By Mesfin Fekadu, AP Music Writer
Dr. Dre, who has produced hits for Eminem, Tupac, Snoop Dogg and more, will be honored by the Recording Academy for his trailblazing production work.
The Recording Academy announced Friday that its Producers & Engineers Wing will pay tribute the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer on Jan. 22 at Village Studios in Los Angeles. The event takes place four days before the 2020 Grammys.
Dre has won six Grammys, three of which he took home as a producer or engineer. Born in Compton, he broke out on the music scene as a co-founding member of N.W.A., producing some of the group's groundbreaking 1988 debut album, "Straight Outta Compton."
He went on to produce his own hits and multiplatinum albums, along with crafting music for Eminem, Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, 50 Cent, Eve, Jay-Z, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Xzibit, the Game, Anderson .Paak and many more.
He also found success outside of rap, producing Top 10 pop hits for Gwen Stefani, Michel'le and Mary J. Blige, helping the R&B queen top the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the first time with "Family Affair."
Dre founded Beats Electronics in 2008 with Jimmy Iovine and six years later they launched a streaming subscription service, Beats Music. Apple acquired both in a $3 billion deal in 2014.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More