Dr. Dre’s contributions to Hip Hop have continued to be recognized, as the super producer will now be honored by ASCAP for his contributions to music.
The official press release for the ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards announced that Dre will receive the first-ever ASCAP Hip Hop Icon Award, which recognizes unmatched impact to Hip Hop’s art and culture.
AD LOADING...
“Dr. Dre’s groundbreaking early work laid a foundation for Hip-Hop as we know it today. As a champion for some of today’s biggest artists and a successful entrepreneur, he changed the culture around Hip-Hop,” said ASCAP chairman of the board and president Paul Williams in a statement. “Dre continues to be a pivotal figure in the music industry and we are thrilled to recognize him with the inaugural ASCAP Hip-Hop Icon Award as we mark 50 years of Hip-Hop.”
The ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards will tie in with Hip-Hop’s 50th-anniversary celebrations and will take place in Los Angeles on Thursday (June 22).
Dre’s latest award comes after he was given the inaugural Dr. Dre Global Impact Award at the 65th Annual Grammy’s on February 5.
The award was created in partnership with the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective and “recognizes the contributors, creatives and professionals with a proven track record of uplifting Black music.”
“I’m extremely moved by this award,” Dre said at the podium. “I want to say thank you to the Recording Academy and the Black Music Collective for this honor, and I know everybody in here probably knows this already, but this is the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop. Make some noise for Hip Hop!
“Where would I be without it? Where would a lot of people be without Hip Hop, to be honest? Hip Hop became a lifeline for me as a teenager growing up in Compton, and it started with a song called ‘The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel.’”
AD LOADING...
In other news, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg were once again spotted in the studio together, as they continue to chip away at their highly anticipated release Missionary.
The pair were first spotted reuniting in the studio last March, with Snoop announcing on Instagram: “The Chronic is bac home.” Snoop then confirmed during a red carpet appearance last summer for ET that the two of them were in fact “cooking up” something new.
AD LOADING...
That announcement was followed by an appearance on Stephen A. Smith’s Know Mercy podcast last October, where Snoop said they were in fact working on a new project called Missionary.
