Andre “Dr. Dre” Young & Jimmy Iovine

Entertainment

(b. 1965 & 1953)

California Connection

• Young was born in Los Angeles; both Young & Iovine reside there.

Achievements

Biography current as of 2025

Andre “Dr. Dre” Young and Jimmy Iovine have mastered the entertainment, music, philanthropy, and entrepreneurship realms. Dr. Dre is the co-founder of Death Row Records and founder of Aftermath Entertainment. Iovine co-founded Interscope Records, an artist-first record label. Together, they co-founded Beats Electronics (Beats by Dre), the USC Iovine and Young Academy, and the Iovine and Young Center.

Straight out of Compton, California, Dr. Dre helped change the world of music as a key figure in one of the most revolutionary groups of all time: N.W.A. At the heart of N.W.A was Dr. Dre’s innovative production, a dense but funky beatscape that became the foundation of a new subgenre of music dubbed gangsta rap. Dr. Dre brought hip-hop into the mainstream with his first solo album, which attained certified triple platinum status and earned him a GRAMMY Award. Dr. Dre later discovered and nurtured some of the top rappers coming into the game, including Eminem. He became the first hip-hop producer to win a GRAMMY Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.

Dr. Dre is also the co-founder of Gin & Juice By Dre and Snoop, a pre-mixed drink and pure premium-spirit brand. Iovine is an investor in the company.

Iovine is GRAMMY Award-nominated and serves on the boards of Bizaar Studios, Live Nation Entertainment, Rosewood Creative, and XQ Institute. In the 1970s, the iconic music producer Iovine got his start as a recording studio gofer but quickly made a name for himself as a recording engineer and producer at Record Plant in New York City. He helped lay tracks for music industry giants like Beatles legend John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen.

After working as an engineer, Iovine gained industry recognition for his exceptional ear for production — manufacturing albums for Patti Smith, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Stevie Nicks, Dire Straits, The Pretenders, and Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band. In 1990, he joined Ted Field and others in co-founding Interscope Records, which became the hottest label of the decade by betting on artists like Dr. Dre, U2, Lady Gaga, Nine Inch Nails, No Doubt, Kendrick Lamar, and Eminem.

In 2006, Dr. Dre and Iovine teamed up to launch the immensely successful Beats Electronics brand, with its popular and fashion-forward Beats by Dre headphone, speaker, and earbud lines. The company branched out into music streaming with Beats Music in early 2014. Apple acquired Beats Electronics, Beats by Dre, and Beats Music later that year.

During their tenure at the Beats Electronics brand, Dr. Dre and Iovine realized that education was siloed and a knowledge gap existed in the modern technology workforce. Employees were well-trained in the arts or technology, but not both. In 2013, Dr. Dre and Iovine donated to the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles to establish the USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation. The Academy offers interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate degree programs that blend business, marketing, product development, design, and liberal arts.

Dr. Dre and Iovine continued their journey in the educational space with the launch of the Iovine and Young Center (IYC), a high school “reimagined” that featured a program incorporating technology, design, and entrepreneurship into the curriculum. The first IYC location opened in Los Angeles in 2022. An IYC location in Atlanta opened in 2024, and a location in Inglewood, California, is set to open in the fall of 2025.

Awards/Recognition

• 7 GRAMMY Awards (Dr. Dre)
• 3 American Music Awards (Dr. Dre)
• Inductee, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – Ahmet Ertegun Award (Iovine)
• 2023 Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, GRAMMY Awards (Dr. Dre)
• University of Southern California (USC) Honorary Doctorate of Music (Iovine)
• Honoree, Producers & Engineers Wing, GRAMMY Awards (Iovine)
• Inductee, Hollywood Walk of Fame (Dr. Dre)
• Wall Street Journal Innovator Award (Iovine and Dr. Dre)

View more inductees from the 8th class, inducted in 2014.