Once again, this is the guy that will soon occupy a corner office at Apple headquarters in Cupertino. Right next to Apple CEO Tim Cook, who praised Dre. Dre as a ‘rare talent’ during the Beats acquisition announcement last week.
Homophobia & Misogyny: best enjoyed together!
lyrics from Rap Genius.
You’re losing it, Paul.
Right on, Paul. Tell it.
As I understand it, rap started out as valid street poetry with a real message about race poverty and the challenges of inner city youth trying to grow up in a war zone.
Then the media machine turned it into violent war chants for make-believe gang members singing the praises of violence and abuse of women.
Nothing to be proud of. A bunch of 40-year-old men who never grew up, seems like.
“poetry with a real message”
Um, poetry has nothing to do with messages. It’s about meter, language, rhythm, music, power.
And I’ll bet you can’t stand still while you read Dre’s lyrics.
Got a message? Send an email. But please stop the hating — both of you.
Speaking the truth isn’t hating; Dre’s rap lyrics, that’s hating. Lots and lots of hate in there.
“Dre’s rap lyrics, that’s hating”
But that’s just nonsense, it’s like saying Kandinsky’s colors or Balanchine’s ballets were racist — lyrics are lyrics are lyrics…
Paul is doing the hating here. And you should be embarrassed to support him, especially if you’re a musician. We really don’t need another Entartete Kunst discussion.
“Nonsense…Dre’s lyrics have no hate, They are ‘just lyrics’ ”
I think we are missing the point of the article. Dre is now in the limelight. As we have recently seen with Sterling, current or past actions can still be relevant. I think Paul is trying to point out that the Dre must be ready to have his skeletons come out of the closet as he will be a point of focus for various people whether they are “haters” or not.
There’s a point, and an article? WHERE? -_-
I agree..but actually the first commercial rap was nothing like todays.. it actually had musical hooks and a groove that made you move. NO hate… check out “Rapper’s Delight” Sugar Hill Gang, “The Breaks” Kurtis Blow, “8th Wonder” Sugar Hill Gang, Run DMC, Beastie Boys.. etc…
Homophobia rules.
I’m not and never was a fan of gangsta-rap and yes, those lyrics are atrocious.
But if we’re going to scrutinize Dr Dre, then it should be open season on the moral fiber of anyone in the biz, whether on a stage or in a boardroom. Which is not to say that there isn’t a valid objection to be made regarding these lyrics, but let’s have a serious discussion about it: why, specifically, is it a bad move for Apple to invite Dr Dre into its executive ranks? Also, is it morally justifiable to promote an artist like Chief Keef whose lyrics seem to throw gasoline on the fire that is the youth-violence epidemic in Chicago?
There’s a legit discussion to be had about these questions, but this post, as it stands now, just seems passive-aggressive for its own sake.
“why, specifically, is it a bad move for Apple to invite Dr Dre into its executive ranks?”
Because Apple had to buy Beats to get him.
Then again, everybody loves him and Iovine, so who knows — perhaps it was worth it. It’s a huge commitment to music.
‘Sounds like you’re presuming that Apple would have pursued Dre even without his association with Beats, or maybe you’re simply misreading my comment. The question I posed was rhetorical; the larger point was that Paul, if so inclined, should write an op-ed explaining why Dre in particular deserves ethical scrutiny instead of posting these passive-aggressive attacks.
“Sounds like you’re presuming that Apple would have pursued Dre even without his association with Beats”
Well, that’s the general idea, isn’t it…
At any rate, it doesn’t make any sense to scrutinize a person’s ethics on the basis of literary fiction.
An op-ed? This is my op-ed, I’m just writing it in a style you don’t agree with.
dude, don’t call this writing..
“it should be open season on the moral fiber of anyone in the biz, whether on a stage or in a boardroom”
Exactly. As it should be. Music influences and inspires people, for better or for worse. Anyone involved in its creation has an obligation to consider what effects the music they put out into the world has on its people.
Apple should have an interesting response to this. I think they will be hiring D Sterling to the Board of Directors as well. Should be a new branch named upon it; ‘The Adams Family’.
This is not journalism even by DMN standards. This is blatant sensationalism and the headline is misleading and IMHO: libel. Get your head out of Dre’s ass Paul, and write about something that actually matters to digital music. This is not news, this is crap.
“IMHO: libel”
That’s for sure, it’s hard not to admire Dre’s restraint.
Might be helpful to learn what libel actually is.
“LIBEL: A published false statement that is damaging to a person’s reputation; a written defamation”
…and just to make absolutely sure you get it, Paul:
Dre did not chat “about choking bitches” and he did not talk “about that time he gang-raped a prostitute and then killed her” as you claim.
Both are lies, libel and hate speak, and I honestly don’t understand why you’re doing this.
Right, because, that Dr. Dre doppelgänger was saying those things?
No, because Dre’s character said “those things”.
You do know what a character is, yes?
Amazing to what lengths you’ll go to defend this deeply abusive and violent material. C’mon, this ‘just a character’ concoction is a pathetic and weak cover.
What happened to your comment from a moment ago?
“Amazing to what lengths you’ll go to defend this miscreant.”
MISCREANT: A person who has done something wrong or unlawful. Synonyms: Criminal, culprit, wrongdoer, malefactor, offender, villain
None of this is against the law, at least saying it isn’t and that’s the way it should be. But that’s not the point.
Just think about what you’re defending here. If you really believe and are willing defend these messages, then why not stop being such a coward, hiding behind ‘anonymous’. Sure, I give every commenter the right to anonymity, and I’ve fought to protect that right, but that doesn’t mean you have to be a coward.
Let’s see who you really are, before you attack me for my opinions which I have the balls to put out there with my real name.
I don’t attack you for your opinions.
In fact, I share them.
You want to protect women and gays and blacks from violence and harassment. Great. We all want that. Including the good Doctor.
But your problem is that you keep confusing facts and fiction. You keep mistaking artistic statements for personal opinions.
That’s not only dangerous. It’s also plain stupid. Especially in this case.
I asked you if you knew what a character is. You didn’t answer. I’ll take that as a no, so here you go:
Most pop stars spend a long time creating their ‘personas’.
Talk to any major artist and she’ll tell you about her character, figure, role, or whatever she calls her.
Some artists do it to protect themselves from publicity. Others do it out of insecurity, because they fear their ‘day-personalities’ would be too boring.
But quite a few — and often the most successful ones — go all the way:
Instead of just putting up a show, they invent detailed and entertaining characters because they wish to portray certain people. It can be nice guys such as Sgt. Pepper, but more often you’ll see weird or scary characters, perverts and villains, the worse the better:
From Velvet to Ziggy, from Steve Harley to Ian Anderson, from Alice Cooper to Ramones, from Kiss to… Slim Shady.
And that last name really should ring a bell, Paul.
Why don’t you read Dre’s lyrics again?
Oh, and by the way, ‘miscreant’ doesn’t necessarily mean one who breaks a law or commits an illegal act. It really depends on context. Here’s my definition (from Merriam-Webster)
miscreant (noun)
: a person who does something that is illegal or morally wrong
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/miscreant
“You want to protect women and gays and blacks from violence and harassment. Great. We all want that. *Including the good Doctor.* ”
And you know this how? From his NWA lyrics? Where do you get the idea that this is just his “character” but he is really the opposite? An invented defense, with no evidence that it is remotely true.
I agree with Paul. Call it like it *is*. All these apologetics for Dre and his posse and what they sell…just ridiculous.
Hint, hint:
“And we’re what’s happening in rap entertainment / Me and Shady, far as competition? Faggot, there ain’t none”
🙂
It might be helpful for you Paul to learn what libel actually is. By legal definition the two headlines you’ve written recently about this topic are in fact libelous. You literally don’t know WTF you’re talking about.
Is there really going to be one of these every week now?
I’m going to start quoting your April Fool’s articles as fact, because, you know, you said it so it must be true.
“I’m going to start quoting your April Fool’s articles as fact, because, you know, you said it so it must be true”
Best comment, so far.
Why not? Once a week, once a day.
I hope eventually Apple feels the shame and cuts this “artist” from their staff.
What’s next? Using off-color SNL skits against Sen. Al Franken?
Rabble!..Rabble! Rabble!
Why did DMN have nothing to say about Dre’s lyrics until Apple got involved?
Why hasn’t DMN had anything to say about the RECORD LABELS that financed and profited (and made much more money than Dre did) off of Dre’s lyrics (for years now)?
How many Fortune 500 companies have a history owning slaves (African/Nazi Germany)?
How many companies in America profit(ed) from child worker/slave camp factories overseas?
When is America going to repay the reparations to African-Americans for the two hundred plus years of government sanctioned slavery?
…I’m waiting Paul….
Perhaps he’s to busy trying to stop other successful black people getting hired by big American corps…
I don’t think so. I think he tries to do what he believes is the right thing — like the Christians who burned Beatles records in order to protect America’s youth, or whatever…
All valid moral issues as well, but those do no excuse this moral issue of Apple hiring someone who promotes such “values”.
Yes, but it is hypocritical to cherry pick without acknowledging the tree responsible for the fruit.
I thought it was racist to talk bad about ebonics.
Dr. Martin Luther King and his people fought, bled and died…for this shit?
These ass hats are ruining the brand of the American black man.
Asshats like these gangsta-rap fools, that is.
Absolutely right. And the legacy of jazz, one of the most brilliant and uplifting art forms humanity has ever created, is now just as a source of samples to underly such hateful lyrics.
Ok Paul, we get it: you’re afraid that Apple can actually do something successful with Beats and their streaming service. You hate this idea so much that you couldn’t find anything better than hating on Dre’s rapper career. It’s dumb and make this whole site looks awful too. You really should grow a bit here.
Fix your face!
You don’t care about gays or women.
Broke ass hater.
If America had a good Ed. System
You would be out of a job!
Right place right time Dre’s been one lucky guy, talent ?, Beats ? Now Dre take your $ and give back to the Boys and Girls Clubs accross America or any organization that’s trying to develope leaders not parking meters, stop the hate preaching and teach real power of love and giving,hate has got to leave the hood.
It used to be Hardcore Right-Wing Christian groups that proposed boycotting products that were unhealthy. I proposed DMN leads the charge!!! 🙂
Really? I thought anyone who cares about their health boycotts products that are unhealthy.
I’m confused, is “a tapeworm” supposed to rhyme with “entertainment,” or is “entertainment” supposed to rhyme with “there ain’t none?”
Maybe “tapeworm” rhymes with “ain’t none?” That’s it, I’m going back to bed.
There’s a few worms in the Apple now.
Man this site became a rag. It used to be sensational but at least fairly reasonable. Not anymore. Give it up, Paul.
again… you must have loved the attention. this place is starting to suck. if you can’t differentiate between an ‘act’ and a real person you shouldn’t write about either one.. by the way i’m not defending dre, i’m calling you an idiot. good luck.
OMG! Angelina Jolie played an assassin who kills multiple people in the movie “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”, and yet she was appointed Special Envoy of UN High Commissioner for Refugees! How can we continue to let these injustices stand!? It’s time we united to put a stop to these monsters getting important jobs. Who’s with me? Paul, I know you are, but we can’t do this alone.
“Who’s with me?”
I’m in!
I even hear she’s some kind of witch, too.
….except Dre uses his own name to claim responsibility for these family values.
oh geez let it go, dude! hell, your online profile says you’re a redskins fan. therefore you must be a racist! you have had your head up apple’s butt for as long as i can remember and now your poor widdle broken heart cannot accept their latest move. tough shit, bro. it is your wise, old, can-do-no-wrong apple who put dr. dre at the table so if you have shit to say about anything you can start by recanting all that “apple the messiah” crap you have been spouting for god knows how long. kinda sucks that you have just about ruined your site with all this nonsense. you seem desperate for attention but this is not putting you on the map. you just come off as a bitter douche. and it’s pretty hypocritical to be calling out apple with lyrics you have linked from rap genius. grow up.
Isn’t this DMN Paul? Not sure what’s happened as of late to DMN but instead of sensationalizing and exacerbating things with this drivel, why not find and report on a real story with all of the facts objectively as a NEWS story that we’d be interested in? Think we are able to form our own opinions here and are bored of reading this kind nonsense.
This is such a non issue. Clint Eastwood played a lawless, rogue cop in a movie so he shouldn’t have been mayor, Schwarzenegger played a robot killing machine in a movie so he shouldn’t have been governor, etc?
bieber has a substantial investment in spotify but poor silly paul has yet to share his musing on, “that time bieber chopped up black people with a chainsaw and joined the kkk…”
gee, i wonder what would happen if tim cook posted a picture of himself with dre on instagram and then brought him to a board meeting!
i stopped reading billboard because i really did not give a fuck about demi lovato’s take on one direction’s smoking pot. now i log on to dmn and have to read about who paul resnikoff is willing to let sit next to tim cook (i’m pretty sure that’s tim’s decision….) do i have to start reading tiger beat?! i get it. i am not a fan of hatespeak or even “imagined” misogyny. but i also don’t like real chinese child labor abuses. still, i would be appalled to read about, “that time tim cook paid starving kids only $2 an hour to build $400 iPhones.” dabbling in fake provocateur-ism in music journalism is just as lame as doing so in rap. let’s just hope paul will come as far along in the next 20 years as dr. dre has, in the last.
now let me go find something worthwhile to read…
Next weeks article: Apple Executive Dr. Dre Accused of Malpractice: Claimed to be a Doctor for 20+ Years With No Actual Medical Experience.
lol
Seems like everyone has a huge problem with this post, but no one has the balls to use his or her real name. And why is that, I wonder?
So here are the new rules. I promise to respond and defend my opinions against anyone that uses his or her real name. I’ll verify it first, so no tricks.
I’m waiting, you cowards.
Well, it seems ‘we’ stay on topic while you resort to name-calling…
google me, email me, call me, all good. In fact, this is the first time I’m posting something on your site because you seem to really want to defend this one. I have no big issue with your content overall but this thing is really pointless. Music is something artists do in character. It’s no different than acting. In fact, some times they don’t even write their lines just like an actor doesn’t. Lil Jon doesn’t act like his character, neither does Eminem or Lady Gaga. They are “entertainers” entertaining specific fans, some more niche than others. They are not doing PSAs in character, are they? There is a time for your costume and act, and a time when it’s turned off. Some times these characters are even suggested by labels and mgmt, not even close to what the artist originally intended.
Andre Young is the one who got hired at Apple. His rap persona that he used to play has nothing to do with that, it’s just a nickname now. Should no one ever do deals with Leonardo DiCaprio because he has played racist or violent characters over and over?
And you really think 14-year-olds know that all that rap stuff is make believe and these rappers don’t believe a word of it?
Is that what you really think happens?
It’s not necessarily a character. When has Dr. Dre ever said that?
Okay Dustin, by your logic then, Andre Young is a damn good method actor. Here’s what happened in 1991 to Pump It Up host Dee Barnes, who portrayed N.W.A. in a negative light.
from Rolling Stone, August 8, 1991 (author: Alan Light)
“Last November the Fox TV rap video show Pump It Up ran a segment on N.W.A. in which it crosscut between members of the group dissing their former partner Ice Cube and a previous interview with Cube in which he bad-mouthed them. The members of N.W.A. decided that the clip made them look bad. On January 27th, Dre ran into Pump It Up host Dee Barnes at a record-release party in L.A.
“According to a statement issued by Barnes, Dre picked her up and “began slamming her face and the right side of her body repeatedly against a wall near the stairway” as his bodyguard held off the crowd. After Dre tried to throw her down the stairs and failed, he began kicking her in the ribs and hands. She escaped and ran into the women’s restroom. Dre followed her and “grabbed her from behind by the hair and proceeded to punch her in the back of the head.” Finally, Dre and his bodyguard ran from the building.
“Far from denying the attack, the members of N.W.A. insist that, as Ren says, “she deserved it – bitch deserved it.” Eazy agrees: “Yeah, bitch had it coming.”
“Coming like a motherfucker,” Ren continues, “she shouldn’t have done that.” Barnes says that she was against running the piece in the first place, but Ren disagrees. “She’s lying,” he says. “She had something to do with it. She sure was in that scene with [Ice Cube].”
“And Dre himself says: “People talk all this shit, but you know, somebody fucks with me, I’m gonna fuck with them. I just did it, you know. Ain’t nothing you can do now by talking about it. Besides, it ain’t no big thing – I just threw her through a door.”
“Barnes, who first filed charges against Dre in February, is now pursuing a civil lawsuit alleging assault and battery, infliction of emotional distress and defamation. “Their whole philosophy has been that they’re just telling stories, just reporting how it is on the streets,” says Barnes. “But they’ve started believing this whole fantasy, getting caught up in their press, and they think they’re invincible. They think they’re living their songs.”
“Barnes says that she has continued to receive threats from associates of the band and that it took her this long to go public because “it really messed me up.” “Dre was like a big brother to me,” she says. “I still get very emotional about it.” (Newsweek provided an alternative explanation for the delay, reporting that Barnes originally offered to drop the charges if Dre would help her own rap group with its music.) Says Barnes: “Now it’s bigger than just me – one individual – getting slapped around. It’s a campaign of them with a Number One album calling for violence against women. They’ve grown up with the mentality that it’s okay to hit women, especially black women. Now there’s a lot of kids listening and thinking it’s okay to hit women who get out of line.”
Now I’m confused — does this mean that Dre did not rape and kill that woman?
Here’s what you said in a headline:
“Dre talks about that time he gang-raped a prostitute and then killed her”
Dre’s ability to hit a woman is still not his lyrics or rap persona. A lot of executives who don’t rap have done similar and worse things. You still have to separate a person from their persona. If he rapped about rainbows and hit a woman, the problem is that he hit a woman. So rapping about violence and hitting a woman, the problem is still not his music. Now if Apple wants to do a criminal background check or if there are any legal or resolved civil matters that some how conflict with their hiring principles, I’m sure they’re on it.
Is it OK for an executive to hit his wife or a prostitute, as long as he doesn’t write a song about it? Therefore, your article should have been about these accusations from Andre Young’s past, not his lyrics. But then of course we would all ask what the results of those allegations were.
Amazing to what great lengths you’ll go to defend this guy.
So rapping about violence and hitting a woman, the problem is still not his music.
Actually it seems like it is part of the problem, since this is clearly not a persona or image as you’ve argued in the past. Dre is rapping about how he actually behaves, in real life.
“Dre is rapping about how he actually behaves”
No, he’s not. You still fail to produce any evidence that he raped and killed the woman you mentioned in the other headline.
Which means you’ve lost your credibility. And that’s sad. You managed to dig up some very unpleasant dirt in this case, and that could have made an impact.
But now you just comes across as the guy who screamed ‘murder’ without reason.
Dre pleaded “no contest” and was fined and had to do community service…
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-08-28/local/me-1316_1_show-host
I thought I responded to this earlier but maybe it didn’t go through. I won’t repeat it because maybe it will post eventually but this will be the last reply for you. I just want you to consider two things, no need to agree or disagree, just consider them for the future.
First thing, if this incident occurred the way it was described (not sure if any formal charges were brought or what the outcome was), then this was the action of Andre Young. So its a perfectly good fact to write an article about since it actually may have occurred. If it was about his lyrics AND this incident, well that would imply you wouldn’t have run the story if a guy who rapped about rainbows attacked the woman. So called “gangster rappers” are not the only ones who hit women and it’s always wrong, not just when people who do it write about it in songs or movies. And yes, a company should be weary of who they hire, it’s why they have morality clauses.
Second thing: Do you believe in making mistakes, maturity, or rehabilitation? Of course if this man had a long history of violence it would be a red flag, but it seems like your best defense for your opinion is about who he was 25 years ago. So consider this, Tim Allen, Charles S Dutton, and Danny Trejo all have criminal history much worse than Dre. But what do they all have in common? They’ve grown up and decided that that life was foolish and not for them. You wouldn’t judge a friend or family member for a mistake they made when they were young and stupid, would you?
Dre may have beat up this woman, who even said herself that he was starting to believe his character. Proof that even she knows he was not this type of person. but losing himself in his character. Being surrounded by so many negative influences at the time, it’s truly not that surprising. What is surprising is how he’s changed and matured. Or have you seen him hanging out in Compton with a bunch of gang members recently? Because that would have been an interesting story. “Dre celebrates Apple deal by shooting in to the air along side known Crips.”
I think most of us would hope any one who commits terrible acts can not only learn from them and change, but also make an amazing success story one day.
That’s the most pathetic reply I’ve seen on your part ! You don’t like anonymity ? Fine ! Make the comments open only to people who have verified account. But you won’t do it because it would mean less participants and then less money for your site. It shows how much your desperate with your fight against streaming. You remind me of those labels who tried to kill MP3 15 years ago… Well, MP3 is still here and so will be streaming.
Dre pleaded no contest to the beating, and was fined and sentenced to community service and required to make a video against violence to women.
http://articles.latimes.com/1991-08-28/local/me-1316_1_show-host
He is a true man of integrity, then, because he owned up to his heroic acts.
“heroic” to beat a woman, eh?
I see that you have been listening to rap.
OK, you were being sarcastic. I can see from your other posts.
Just to quote a few famous examples:
“But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die”, “Folsom Prison Blues”
“Put a gun against his head / Pulled my trigger, now he’s dead”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
Dre is all showman! Always was, always will be. An actor of his own script. I’m sure He believes his own hype sometimes, but when he’s alone, He knows the truth! He’s just an average nice guy with incredible luck and the ability to exploit opportunity. Peace Dre…
So what if he doesn’t like gay people? There is no law saying that he has to even tolerate them. Why must you nit-pick every detail with what sexual orientation someone agrees with or not. You will never erase homophobia, and i even hesitate to call it a phobia considering it’s really less about fear and more about not agreeing with their life decisions. The same applies to racism, sexism, agism, etc. Maybe for public show one may take a stance one way or another but being a human we all individually hold beliefs as to what we percieve as being right or wrong and honestly i don’t think that popular opinion should attempt change that or crucify someone for not condoning what a group of people wish to partake in.