From Rap Star to Global Brand

I’ve always loved Dr Dre.

Growing up as a young, middle class Jew in suburban Manchester, his Gangsta rap was a natural fit.

My first encounter with Dre was through the NWA album, Straight Outta Compton with now-iconic tracks like Gangsta Gangta and F*ck Tha Police – which protested police brutality and racial profiling.

The music was controversial.

It was one of the first albums to have a Parental Advisor sticker attached, TV news stations talked about the damage this music was doing to the youth of America and the FBI even wrote to NWA warning them about the content of the songs.

Dre was a key producer of the album and also rapped on the album.

It was the sound of rebellion.

It was anti-establishment on a CD

And although it had very little radio play (due mainly to the expletives and context of the songs) it went double platinum.

Dr Dre went on to produce many of the major rap albums and tracks including his own solo album The Chronic, Snoop Dog’s Doggystyle and many of Eminem’s tracks including the Grammy winning Real Slim Shady.

He has always been at the heart of the rap music genre.

And now, over 20 years since that NWA album came out, Dre is back.

This time adorning headphones across the world under the ‘Beats By Dr Dre’ brand.

This brand partnership (with Monster) to sell speakers and headphones has reignited a category.

Kids and adults across the world are walking around wearing oversized ‘cans ‘ emblazoned with the iconic giant ‘b’.

He has signed up other leading artists to create their ‘own’ Beats headphones including Lady Gaga, P. Diddy and David Guetta.

So what has made these headphones such a runaway success?

Is it the slick design?

They do look great; as you would expect from their designer, Robert Brunner (who led apple’s design team from 1989 -1996 in bringing out the Powerbook).

Is it the sound quality?

The headphones do consistently get good reviews in the trade and consumer press.

But I don’t think either of these are what has made Beats the success it is.

Because there are many other brands that look and sound good

The differentiator with Beats is Dre.

The man.

The brand.

Dre’s musical roots allow people to buy into a  ‘gangsta’ lifestyle from a safe distance through a set of headphones.

His credibility in producing some of the worlds leading albums provides genuine authority to a product that is deep-rooted in music.

And his personal celebrity contacts meant that he instantly had a string of ambassadors on tap providing instant kudos to his very visually branded products.

Dre’s headphones are now as much of a fashion statement as they are a music product.

So much so that people actually buy counterfeit Beats headphones, which ironically have the worst possible sound quality, just so they can buy into the brand.

Dr Dre has succeeded where many others have failed.

He has managed to extend his personal brand into other commercial areas.

It worked because he stayed true to his area of expertise – music.

His stellar career provided the credibility and authority for him to create a product of this nature.

And his lifestyle provided the cool factor that it needed to explode.

As a result, Dre has been rewarded for his efforts.

HTC recently invested over $300million into the brand – doubling his net worth almost overnight.

And that’s more money than he made from his entire music career.