Dr Dre to receive first Hip-Hop Icon Award at ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards

Dr Dre is set to be awarded the first-ever Hip-Hop Icon Award at the 2023 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards.

The ceremony for the awards is set to take place tomorrow (June 22) in Los Angeles, and the event is a celebration of 50 years of the hip-hop genre.

At the 2023 edition of the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards, the 58-year-old music and tech mogul will be awarded for his contributions to the industry and his impact on the genre.

“Dr Dre’s groundbreaking early work laid a foundation for Hip-Hop as we know it today,” said ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President Paul Williams of the rapper.

“As a champion for some of today’s biggest artists and a successful entrepreneur, he changed the culture around Hip-Hop. Dre continues to be a pivotal figure in the music industry and we are thrilled to recognise him with the inaugural ASCAP Hip-Hop Icon Award as we mark 50 years of Hip-Hop.”

Dre – whose real name is Andre Romelle Young – is considered a pioneer of modern hip-hop, and first rose to fame nearly four decades ago as a member of World Class Wreckin’ Crue. He later found fame as part of the gangsta rap group N.W.A. alongside Easy-E, Ice Cube and more.

He was also the former co-founder and co-owner of Death Row Records, which represented artists including Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg, (before it was taken over by the latter), as well as the previous winner of the ASCAP’s Founders Award in 2010.

Alongside being credited as the pioneer of the West Coast G-funk subgenre of Hip-Hop, Dre has also found fame after co-founding and developing a variety of music tech under Beats Electronics. The brand was started in collaboration with Jimmy Iovine, co-founder of Interscope Records.

In other Dr Dre news, earlier this month, the artist and Snoop Dogg announced that they are moving their upcoming Hollywood Bowl shows to October in a show of solidarity with the Writers Guild Of America (WGA) and their ongoing strike.

The shows, commemorating the 30th anniversary of Snoop’s Dre-produced debut album ‘Doggystyle’, were set to take place across two nights at the end of the month – on June 27 and 28. They are now set for October 20 and 21, with all previously purchased tickets being valid for the new shows.

Elsewhere, he also announced that rare limited-edition collectables will be released in honour of his seminal album ‘The Chronic’s 30th anniversary.

The first drop included three session tape fine-art print offerings photographed by Jeremy Deputat, ‘The Session Tapes’ 1:1 replica set, the Session Tapes Oversized Replicas, and four limited-edition skate decks.