Dr. Dre To Be Honored With Inaugural ASCAP Hip-Hip Icon Award
The Icon Award is only ever presented to ASCAP members whose musical contributions have made an “indelible impact” on their genre.
Dr. Dre is set to receive the first-ever ASCAP Hip-Hop Icon Award. He will be honored at the organization’s Rhythm & Soul Music Awards Celebration of 50 Years of Hip-Hop on Thursday, June 22, in Los Angeles.
The Icon Award is only ever presented to ASCAP members whose musical contributions have made an “indelible impact” on the art and culture of hip-hop.
“Dr. Dre’s groundbreaking early work laid a foundation for hip-hop as we know it today,” Paul Williams, chairman of the board and president at ASCAP. “As a champion for some of today’s biggest artists and a successful entrepreneur, he changed the culture around hip-hop.”
During his illustrious career, Dr. Dre has won seven Grammy Awards in addition to producing huge hits for Jay-Z, Eminem, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Kendrick Lamar, Nas and 50 Cent. He won his first Emmy for last year’s Super Bowl halftime performance with Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Lamar and 50 Cent. In 2010, he was previously honored with the ASCAP’s Founders Award. Earlier this year, he also received the Global Impact Award during the 2023 Grammys week.
The prolific producer emerged from the West Coast gangster rap scene alongside Eazy-E and Ice Cube as part of the group N.W.A., which made a major mark in the hip-hop culture and music industry with controversial lyrics in the late 1980s.
In February, Dr. Dre is celebrated the 30th anniversary of his magnum opus, The Chronic, by reissuing the album through its original distributor, Interscope Records, which the record’s initial release 1992 via its relationship with Death Row Records.
In a statement, Dr. Dre said, “I am thrilled to bring The Chronic home to its original distribution partner, Interscope Records. Working alongside my longtime colleagues, Steve Berman and John Janick, to re-release the album and make it available to fans all over the world is a full circle moment for me.”
Listen to the best of Dr. Dre on Apple Music and Spotify.
