Those who “forgot about Dre”, will remember him well after his recent Beats deal with Apple

When he and Interscope buddy Jimmy Iovine came up with the idea for the Beats by Dr. Dre headphones in 2008, the invention was meant to supplant those god awful ear buds that come with your ipod. The still sought after headphones continue to grace the good doctor’s bank account with additional zeroes years after their inception.

Last year alone, Beats headphones raked in about a billion dollars.

That may be why Apple is buying the company that sells the popular product for $3.2 billion.

Dr Dre Hip-Hop's first billionaire – WHAT? pic.twitter.com/GKZQMrkSFz

— Hip Hop Golden Age (@HipHopGoldenAge) May 10, 2014

Andre Young (which – if you don’t know, now you know – is his government name) pretty much confirmed as much in a recent video posted to Tyrese Gibson’s Facebook page.

The footage shows the 49-year-old Death Row Records co-founder with party-goers “getting drunk off Heinekens” and celebrating hip hop opulence. And why not, when he’s about to be the “First billionaire in hip-hop, right here on the motherf—–g West Coast!”

Or is he?

Conferring with the judges (over at Forbes), I’m being informed: not quite.

While that final financial figure (after capital gains taxes) may make Dre $200 million short of landing that “billionaire” label, it may still seem a better deal compared to the work and effort of making an album or doing a tour after. That’s a matter sparking a fan schism. After scouring Twitter, I see an even opinion mix supporting both sides. If producing rap’s your passion, the deal’s less appealing. But if making paper’s the priority, the doc’s rocking the rap world.

Indeed, if the video announcement is true, Dr. Dre will be the hip hop kid with the most toys – if we’re measuring status in cash, not new albums. And I’m not being snarky. I just know a few people who might like to use those majestic headphones to actually enjoy “Detox” sometime before they die.

Just maybe Dr. Dre now has the seed capital needed to finish #Detox pic.twitter.com/DPoPELAi0f

— Hip Hop Golden Age (@HipHopGoldenAge) May 10, 2014

But if we consider him as a person (which, I know, is hard in “I/ME” culture), he’s also an artist by trade and a man with a family. As an artist, he’d admittedly “rather be behind the scenes and organizing”. So it’s not altogether surprising that someone with an auditory gift for quintessential sound prefers to propagate protégé’s or fantastic music devices.

Also, given his age and the tragic passing of his son, perhaps family and time spent with friends is more of a life priority. Our opinions on the life of a man we don’t know are ultimately immaterial, but I’m just offering a different perspective for fans craving ear refills from the hip-hop doctor.

Plus, hope’s not lost for Detox. He’s still recording:

. @kendricklamar and @DrDre are back in the studio. Watch the video: http://t.co/LXwFApJqg2 pic.twitter.com/UFybS8ZDGu

— Beats By Dre (@beatsbydre) December 5, 2013

Forbes status, new albums, or not – Mr. Young’s an old school hip-hop classic who’s managed to remain relevant in his field. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading this.

Congratulations on your deal, my dude.

Image via Youtube