Andre Young Jr., the 20-year-old son of Grammy award winning
hip hop artist and producer Dr. Dre, was found dead this weekend at his home in
Woodland Hills, California, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s
office.
Moreover, the rapper’s publicist confirmed Young’s death in
a statement released on Tuesday: “Dr. Dre is mourning the loss of his son Andre
Young Jr. Please respect his family’s grief and privacy at this time.”
His mother reportedly found him “unresponsive in bed” at
approximately 10:24 a.m. on Saturday, while she was trying to wake him up.
Being unable to rouse her son, she immediately called paramedics, but, in spite
of all efforts, they could not revive him. They later pronounced Andre Young
Jr. dead at the scene, according to County coroner’s Lt. John Kades.
“Police arrived and declared him [deceased],” said assistant
chief Ed Winter of the Los
Angeles County
coroner’s office, quoted by E! Online, adding there was “no visible trauma or
the like.”
Andre Young Jr. had been out with his friends the previous
night and came home at about 5:30 a.m., his mother told police. In addition to
this, she said she had heard her son in his bedroom. Police said they did not
suspect foul play.
An autopsy was conducted on Monday, but the cause of death
is not likely to be established for up to eight weeks pending toxicology
results and other tests, County coroner’s Lt. John Kades said.
Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Romelle Young, is the
founder and chief executive officer of Aftermath Entertainment and an ex
co-owner and artist of Death Row Records. He is also renowned for launching the
careers of many popular musicians, such as the controversial Eminem, Snoop Dogg
and 50 Cent.
His 1992 solo debut “The Chronic,” released under Death Row
Records, helped him become one of the best-selling U.S. performing artists of 1993 and
win a Grammy Award for “Let Me Ride.” In addition to this, his 1999 album entitled
“2001” won him the Grammy producer’s award one year after its release.
During the past years, Dr. Dre mainly focused his career on
producing for various artists, while occasionally contributing vocals in their
songs.
In 2001 and 2004, “Rolling Stone” listed him among the
highest paid-performers of the year. In 2001, Dr. Dre earned a total of
approximately $52 million from selling part of his share of Aftermath
Entertainment to Interscope Records and his production on superhits such as
Mary J. Blige’s “Family Portrait.” Three years later, the rapper earned only
$11.4 million, mostly from production successes such as G-Unit and D12 albums
and Gwen Stefani and Eve’s single “Rich Girl.”
Andre Romelle Young has also played in the 2001 productions
“The Wash” and “Training Day.”
His most recent solo studio album, “Detox,” had been
initially scheduled for a 2005 release, but, following much delay and
speculation, it was set to be released this year.
The legendary hip hop artist is also the biological father
of fellow rapper Hood Surgeon, whose real name is Curtis Young.
