Dr. Dre Becomes The First Hip-Hop Artist To Create An Entire College Degree
Earlier this year, Dr. Dre was reported to become Hip-Hop’s first billionaire. The Compton, California native has come a long way from selling mixtapes at L.A. swap meets like The Rodium, in the 1980s:
The #1 earning Forbes Hip-Hop artist in 2014 is doing big things with his fortune. Teaming with his Beats Music co-founder (and former Interscope Records Chairman) Jimmy Iovine, the former N.W.A member will reportedly donate $70 million to the University Of Southern California.
The giving is said to help create a new, specialized degree at USC that highlights skills in business, marketing, product development, design and liberal arts, according to The New York Daily News. Per Iovine (who worked with Dre since the doctor was a co-founder at the Interscope-distributed Death Row Records in the early 1990s), the degree will educate, develop, and deliver candidates to work at Beats Music in the future—the pair’s eight-figure-earning company (annually) that is now partnered with Apple.
Notably, Dr. Dre, who transferred throughout his high school career, did not attend college. Now a degree is likely to carry his name, for thousands of others.
Nas, who Dre has worked with throughout the last 18 years (and once signed, through The Firm), recently became involved with Harvard University. The Nasir Jones Fellowship was named in Nas’ honor. Other artists in academia have included professors 9th Wonder and Bun B.
Related: Dr. Dre Estimated To Have Made More Than Next 24 Wealthiest Hip-Hop Stars, Combined