Claim: Dr. Dre left Death Row Records in 1996.

Andre Romelle Young -LRB- born February 18 , 1965 -RRB- , better known by his stage name Dr. Dre , is an American rapper , record producer , and entrepreneur . He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics . Dre was previously the co-owner of , and an artist on , Death Row Records . He has produced albums for and overseen the careers of many rappers , including 2Pac , The D.O.C. , Snoop Dogg , Eminem , Xzibit , Knoc-turn ` al , 50 Cent , The Game and Kendrick Lamar . He is credited as a key figure in the popularization of West Coast G-funk , a style of rap music characterized as synthesizer-based with slow , heavy beats . In 2014 , Dr. Dre was ranked as the second richest figure in the American hip hop scene by Forbes with a net worth of $ 550 million ; he is at the top of the 2015 Forbes list , with an estimated pre-tax take of $ 620 million in 2014 .   Dre began his career as a member of the World Class Wreckin ' Cru and later found fame with the influential gangsta rap group N.W.A with Eazy-E , Ice Cube , MC Ren , and DJ Yella , which popularized the use of explicit lyrics in rap to detail the violence of street life . His 1992 solo debut The Chronic , released under Death Row Records , led him to become one of the best-selling American performing artists of 1993 and to win a Grammy Award for the single `` Let Me Ride '' . That same year he produced Death Row labelmate Snoop Dogg 's quadruple platinum debut Doggystyle , and even molded artists into top-notch producers such as his step-brother Warren G , which led to his Multi-Platinum debut Regulate ... G Funk Era in 1994 , and Snoop Dogg 's cousin Daz Dillinger which led to the double platinum debut album Dogg Food by Tha Dogg Pound in 1995 .   In 1996 , he left Death Row Records to establish his own label , Aftermath Entertainment . He produced a compilation album titled Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath in 1996 , and released a solo album titled 2001 in 1999 . During the 2000s , he focused on production for other artists , while occasionally contributing vocals to songs . Dr. Dre signed Eminem in 1998 and 50 Cent in 2002 to his record label respectively , while contributing production on their albums . He has won six Grammy Awards , including Producer of the Year . Dr. Dre has also had acting roles in movies such as Set It Off , The Wash and Training Day . Rolling Stone ranked Dre at 56 on their list of `` 100 Greatest Artists of All-Time '' .