Dr Dre is the professional name of André Romell Young, who was born in Los Angeles, California on the 18th of February 1965. Besides being a rapper and actor, Dre is also the founder and chief executive of Aftermath Entertainment. Earlier, he was one of the owners of Death Row Records and also one of the early members of the pioneering gangsta rap group NWA, whose violent songs about street crime caught the attention of fans and the RIAA. Dre is a powerful personality in the rap music industry. Dre has produced millions of records and produced for stars like, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Eminem, Nate Dogg, Busta Rhymes, The Game, and Eve. It was Dre who helped to popularize the West Coast G-funk style of rap between 1992 and 1996. "The Chronic" is his debut album that touched the no.3 position in Billboard in 1992. Dr Dre has a unique production style and primarily uses the Akai MPC3000, a drum machine and sampler in the studio. After his co producer Mel-Man joined with Dre, his music took on a less voice and more synthesizer appraoch. Dre had a long collaboration with Mike Elizondo, the guitarist and keyboardist. Elizondo has also written and played on many records for Dre. Dre has been formally studying music and piano over the years and his ambition is to make more music. He also collaborated with the famous songwriter of the 60's, Burt Bacharach. Dr Dre's recent music "Lost Ones" and "Imagine," recorded for Snoop Dogg, are different from the earlier songs that were mainly synthesizer based, with less vocals. These new songs feature use of classical instruments and are more orchestral. Dre has also acted in a few movies ? "Up In Smoke," "Training Day," and "The Wash." He got the Source magazine award for bringing out the releasing the album of the year in 1996. Most of Dre's Album singles feature the rap star Snoop Dog.