Dr. Dre Celebrated As An Icon With ASCAP’s New Hip-Hop Award

Dr. Dre received the first-ever Hip-Hop Icon Award at the ASCAP Rhythm and Soul Music Awards’ Celebration of 50 Years of Hip-Hop.
The 58-year-old music and tech mogul is recognised for his trailblazing in the genre.
ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President Paul Williams commented:

“Dr. Dre’s groundbreaking early work laid a foundation for Hip-Hop as we know it today. As a champion for some of today’s biggest artists and a successful entrepreneur, he changed the culture around Hip-Hop. Dre continues to be a pivotal figure in the music industry and we are thrilled to recognise him with the inaugural ASCAP Hip-Hop Icon Award as we mark 50 years of Hip-Hop.”

The former co-founder and co-owner of Death Row Records – who started out as a member of World Class Wreckin’ Crue in 1985, before finding fame with gangsta rap group N.W.A. – was previously handed ASCAP’s Founders Award in 2010.

Dre – who co-founded Beats Electronics with Interscope Records co-founder Jimmy Iovine – is credited as the pioneer of the West Coast G-funk subgenre of Hip-Hop.