Hip-hop artist Dr. Dre’s controversial and storied past was bound to become an issue for Apple at some point after it bought the company he co-founded for $3 billion last year. Now Apple is hoping it can let the rapper’s history live in the past, which is especially tricky as it promotes the biofilm “Compton” depicting the rapper’s entrance into fame.
The biographical film, which was produced with close cooperation from Dr. Dre, has been criticized for omitting decades old allegations that the artist physically abused women. Today both Dr. Dre and Apple released statements addressing the controversy, Dre saying that he deeply apologizes for his actions 25 years ago and adding that “it has forever impacted all of our lives” while Apple said that “we have every reason to believe that he has changed.”The statements were given to The New York Times in an article that accompanies specific details about the allegations. Dr. Dre’s full statement reads:
“Twenty-five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life. However, none of this is an excuse for what I did. I’ve been married for 19 years and every day I’m working to be a better man for my family, seeking guidance along the way. I’m doing everything I can so I never resemble that man again. I apologize to the women I’ve hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives.”
An Apple spokesperson added:
“Dre has apologized for the mistakes he’s made in the past and he’s said that he’s not the same person that he was 25 years ago. We believe his sincerity and after working with him for a year and a half, we have every reason to believe that he has changed.”
The statements are rather awkward for Apple for multiple reasons. Apple Music has used the film “Compton” and Dr. Dre’s accompanying record, which is carried exclusively, to heavily promote Beats 1 and the music subscription service. Apple has even commissioned a limited edition model of Solo2 + Studio Wireless headphones with ‘Straight Outta Compton’ branding to mark the film’s release.
While the film sparked the controversy that eventually caused Apple to address Dre’s past, the record itself contains a highly graphic fictional skit during a track titled “Loose Canon” depicting an argument between a male and female that ends with the woman screaming and gun shots.
Still, Apple has used Dr. Dre’s album, the first in 15 years, to show Apple Music’s weight as a streaming music service that can deliver exclusive content to fans. According to Apple, Dr. Dre’s record was streamed some 25 million times during the first week alone.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM8iK3QJfhg]
Apple bought the Beats by Dre headphone and speaker line plus Beats Music which is the foundation for Apple Music last year for $3 billion.
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Some of the best things people can do in life is either (A) genuinely apologize for something, or (B) genuinely accept that apology and move on.
People that get victimized by someone else’s violent behavior aren’t typically going to forgive unless two things happen.
1. The Apology is sincere, which this just sounds more like a publicity stunt.
2. The sincere apology is wrapped around a large check where the victim agrees as a sincere amount of money.
he’s got over $700 Million at his disposal, so coughing up some checks to the women he violently attacked need both a sincere apology and a sincere settlement amount, other wise they aren’t going to forgive him.
As far as I’m concerned, he hasn’t changed if he can’t bring himself to remove his content so he doesn’t perpetrate his thug mentally because it’s brainwashing young kids into that lifestyle and he’s making millions by that.
Sorry, but I wish he’d just get out of Apple and the industry and remove his content and then settle with his victims.
“As far as I’m concerned, he hasn’t changed…”
Unless you know him personally, live with him or work closely with him on a daily basis your opinion has absolutely no jurisdiction in reality. While it’s your right to express that opinion it is void of fact or context.
But here’s some context for you: during the Chris Brown vs Rhianna abuse case scores of women took to Twitter to express their adoration of Brown saying ridiculous things like (and I’m paraphrasing) “you can hit me any time you want”. I’m in no way suggesting the women Dre abused asked to be hit but when you’re young, rich and handsome lots of women are willing to do or say almost anything to be part of his world.
I’ve heard several stories of women doing unspeakable things just to get close to music stars. One story I remember is a mother screwing an N’Sync bodyguard so her younger daughter could get plowed by Justin, JC or any band member she could get her hands on.
All I’m saying is that there’s two sides to every story and before we demonize Dre for something that happened 25-years ago we should get all the facts.
If I sound bias I suppose it’s because I hate to see a Black man of prominence be persecuted for something he did one-quarter century ago and has or is doing his best to make amends.
Cool story. Can we remove all Martin Scorsese’s movies from the iTunes Store too then?
He had violent run ins with women in his youth and his art contains lots of references to criminal lifestyles too.
Or is it just black artists you have a problem with?
Ha, just kidding, it’s pretty obvious you’re a racist.
Either you forgive or you don’t. Payment is not an option and it minimizes the impact of the crime. If you are victimize, money hides and hushes it up. Dre music doesn’t brainwash anyone. Have you listen to compton. Police are still doing the same thing. We are still angry. Listen to it and learn.
incredibilistic – “If I sound bias I suppose it’s because I hate to see a Black man of prominence be persecuted for something he did one-quarter century ago and has or is doing his best to make amends”.
I take it then that it doesn’t bother you if a white man of prominence is persecuted for something he did once before? Are you racist?
theronster – “Ha, just kidding, it’s pretty obvious you’re a racist.”
Rich Davis’ post mentions nothing about colour OR race. So how is it racist? CLUE: It’s not. What it does do is mention a man with a violent past – it is YOU who brought race into it. Are YOU racist?
That he has changed is difficult to accept when the words from his current sound track include ” I even make the bitches I rape cum”
Everyone deserves a second chance. He has made the most of his.
Oh, God. The guy promotes the N word throughout his music for which he has received a LOT of money and it sends a bad message to the people that listen to it on a daily basis. He’s not even an accomplished musician, he just a thug that shouldn’t be in the music industry and he definitely shouldn’t be with Apple, he’s got NO credentials to be an Apple exec. NONE.
He was a model example of what not to do, but who doesn’t screw up? We should be praising those who come back from screwing up and try to build themselves and those around them to be better.
Nobody’s perfect and I’m getting sick and tired of the “mob” response by everyone for everything these days. He doesn’t owe me an apology, and I’m grateful that he’s turned his life around and is doing good stuff.
He should wrap that apology up to the victims of his crimes with a big freaking check UNTIL THEY forgive him. Then he needs to pull all of his content off line because all that does is perpetuates his THUG mentally. Plus, he’s not an accomplished musician with actual performances of his. He can’t play a single instrument on stage by himself or with a group of musicians without embarrassing himself. Go and count all the times the N word appears in his latest sound track. I’m sure the N count is well over 100 times. That’s not positive at all. The only reason why he got the gig at Apple was because it was part of the buyout of Beats. He wouldn’t qualify as an employee under normal circumstances. he’s got no education in anything that Apple actually does.
Are you his publicist? It sounds like it.
I take it you smashed your NWA albums a long time ago, but still have your Eminem ones.
Yet, I bet you are unemployed here, and Andre Young is not.
Whatever he does need to do is not of your concern. Get a life
Good stuff? Putting out more albums with the N word the lyrics is “good stuff”? The guy victimized people and all he has to do is apologize? He should be paying people some large settlements at bare minimum. He should be apologizing for the crap music he’s been putting out and if he really had changed his life around, he should remove it from the store shelves and not promote that “thug life” that he and others he hangs out with have been making a lot of money. he threw one women, who by the way still says she has physical problems, she was thrown against the wall and then through a door. And she lost her job right after it happened.
Why is everyone feeling so sorry for these gangbangers is beyond me.
He’s only turned around a part of his life, but not all of it. What is this? Feel sorry for the gangbanger day? We should be feeling sorry for the victims, not the perps.
Yeah, I don’t get it. Its not art, its romanticized thug life. There is nothing redeeming about it. I thought Apple was smart to buy out a decent headphone business, and stop a possible competitor of Apple Music gaining any traction…but aligning themselves so completely with idiots like Dre and Iovine shows poor taste. For christ sake they let DRAKE up on stage during an Apple Keynote to ramble about nothing for 5 painful minutes.
I don’t know what market research turned them on to this idea, but not everyone views it as valuable.
You aren’t in a position to decide what is and what is not art.
Either are you. I don’t consider any of this “music” as art, nor do I consider any of it as “good music” either. And, BTW, I have studied how to play a musical instrument from private instructors for many years, taken college courses and have played a variety of styles on a professional level, so I feel I’m qualified to judge his music. Plus, if you look up the term “art music’, his doesn’t quality since his is commercialized pop music and that’s not generally considered “art music’. Plus, Dre really doesn’t know much in terms of music theory and Gangsta Rap/Hip Hop is more of a marketed music genre rather than a legitimate music genre that’s taught around the world in high quality music colleges. You certainly can’t get a degree in rap or Hip Hop. You can in other genres like classical, jazz, and other forms. If you were to study vocals, they don’t teach you rap, they teach you singing and the theory behind music.
Enjoy other forms of music that have actual music theory behind it. Maybe someday you’ll know the difference between a legitimate music form and one that’s just marketing.
Maybe the fact that many hip hop artist are poets, like Common, 2Pac and Kanye West. The fact that hip hop is a collage of different music types.
Umm what Rich Davis? Dude, I make music for a living. I graduated from Berklee College of Music. I actually do know something about music. My avatar is me playing a piano for Christ sake lol.
The thing is though, where I went to school doesn’t matter. Music isn’t made for other musicians, it’s made for all people. If you think rap isn’t art, you’re not listening to it. And that’s okay. You don’t have to listen to everything, you just don’t get to say what is and isn’t art based on what resonates with you. Pretty simple, right?
In order to create music with different styles, first you must have some competence in these different styles to draw from. Dre has not mastered ANY style of music, which most of these rappers haven’t either. They either sample someone else’s music, use drum machines, or simply play very nondescript melody lines. Rapping is not considered singing. Singing requires all aspects of musicianship, rapping doesn’t, barely requires anything other than simple rhythm that is based on speaking. Most of these rappers can’t play a musical instrument with a high level of competence, have very little knowledge of music theory, and most of it is just garbage.
These guys aren’t classically trained, nor can they play jazz, nor can they play blues, or anything else for that matter. Maybe a couple can, but Dre certainly can’t. He basically couldn’t not play a single instrument on stage to prove that he can. Heck, the soundtrack he just released doesn’t really have him even rapping on it, as he had to get others to do it for him to help him sell his album. If someone is going to put their name on an album, it should be HIS work, he should be the main “artist” on the album, but he isn’t. And since when it throwing around swear words in lyrics “art”.
Please don’t pull the Berklee card, it’s not as valuable as it once was, they haven’t put out top notch master jazz artists in a LONG time. And Dre and most of these rappers certainly couldn’t pass their curriculum.
troll
Haha, the more I read what you wrote, the stupider it sounds.
“Its not art, its romanticized thug life.” …or maybe it’s both?
“but aligning themselves so completely with idiots like Dre and Iovine shows poor taste” Yes — because Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine are definitely NOT industry super producers with millions of record sales and several platinum records between them. Just give it up. You can’t have it both ways. Is Apple Music successful or not? So far, the content aspect has been awesomely reviewed. Guess which two idiots are responsible for that?
“For christ sake they let DRAKE up on stage…” translation: “I don’t listen to Drake’s music, so I can’t identify with his persona! This must be true of everyone else in the world!”
This kicker really put a nice bow on the whole thing:
“I don’t know what market research turned them on to this idea, but not everyone views it as valuable.” Wow *slow clap*. Great analysis. You’re like the half-witted ham-fisted concern trolling sidekick to Captain Obvious.
Dre? Is that you?
So smug. Bet your self esteem gets a real boost defending the indefensible that the media tells you is good.
They are catering to the musically ignorant because there is a lot of kids/young adults that like swear words in music because they are immature.
When I grew up, most of the music on the market wouldn’t have existed. I grew up listening to people that could actually sing, use lyrics that were in English, not Ebonics, and that the musicians were actually playing musical instruments instead of drum machines, sequences, etc. That’s why the music from those decades are still enjoyed. Most rap music has a VERY short shelf life. It’s also of very little substance or worth listening to.
to Rich Davis: You said, “They are catering to the musically ignorant because there is a lot of kids/young adults that like swear words in music because they are immature”.
You then go on to talk about an era of music from yesteryear but you’re overlooking guys like Jim Morrison who not only used profanity, sang about violence against women and drug use but was very liberal with his use of colorful language.
Bono, Bob Dylan, Ozzy, Alice Cooper, even the Kingsman — their most famous song being “Louie, Louie” — were under investigation for hiding profanity and sexual innuendo in the song.
While most rap music does, Dr. Dre music doesn’t. The most influential artist of the 90’s hip hop was Dr. Dre.
So, what album did Dre put out where he’s actually PLAYING a musical instrument and not using a keyboard to program some silly chords/melodies? He has NEVER performed a concert where he played a piano or any other musical instrument for that matter, until he does, I don’t consider him a musician, he “Produces” music which is a lot different than PERFORMING. Rapping isn’t singing.
Lol your just a racist shit head. Every post I’ve ever seen on this site that talks about a hip hop artist in relation to Apple Music, you always come out and call the artists idiots, morons, etc.
Grow up and get a life. Not everyone has to like what you like. I think country music is shit, but it doesn’t take away the fact that its an art form.
Pretty unfortunate that you guys are throwing your musical credentials at me considering I graduated from Berklee. Not that that means anything on its own, but I do actually know something about music — thanks.
Oh you know little then. Dr. Dre has produced and directed some of the best artist from Ice Cube, 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, 50 CENT and the list goes on. He is so important to Hip Hop. Dre promotes what Parying, drinking, smoking a little. Is his music angry at the power structure that tries to keep black down and racially profiles them? Of course. But he is an artist.
Who cares? EVERYONE has things in their past they would rather keep hidden or things they shouldn’t have done. Mistakes and screw up are a part of life, period. And it wasn’t like no one knew, they probably just didn’t care.
Not everyone puts out music with racist, sexist, violent and disgusting lyrics. Not everyone throws a women’s head against a wall and then throw her through a door. Not everyone hangs around with a bunch of gangbangers, not everyone beats up a cop. He has no real credentials to be a high ranking Apple employee, other than he was an investor in Beats, he’s rich and famous, other than that, he has absolutely no background in the computer industry, he has no real education and he hasn’t helped Apple with all of the negative publicity which started with this video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guMFKBXp544 , Remember, Apple is going after the corporate customers since they partnered with IBM, they really don’t need to have losers like Dre being part of Apple. These rappers are just low class people trying to act like they know music theory and can put out music. Most of them don’t know anything about music theory, something that musicians need to know. He’s just a lower with money and fame, but he simply can’t remove his ghetto background, which is NOT my problem. He’s bad news and the lyrics in the music he produces is valid proof of his past, which still is in his present day living.
The thing is that this is about more than just his actions 25 years ago. This is about the whitewashing of those events in a supposedly true account of major historical figures. Apple had been tacitly endorsing revisionist history by refusing to acknowledge Dre’s past, and now has reversed course — yet as the author mentioned, there’s a skit that involves violence and women on his record. Confusing times.
At the end of the day, Dre’s involvement with Apple is strictly business, and we have to remember that beating women doesn’t make Dre a bad businessman, or even unhireable. It’s just problematic on Apple’s end to endorse a movie that glosses over major parts of NWA’s history.
Why is this even a story? Of course he was a drug dealer and got drunk, high, and slapped around some hoes…It’s in his music, he told us about it…Did you think he was lying lol? At least he’s not like these professional athletes who deny it unless it’s captured on video…IMHO they’re just wanna be gangsters, while Dre is the real deal. That’s what sells his records. Keep on keeping on…
He got arrested and found guilty, so he can’t lie about it. They gave him a very light sentence, probably because he was rich and famous. Go read his history on wikipedia, they have other quotes of his. At the time it happened, he played it down like it wasn’t a big deal. He threw the woman’s head against the wall, and then threw a door. And have you had someone rich and famous shove your head into the wall and then threw a door? Put yourself in the victim’s position. He’s scum. He just has to behave himself more because he’s wealthier and more famous. BIG DEAL He needs to make his apologies more sincere and wrap them around a stack of money to the victims until THEY forgive him.
I don’t say how you can say that he’s scum because he has made some mistakes in his life and then later on turned them around to work in his favor and became famous for it. He was charged in criminal court and was punished according to our justice system, and he settled in a civil lawsuit against the particular woman you are referring to for millions of dollars. He admits it was a mistake, I can’t really say if he’s just saying that or he actually believes it, but at this point I don’t really care — I still like his music, and I hate most (c)rap music. I think his talent as a writer and a producer speaks for itself, and I would not call him scum just because he has made some mistakes in his life. IMHO justice was done, and I’m not going to hold that against him.
The problems with celebrities is that they live their life in public. You made bonehead mistake but no one can recall them because you;re not famous. He didn’t know how to deal with his anger back then. he does now. Evident by a 19 year marriage and being a family man. Let him live and you do the same.
No money. I believe that greed. Why pay you for something that did not cost you money. Ill pay for your consoling, and you psychologist but that it. 25 years ago and I served my sentence. 2 recession, 3 wars, A prosperous period, the worst period in decades. 2 Black presidents, Universal healthcare and we want to hang on to something that happen 25 years ago. Why not address these cops still unlawfully arresting and killing blacks. Focus on the black on black crime.
I don’t know what her problem is???
She should be thankful. She was culturally enriched and just needs to check her privilege and racist sexual discrimination.
She’s a racist negrophobe. I mean it’s 2015, wow just wow.
They should have doused him with urine, vomit and feces. That would make it more of a challenge. Water? BFD, that’s not a challenge.
Sounds like you are really bitter that Dre made hundreds of millions with his music while nobody ever paid you to play your shitty oboe.
Quick; Samsung or Dr. Dre.?
Mind just exploded!!!!
Could somebody please get Taylor Swift on this! Thx
*snicker* +1
If Apple is to include TS, they have to include NIcki Minage, or else Kanye is coming lol for Tim Cook. lol
Apple doesn’t need this kind of distraction. Disassociate from this guy.
Yeah, what with them being on the brink of bankruptcy all the time, they really need to be wary of what impact the 26 year old actions of one of their employees will have on their fragile bottom line…
Promoting racist fueled music is not what Apple needs to associate with. They are dealing with one of the biggest producers of racist/sexist fueled music.
Oh, so maybe Apple needs to hire more thugs and gangbangers is the answer? The had to hire Dre when they bought Beats and so far that whole buyout has just brought them a lot of negative crap. Let’s start counting them.
The video where Dre was partying with his buddies as they were leaking the buyout before it was announced and yelling the N word.
They got sued by Bose.
They got sued by Monster
Now, this publicity?
Why did HTC not continue to do business with Beats? CULTURE CLASH was the reason I read, maybe it was other things as well.
Apple is NOT a record label, they are a computer device mfg, and they do business with corporations, education industry, etc. and they need to promote their company without the thug crap, whether he did it 25 years ago or yesterday. He beat up a police officer, at least one woman, and others. The music he puts out has vulgar, racist, sexist, violent lyrics and he’s making money from that. Sorry, that’s just something Apple should stay clear of. It’s not Apple, it’s the gangsta rap culture for which Apple has to dissociate with.
Dre has NO education to get him a job with Apple under normal circumstances, and he just scammed his way because there are too many idiots that buy his crap.
Tim Cook has been turning Apple into a 3 ring circus and losing focus on what Apple is about. As an investor in stocks, I am very cautious as to what is going to happen next. This isn’t helping matters. I think Tim is spending too much time in damage control mode and he needs to get rid of the Bad Apples.
I could give a rip how much money Dre has, how famous he is, he just is riding with Apple because of Beats headphones success, which aren’t even great headphones, they are just popular and well marketed.
I don’t feel sorry for Dre, I feel sorry those those he victimized and I don’t believe he paid them off, usually in a settlement the victim doesn’t mention anything after the settlement, but she’s been vocal about the incident and there has been no mention that she got a settlement.
For whatever reason there’s no reply button for Rich Davis. However, it’s pretty clear he has a problem with Dre personally, for some reason.
Rich, if you can’t make an intelligent argument that doesn’t rely on highly subjective opinions, perhaps you better steer clear of debating issues like this.
Oh, and yelling the ‘N’ word is perfectly fine if you’re black. You mightn’t like that, but it’s not up to you – it’s up to the people that have claimed that word as their own. Sorry about that, but that’s how it works.
As for Tim Cook – I doubt he’s losing sleep after making Apple much more successful than it ever was under Steve. Still, I’m sure you’ve a way to bend those facts to your tiny will too.
Scammed? Dre is clearly a better businessman than you, since he was already incredibly wealthy before Apple came calling. Yet you think he didn’t even earn that either…
Face it Rich. Your arguments are kind of shit. You’ve no grasp on black culture or business, and you’re also not that well informed.
Since his abuse of women was so long ago that immediately makes it a non-issue, I don’t think so. Are we going to ignore all of the pro-athletes who are involved in domestic violence or violence against anyone. Would you look the other way if you neighbor was the one who assaulted a women even it was 25 years ago. I don’t think so. Its obvious Apple and Dr. Dre are doing their best to hide the past, glaze over it and using the Apple marketing power to hide the truth. If you are going to do an accurate biography then you tell ALL OF IT, not just the pretty parts.
I listen to all ranges of music, rap, blues, jazz, pop, classic rock, metal, classical, and oddly enough one genre seems to be focused heavily on violence against women, police, and pretty much anyone in range of the person singing, its pretty obvious what that is and that people who buy into it are interested in that thug lifestyle otherwise why would you endorse it by buying it.
@theronster, by your statement why doesn’t Apple remove ALL of Roman Polanski movies after what he did to a 13 year old girl in 1977. His guilty plea and he fled to France where he could not be extradited. So a 43 year old man and a 13 year old girl and the fact that its been 38 years do you think its ok to forgive Roman Polanski? The simple answer is NO.
Wow. That’s weird. Who said anything about forgiving anyone?
Does Roman Polanski work for Apple now and I missed the headline?
Did Polanski ever apologise for his actions or male legal financial restitution in a court of law for his crimes?
NO? Then stop trying (weakly) to make rubbish equivalences.
These apologies are nothing but damage control and they aren’t typically that sincere. I didn’t feel any sincerity in his apology. Even when it happened, he blew it off by saying it wasn’t a big deal. Oh really? Then why did she not only lose her job/career, but she still claims she still has migraine headaches? She OBVIOUSLY hadn’t forgiven him and SHE’s the victim. Typically when a victim forgives the other person, they move on, obviously she hasn’t “moved on” and since you aren’t the victim, you don’t really need to forgive him and he doesn’t have to apologize to you. I personally don’t like the racist, sexist, violent and thug based lyrics and since I like to watch movies and TV shows that litter the soundtrack with rapper crap, I am subjected to it daily, even though I don’t want to be. It’s not positive music or messages and I can’t for the life of my figure out why people listen to it and buy it. It’s disgusting and if these guys want me to forgive them for the crap they litter our society with, they’d have to pull the crap off the market and simply go away, so personally I will never forgive these losers for polluting my life with their thuggetry.
Rich, let it go. You don’t like hip-hop, or, it seems, the people who make hip-hop music. Fine.
Let it go son.
What’s kind of funny is that Apple would probably increase their profit margins if they dumped the iTunes Music Store and Apple Music streaming service since they are either losing money or making really low margins which brings down the rest of their higher profit margin business.
Also, this article suggests that the Compton Soundtrack streaming dropped by 85%, so maybe they are just doing damage control to get more streaming since it dropped like a rock since it got released.
http://www.showbiz411.com/2015/08/22/compton-collapse-dr-dre-album-drops-85-applemusic-stream-dries-up-as-rapper-apologizes-for-past-violence-against-women
First of all, let he who is without fault throw the first stone. And secondly, ultimately Dre’s actions will speak louder than his words – “you will know the vine by the fruit it produces”….
If they can forgive Steve Jobs for denying his daughter and therefore allowing her to live in poverty when he had millions then they should be able to forgive Dr. Dre.