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 2024

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.

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 Snoop Dogg and Eminem. He became the first hip-hop producer to win a Grammy Award for Producer of the Year.

Iconic music producer Iovine got his start as a recording studio gofer in the 1970s but quickly made his name as a recording engineer and producer at Record Plant in New York City. He helped lay tracks for music industry giants like John Lennon and Bruce Springsteen. Iovine gained recognition for his 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 co-founded 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 Beats by Dre headphone, speaker, and earbud lines. The company branched out into music streaming with Beats Music in 2013. Beats Electronics, Beats by Dre, and Beats Music were acquired by Apple in 2014.

During their tenure at the Beats Electronics brand, Dr. Dre and Iovine realized education is siloed and a knowledge gap exists for those in the modern technology workforce. In 2013, Dr. Dre and Iovine donated to the University of Southern California (USC) 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 Iovine and Young Center (IYC), a high school program reimagined to incorporate technology, design, and entrepreneurship into the curriculum. The first IYC location opened in Los Angeles in 2022. The next IYC location is expected to open in Atlanta in the fall of 2024.

Awards/Recognition

• 6 Grammy 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)

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