. Blige for her album No More Drama in 2001.^[44] He also produced "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", a duet by rapper Eve and No Doubt lead singer Gwen Stefani^[45] and signed R&B singer Truth Hurts to Aftermath in 2001.^[46] Dr. Dre was the executive producer of Eminem’s 2002 release, The Eminem Show. He produced three songs on the album, one of which was released as a single, and he appeared in the award-winning video for “Without Me”.

Another copyright-related lawsuit hit Dr. Dre in the fall of 2002, when Sa Re Ga Ma, a film and music company based in Calcutta, India, sued Aftermath Entertainment over an uncredited sample of the Lata Mangeshkar song "Thoda Resham Lagta Hai" on the Aftermath-produced song "Addictive" by singer Truth Hurts. In February 2003, a judge ruled that Aftermath would have to halt sales of Truth Hurts' album Truthfully Speaking if the company would not credit Mangeshkar.^[47]

Another successful album on the Aftermath label was Get Rich or Die Tryin', the 2003 major-label debut album by Queens, New York-based rapper 50 Cent. Dr. Dre produced or co-produced four tracks on the album, including the hit single "In da Club", a joint production between Aftermath, Eminem's boutique label Shady Records and Interscope.^[48] Eminem's fourth album since joining Aftermath, Encore, again saw Dre taking on the role of executive producer, and this time he was more actively involved in the music, producing or co-producing a total of eight tracks, including three singles. In November 2004, at the Vibe magazine awards show in Los Angeles, Dr. Dre was attacked by a fan named Jimmy James Johnson, who was supposedly asking for an autograph. In the resulting scuffle, then-G-Unit rapper Young Buck stabbed the man.^[49] Johnson claimed that Suge Knight, president of Death Row Records, paid him $5,000 to assault Dre in order to humiliate him before he received his Lifetime Achievement Award.^[50] Knight immediately went on CBS's The Late Late Show to deny involvement and insisted that he supported Dr. Dre and wanted Johnson charged.^[51] In September 2005, Johnson was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to stay away from Dr. Dre until 2008.^[52]

Dr. Dre also produced "How We Do", a 2005 hit single from rapper The Game from his album The Documentary.^[53] For an issue of Rolling Stone magazine in April 2005, Dr. Dre was ranked 54th out of 100 artists for Rolling Stone magazine's list "The Immortals: The Greatest Artists of All Time". Kanye West wrote the summary for Dr. Dre, where he stated Dr. Dre's song "Xplosive" as where he "got (his) whole sound from".^[54]

In November 2006, Dr. Dre began working with Raekwon on his album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx II.^[55] He also produced tracks for the rap albums Buck the World by Young Buck,^[56] Curtis by 50 Cent,^[57] Tha Blue Carpet Treatment by Snoop Dogg,^[58] and Kingdom Come by Jay-Z.^[59] Dre also appeared on Timbaland's track "Bounce", from his 2007 solo album, Timbaland Presents Shock Value along side, Missy Elliott, and Justin Timberlake.^[60]

Planned but unreleased albums during Dr. Dre's tenure at Aftermath have included a full-length reunion with Snoop Dogg titled Breakup to Makeup, an album with fellow former N.W.A member Ice Cube which was to be titled Heltah Skeltah,^[18] an N.W.A reunion album,^[18] and a joint album with fellow producer Timbaland titled Chairmen of the Board.^[61] Other upcoming albums for which he will produce include The Reformation by Bishop Lamont,^[62] The Nacirema Dream by Papoose,^[63] Flirt by Eve,^[64] and an upcoming album by Queen Latifah.^[65]

[edit] 2009–present: Detox and The Planets

Detox is to be Dr. Dre's final album.^[66] In 2002, Dre told Corey Moss of MTV News that he intended Detox to be a concept album.^[67] Work for the album dates back to early 2004,^[68] but later in that year he decided to stop working on the album to focus on producing for other artists, but then changed his mind; the album had initially been set for a fall 2005 release.^[69] After several delays, the album was finally scheduled to be released sometime in 2010 by Interscope Records, which has not set a firm release date for the album as of July 2010.^[66] Producers confirmed to work on the album include DJ Khalil, Nottz, Bernard "Focus" Edwards Jr.,^[70] Hi-Tek,^[71] J.R. Rotem,^[72] RZA,^[73] Jay-Z,^[74] Warren G, and Boi-1da.^[75] Snoop Dogg claimed that Detox was finished, according to a June 2008 report by Rolling Stone magazine.^[76]

After another delay based on producing other artists' work, Detox was then scheduled for a 2010 release, coming after 50 Cent's Before I Self Destruct and Eminem's Relapse, an album for which Dr. Dre handled the bulk of production duties.^[77][78] Dre appeared in the remix of the song "Set It Off" by Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall (also with Pusha T); the remix debuted on DJ Skee's radio show in December 2008.^[79] At the beginning of 2009, Dre produced, and made a guest vocal performance on, the single "Crack a Bottle" by Eminem and the single sold a record 418,000 downloads in its first week.^[80] and reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart on the week of February 12, 2009.^[81] Along with this single, in 2009 Dr. Dre produced or co-produced 19 of 20 tracks on Eminem's album Relapse. These included other hit singles "We Made You", "Old Time's Sake", and "3 a.m.". (the only track Dre didn't produce was the Eminem produced single "Beautiful")

In a Dr Pepper commercial that debuted on May 28, 2009, he premiered the first official snippet of Detox.^[82][83] 50 Cent and Eminem asserted in an interview on BET's 106 & Park that Dr. Dre had around a dozen songs finished for Detox.^[84] Detox is likely to be released sometime in 2012.^[85] The first two singles, "Kush" and "I Need a Doctor", were released in September 2010 and February 2011 respectively. "Kush" has become a top 40 hit in the United States and "I Need a Doctor" peaked at Number Four on the Billboard Hot 100.^[86] The third single, "The Psycho" featuring 50 Cent is set to release sometime this year respectively.

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers will honor Dr. Dre with its Founders Award for inspiring other musicians.^[87]

In an August 2010 interview, Dr. Dre stated that an instrumental album titled The Planets is in its first stages of production; each song being named after a planet in the Solar System.^[88] On September 3, Dr. Dre showed support to longtime protégé Eminem, and appeared on his and Jay-Z's Home & Home Tour, performing hit songs such as "Still D.R.E.," "Nuthin' but a 'G' Thang," and "Crack a Bottle," alongside Eminem and another protégé, 50 Cent. Sporting an "R.I.P. Proof" shirt, Dre was honored by Eminem telling Detroit's Comerica Park to do the same. They did so, by chanting "DEEE-TOX," to which he replied, "I'm coming!"^[89]

Dr. Dre was featured on the cover of XXL in the December/January 2011 issue. After Detox he will be one of the producers of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins' album Still Cool.^[90]

On November 14, 2011, Dre announced that he will be taking a break from music once he has finished producing for artists Slim the Mobster and Kendrick Lamar. In this break he will work on bringing his Beats By Dre to a standard as high as Apple and will also spend time with his family.^[91]

On January 9th, 2012 Dre was announced to headline the final nights of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival taking place the weekends of April 13-15 and April 20-22. ^[92]

Other ventures[link]

Film career[link]

Dr. Dre made his first on screen appearance as a weapons dealer in the 1996 bank robbery movie Set It Off.^[93] In 2001, Dr. Dre also appeared in the movies The Wash and Training Day.^[94] A song of his, "Bad Intentions" (featuring Knoc-Turn'Al) and produced by Mahogany, was featured on The Wash soundtrack.^[95] Dr. Dre also appeared on two other songs "On the Blvd." and "The Wash" along with his co-star Snoop Dogg. In February 2007 it was announced that Dr. Dre would produce dark comedies and horror films for New Line Cinema-owned company Crucial Films, along with longtime video director Phillip Atwell. Dr. Dre announced "This is a natural switch for me, since I've directed a lot of music videos, and I eventually want to get into directing."^[96] Along with fellow member Ice Cube, Dr. Dre will produce a biographical film about N.W.A tentatively titled Straight Outta Compton.^[97]

Entrepreneurship[link]

Beats By Dr. Dre logo

In July 2008, Dr. Dre released his brand of headphones, Beats by Dr. Dre. The line consists of Beats Studio, a circumaural headphone, Beats Tour, an in-ear headphone, Beats Solo & Solo HD, a supra-aural headphone, Beats Spin, Heartbeats by Lady Gaga, also an in-ear headphone, and Diddy Beats.^[98] The headphones are made by Monster.^[99] He is also planning to release an "Aftermath Cognac and vodka" at around the same time he releases Detox.^[100] For the 2009 Fall season, HP and Dr. Dre are teaming up to release Beats By Dr. Dre with the sale of all HP laptops and headsets.^[101] HP and Dr. Dre announced the deal on October 9, 2009, at a press event in Santa Monica, California. The new laptop, known as HP ENVY 15 Beats limited edition, will be available for sale October 22 and be priced around $2,299. Besides the laptop, the PC comes with Dr. Dre's signature headphones.^[102]

Musical influences and style[link]

Dr. Dre has said that his primary instrument in the studio is the Akai MPC3000, a drum machine and sampler, and that he often uses as many as four or five to produce a single recording. He cites 1970s funk musicians such as George Clinton, Isaac Hayes and Curtis Mayfield as his primary musical influences. Unlike most rap producers, he tries to avoid samples as much as possible, preferring to have studio musicians re-play pieces of music he wants to use, because it allows him more flexibility to change the pieces in rhythm and tempo.^[103] In 2001 he told Time magazine, "I may hear something I like on an old record that may inspire me, but I'd rather use musicians to re-create the sound or elaborate on it. I can control it better."^[104] Other equipment he uses include the E-mu SP-1200 drum machine and other keyboards from such manufacturers as Korg, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Moog, and Roland.^[105]

After founding Aftermath Entertainment in 1996, Dr. Dre took on producer Mel-Man as a co-producer, and his music took on a more synthesizer-based sound, using fewer vocal samples (as he had used on "Lil' Ghetto Boy" and "Let Me Ride" on The Chronic, for example). Mel-Man has not shared co-production credits with Dr. Dre since approximately 2002, but fellow Aftermath producer Focus has credited Mel-Man as a key architect of the signature Aftermath sound.^[106]

In 1999, Dr. Dre started working with Mike Elizondo, a bassist, guitarist, and keyboardist who has also produced, written and played on records for female singers such as Poe, Fiona Apple and Alanis Morissette,^[107] In the past few years Elizondo has since worked for many of Dr. Dre's productions.^[108][109] Dr. Dre also told Scratch magazine in a 2004 interview that he has been studying piano and music theory formally, and that a major goal is to accumulate enough musical theory to score movies. In the same interview he stated that he has collaborated with famed 1960s songwriter Burt Bacharach by sending him hip hop beats to play over, and hopes to have an in-person collaboration with him in the future.^[103]

Work ethic[link]

Dr. Dre has stated that he is a perfectionist and is known to pressure the artists with whom he records to give flawless performances.^[103] In 2006 Snoop Dogg told the website Dubcnn.com that Dr. Dre had made new artist Bishop Lamont re-record a single bar of vocals 107 times.^[110] Dr. Dre has also stated that Eminem is a fellow perfectionist, and attributes his success on Aftermath to his similar work ethic.^[103] He gives a lot of input into the delivery of the vocals and will stop an MC during a take if it isn't to his liking.^[111] However, he does give MCs he works with room to write lyrics without too much instruction unless it is a specifically conceptual record, as noted by Bishop Lamont in the book How to Rap.^[112]

A consequence of his perfectionism is that some artists that initially sign deals with Dr. Dre's Aftermath label never release albums. In 2001, Aftermath released the soundtrack to the movie The Wash, featuring a number of Aftermath acts such as Shaunta, Daks, Joe Beast and Toi. To date, none have released full-length albums on Aftermath and have apparently ended their relationships with the label and Dr. Dre. Other noteworthy acts to leave Aftermath without releasing albums include King Tee, 2001 vocalist Hittman, Joell Ortiz, Raekwon and Rakim.^[113]

Collaborators/co-producers[link]

Over the years word of other collaborators has surfaced. During his tenure at Death Row Records, it was alleged that Dr. Dre's stepbrother Warren G and Tha Dogg Pound member Daz made many uncredited contributions to songs on his solo album The Chronic and Snoop Doggy Dogg's album Doggystyle (Daz received production credits on Snoop's similar-sounding, albeit less successful album Tha Doggfather after Young left Death Row Records).^[114]

It is known that Scott Storch, who has since gone on to become a successful producer in his own right, contributed to Dr. Dre's second album 2001; Storch is credited as a songwriter on several songs and played keyboards on several tracks. In 2006 he told Rolling Stone:

"At the time, I saw Dr. Dre desperately needed something," Storch says. "He needed a fuel injection, and Dr. Dre utilized me as the nitrous oxide. He threw me into the mix, and I sort of tapped on a new flavor with my whole piano sound and the strings and orchestration. So I'd be on the keyboards, and Mike [Elizondo] was on the bass guitar, and Dr. Dre was on the drum machine".^[115]

Current collaborator Mike Elizondo, when speaking about his work with Young, describes their recording process as a collaborative effort involving several musicians. In 2004 he claimed to Songwriter Universe magazine that he had written the foundations of the hit Eminem song "The Real Slim Shady", stating, "I initially played a bass line on the song, and Dr. Dre, Tommy Coster Jr. and I built the track from there. Eminem then heard the track, and he wrote the rap to it."^[109] This account is essentially confirmed by Eminem in his book Angry Blonde, stating that the tune for the song was composed by a studio bassist and keyboardist while Dr. Dre was out of the studio but Young later programmed the song's beat after returning.^[116]

A group of disgruntled former associates of Dr. Dre complained that they had not received their full due for work on the label in the September 2003 issue of The Source. A producer named Neff-U claimed to have produced the songs "Say What You Say" and "My Dad's Gone Crazy" on The Eminem Show, the songs "If I Can't" and "Back Down" on 50 Cent's Get Rich or Die Tryin', and the beat featured on Dr. Dre's commercial for Coors beer.^[113]

Although Young studies piano and musical theory, he serves as more of a conductor than a musician himself, as Josh Tyrangiel of TIME magazine has noted:

Every Dre track begins the same way, with Dre behind a drum machine in a room full of trusted musicians. (They carry beepers. When he wants to work, they work.) He'll program a beat, then ask the musicians to play along; when Dre hears something he likes, he isolates the player and tells him how to refine the sound. "My greatest talent," Dre says, "is knowing exactly what I want to hear."^[104]

Although Snoop Dogg retains working relationships with Warren G and Daz, who are alleged to be uncredited contributors on the hit albums The Chronic and Doggystyle, he states that Dr. Dre is capable of making beats without the help of collaborators, and that he is responsible for the success of his numerous albums.^[117] Dr. Dre's prominent studio collaborators, including Scott Storch, Elizondo, Mark Batson and Dawaun Parker, have shared co-writing, instrumental, and more recently co-production credits on the songs where he is credited as the producer.

Ghostwriters[link]

It is acknowledged that most of Dr. Dre's raps are written for him by others, though he retains ultimate control over his lyrics and the themes of his songs.^[118] As Aftermath producer Mahogany told Scratch: "It's like a class room in [the booth]. He'll have three writers in there. They'll bring in something, he'll recite it, then he'll say. 'Change this line, change this word,' like he's grading papers."^[119] As seen in the credits for tracks Young has appeared on, there are often multiple people who contribute to his songs (although often in hip hop many people are officially credited as a writer for a song, even the producer).

In the book How to Rap, RBX explains that writing The Chronic was a "team effort"^[118] and details how he ghostwrote "Let Me Ride" for Dre.^[118] In regard to ghostwriting lyrics he says, "Dre doesn't profess to be no super-duper rap dude – Dre is a super-duper producer".^[118] As a member of N.W.A, The D.O.C. wrote lyrics for him while he stuck with producing.^[18] New York City rapper Jay-Z ghostwrote lyrics for the single "Still D.R.E." from Dr. Dre's album 2001.^[36]

Personal life[link]

Relationships and family[link]

Dr. Dre's eldest son is named Curtis Young. When Curtis Young was born, Greene was 16, and Dr. Dre was 17. Curtis Young is an aspiring rapper who goes by the rap moniker "Hood Surgeon".^[120] In 1988, Dr. Dre had his second son, Andre Young Jr., with Jenita Porter. Porter sued Dr. Dre in 1990 in Orange County Superior Court seeking $5,000 of child support per month.^[121] From 1990 to 1996, Dr. Dre dated singer Michel'le, who frequently contributed vocals to Death Row Records albums. In 1991, the couple had a son, Marcel.^[122] In 1996, Dr. Dre married Nicole Threatt, the ex-wife of NBA player Sedale Threatt.^[123] They have two children together: a son named Truth (born 1997) and a daughter named Truly (born 2001).^[124]

On August 23, 2008, Young's second son, Andre Young Jr., died at the age of 20 at his mother's Woodland Hills home.^[121] The coroner determined that he died from an overdose of heroin and morphine.^[125]

Income[link]

In 2001, Dr. Dre earned a total of about US$52 million from selling part of his share of Aftermath Entertainment to Interscope Records and his production of such hit songs that year as "Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige. Rolling Stone magazine thus named him the second highest-paid artist of the year.^[44] Dr. Dre was ranked 44th in 2004 from earnings of $11.4 million, primarily from production royalties from such projects as albums from G-Unit and D12 and the single "Rich Girl" by singer Gwen Stefani and rapper Eve.^[126]

Discography[link]

• The Chronic (1992), Death Row
• 2001 (1999), Aftermath
• Detox (2012), Aftermath
• The Planets (TBA), Aftermath – instrumental^[127][128]

Awards and Nominations[link]

^{[129][130][131]} Dr. Dre has won six Grammy Awards. Three of them are for his production work.

Grammy Awards

MTV Video Music Awards

Filmography[link]