Tag Archives: Dr. Dre

This is a really interesting tidbit of information that we wanted to share with y’all, after the many conversations that surrounded Michel’le’s prior biopic, “Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge, and Michel’le.” The man in the photo above, is someone who reportedly knows Michel’le very well. So much so, that he surprisingly claimed that he almost gunned down Dr. Dre over her back in the day. But his alleged relationship with Michel’le isn’t what you might be thinking.

His name is Christopher Toussaint and in 2013, he revealed to Diary Of A Hollywood Street King, why he apparently came this close to shooting Dre over Michel’le Toussaint. You see where this is going yet? See what Christopher a.k.a. rapper, Soliarii, had to say about this below…

MICHEL’LE’S BROTHER ALMOST SHOT HER THEN BOYFRIEND, DR. DRE?

Christopher says that he is Michel’le’s brother and that back when Michel’le was in her past alleged abusive relationship with Dre, he was about to shoot him for putting his hands on Michel’le. Here is what HSK reported in 2013:

The ‘Late Bloomer’ indie lyricist — whose real name is Christopher Toussant — says he’s tired of hearing people “talk about” Michel’le’s “corrective surgery” … the reported result of the R&B Diva’s physical abuse by baby daddy Dr Dre. That’s why Soliarii — who explains he was “a teen when all that was going on … and tried to protect his sister” — recently recalled the “day she [Michel’le] came home, bruised and clearly beaten by Dre.”

Here’s what Soliarii had to say about it: “Our mother and grandmother kept me from going into the living room and gunning Dre down. To this day, Dre still doesn’t know what our mother and grandmother did for him.”

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Now here’s where we gotta play devil’s advocate and raise an eyebrow (or two):

– One thing we couldn’t help but notice is that Michel’le spells her last name as ‘Toussaint,’ but Christopher spells his as ‘Toussant.’ We also understand that artists change their names or the spelling of their names all the time though, so maybe that could be the reason for the elusive ‘I.’

– The other eyebrow raiser is that we have searched high and low for any physical evidence that proves Michel’le and Christopher are siblings and have come up short. Now that still doesn’t mean that they are not siblings, but we just thought it was worth pointing out, so that y’all can have all of the info and then decide who you believe in this situation.

***UPDATE: We were recently sent the throwback photo (below) of Soliarii a.k.a. Christopher Toussant standing in front of his sister, Michel’le when he was a kid. We were also informed that Michel’le’s birth name was Michelle Toussant (not her current name,Michel’le Toussaint, with an “I” and apostrophe’). So it looks like Christopher is telling the truth about being her brother after all ILOSM fam.’

If this is true, we are SO happy Christopher was stopped from executing his plan that day.

Legendary producer, Dr. Dre, and his business parter/Interscope Records CEO, Jimmy Iovine, are probably pissed as hell after losing an incredibly expensive lawsuit. As we recently reported, they’ve been legally battling their former Beats by Dre business partner, Steven Lamar, after he claimed they jacked him out of major profits from sales of Beats by Dre headphones. Dre and Iovine have now learned the hard way, that a deal is a deal.

The Millions They Have To Pay

Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine have just been ordered to cough of a whopping $25MILLION! Can we say, Cha-CHING?!! It looks like their main man, Steven Lamar, done came UP:

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Via The Blast: According to the jury verdict sheet obtained by The Blast, Steven Lamar was awarded $25,247,350 in total damages for the versions of the Beats headphones which he was owed royalties. The jury broke down the damages by awarding him over $7 million for the Studio 2/Remastered headphones, $14 million for the Studio 2 Wireless version and another $2 million for the Studio 3 cans.

Well…maybe Dre and Iovine can look at the bright side of this, at least $25M’s is a lot better than the $100million Lamar was originally seeking…

Backstory Of Why They’re Being Sued For $100M’s

If you missed our prior coverage n why Lamar took his business partners to court, here’s what we reported.

Nearly 10 years after Beats by Dre hit the market, Lamar recently sued the former N.W.A. pioneer and Iovine for $100million. In court docs, Lamar claims to have presented Dre and Jimmy with the idea for their highly successful Apple Music Beats by Dre headphones. Lamar said they were now trying to cut him out of the agreement they arranged, by allegedly finding a loophole to go forgo paying him.

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Via Billboard: Lamar is suing Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, Jimmy Iovine, and Beats Electronics. Lamar alleges being the one back in 2006 to propose to Dre and Iovine a line of celebrity-endorsed headphones based on a design by Robert Brunner, a renowned industrial designer.

But the parties had a falling out in the early years, and Dre and Iovine sued Lamar for breaching contract. This prior lawsuit then led to a settlement where Lamar relinquished rights in exchange for a four percent royalty on every headphone sold by Monster and its affiliates. After the settlement, Beats released new headphone models and began paying a two percent royalty to Brunner until sometime in 2014 when Beats bought out Brunner’s interest. Dre and Iovine would later sell Beats to Apple for $3 billion.

The big question in the case is whether Lamar is due royalties for the later derivative versions of Beats headphones or whether the defendants fulfilled its obligations by merely paying him for the first headphone model.

Prior to now, a judge had tossed Lamar’s case because he/she felt there was not evidence enough to go to trial. In Sept. 2016 though, an appeals court judge deemed that the wording of the agreement between Lamar, Dre, and Iovine was too “ambiguous” to fully exclude Lamar from any profits from altered versions of the original Beats by Dre headphones. Therefore, the three parties are now in a jury trial, pleading their sides of the case in a California court.

They Were Clueless?

According to Billboard, Dre and Jimmy Iovine claim they were clueless of how successful the headphones would be at the time of the agreement and therefore had no way of predicting there would be a follow up version of the headphones to hit the market. However, Lamar came to the trial ready…dude presented a Power Point presentation documenting his, Jimmy’s and Dr. Dre’s early days together, in which Lamar raised the possibility of future different models of the headphones, as well as their future collaboration on a “line of headphones”…not just one version. Thus, here they are today,

Another day, another lawsuit for former NWA legend/producer-turned-almost-millionaire Beats by Dre mogul. Dr. Dre and his business partner, Interscope Records music mogul, Jimmy Iovine are have just been hit with a huge lawsuit by their former business associate and he may have a chance at winning this thing.

Why They’re Being Sued For $100M’s

Nearly 10 years after Beats by Dre hit the market, an entrepreneur named, Steven Lamar, says Dre and Jimmy are trying to stick him for his paper. Therefore, he’s suing them for a whopping $100million! In court docs, Lamar claims to have presented Dre and Jimmy with the idea for their highly successful Apple Music Beats by Dre headphones. Lamar says they’re now trying to cut him out of the agreement they arranged, by allegedly finding a loophole to go forgo paying him.

Embed from Getty Images

Via Billboard: Lamar is suing Andre “Dr. Dre” Young, Jimmy Iovine, and Beats Electronics. Lamar alleges being the one back in 2006 to propose to Dre and Iovine a line of celebrity-endorsed headphones based on a design by Robert Brunner, a renowned industrial designer.

But the parties had a falling out in the early years, and Dre and Iovine sued Lamar for breaching contract. This prior lawsuit then led to a settlement where Lamar relinquished rights in exchange for a four percent royalty on every headphone sold by Monster and its affiliates. After the settlement, Beats released new headphone models and began paying a two percent royalty to Brunner until sometime in 2014 when Beats bought out Brunner’s interest. Dre and Iovine would later sell Beats to Apple for $3 billion.

The big question in the case is whether Lamar is due royalties for the later derivative versions of Beats headphones or whether the defendants fulfilled its obligations by merely paying him for the first headphone model.

Prior to now, a judge had tossed Lamar’s case because he/she felt there was not evidence enough to go to trial. In Sept. 2016 though, an appeals court judge deemed that the wording of the agreement between Lamar, Dre, and Iovine was too “ambiguous” to fully exclude Lamar from any profits from altered versions of the original Beats by Dre headphones. Therefore, the three parties are now in a jury trial, pleading their sides of the case in a California court.

They Were Clueless?

According to Billboard, Dre and Jimmy Iovine claim they were clueless of how successful the headphones would be at the time of the agreement and therefore had no way of predicting there would be a follow up version of the headphones to hit the market. However, Lamar came to the trial ready…dude presented a Power Point presentation documenting his, Jimmy’s and Dr. Dre’s early days together, in which Lamar raised the possibility of future different models of the headphones, as well as their future collaboration on a “line of headphones”…not just one version.

Unless Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine can prove otherwise, it looks like their gonna be diggin’ into those collective billion dollar pockets to pull out a spare $100M’s. On a side note, Dre is probably hoping to have better luck than he did on his other recent case, when he lost to a gynecologist named…wait for it…’Dr. Drai’ (pronounced ‘Dr. Dre’). Like we said, another day, another lawsuit…it’s like Dr. Dre’s “been there, done that”…LOL…I couldn’t resist that one.

The legendary Dr. Dre just learned the hard way, that not even a $830 MILLION net worth can save him from losing a court battle over his name. The former N.W.A. OG tried to make legal demands that some ‘respeck’ be put on his name because apparently, there is one gynecologist who’s making Dre feel as if people “act like they forgot about Dre,” like his protege,’ Eminem, once said.

Why Dr. Dre Sued And Lost Lawsuit Against Gynecologist

While hearing that Dr. Dre- the “Chronic” hit producer, turned ‘Beats by Dre’ mogul- slapped a Pennsylvania based gynecologist with a lawsuit, may seem strange, there’s actually an interesting reason for it. Dre. believes that the public will get them confused. Why? Well, the answer is simple- no, they do not look alike- but their names sound similar. So similar that it’s obvious the gynecologist is playing up on the infamous Dr. Dre moniker for marketing purposes. That’s pretty much what Dr. Dre feels as well. You see, OBGYN Dr. Draion M. Burch, markets his brand and books with the nickname, Dr. Drai (pronounced like Dr. Dre). Everything was all good up until 2016, when Dr. Dre caught wind of Dr. Drai’s trademark filing for the name, Dr. Drai.

OBGYN Drai officially filed for the trademark, Dr. Drai, to be used as “Doctor Drai OBGYN & Media Personality.” But as you could imagine, Dr. Dre was like ‘Aww HELL naw!’ and proceeded to file some legal paperwork of his own, with the hopes of throwing a curveball into Dr. Drai’s marketing plan and trademark efforts.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BImygowA2Qj/

Dre cited his concern that the similar sounding names may cause confusion for the public. However, it’s probably safe to assume that wherever Dr. Drai is making a public appearance, Dr. Dre will probably be no where within the vicinity. It’s also safe to assume that no women will probably think she scheduled an appointment with Beats by Dre Dr. Dre from Compton, instead of Dr. Drai, the gynecologist from Pennsylvania.

Dre’s into making dope beats and power business moves, but what he’s not into, is holding educational STD prevention seminars and offering various baby delivery options.

Unfortunately for Dre though, a judge has just kicked his lawsuit against Dr. Drai to the curb. According to the judge, there was not enough evidence to prove that the two “doctors” would be confused in any way.

Prety sure Dr. Drai, the gynecologist, is somewhere tossin’ it up after that conclusion. Now he can get back to his self-proclaimed ‘sex-pert’ tips and educational social media summits.

Meanwhile, Dr. Dre will also be out here making more strides in his career. Although fans have long since given up on the hopes of that mysterious “Chronic part 2” album Dre promised decades ago, he’s come a long way since his NWA heyday. His fans are proud of him for that. He’s had a rough past and a history of domestic violence allegations. Now, Dr. Dre’s been married for over 2 decades and lives a much more quiet life behind the scenes of his $830 million fortune. After partnering with his business partner, Jimmy Iovine, for their Beats Electronics Apple deal, business is boomin!’

So even though Dr. Drai is using a similar name, it’s clear to see that ‘mothaf—–s ain’t forgot about ya’ Dre.’

Source

The legendary Dr. Dre just learned the hard way, that not even a $830 MILLION net worth can save him from losing a court battle over his name. The former N.W.A. OG tried to make legal demands that some ‘respeck’ be put on his name because apparently, there is one gynecologist who’s making Dre feel as if people “act like they forgot about Dre,” like his protege,’ Eminem, once said.

Why Dr. Dre Sued And Lost Lawsuit Against Gynecologist

While hearing that Dr. Dre- the “Chronic” hit producer, turned ‘Beats by Dre’ mogul- slapped a Pennsylvania based gynecologist with a lawsuit, may seem strange, there’s actually an interesting reason for it. Dre. believes that the public will get them confused. Why? Well, the answer is simple- no, they do not look alike- but their names sound similar. So similar that it’s obvious the gynecologist is playing up on the infamous Dr. Dre moniker for marketing purposes. That’s pretty much what Dr. Dre feels as well. You see, OBGYN Dr. Draion M. Burch, markets his brand and books with the nickname, Dr. Drai (pronounced like Dr. Dre). Everything was all good up until 2016, when Dr. Dre caught wind of Dr. Drai’s trademark filing for the name, Dr. Drai.

OBGYN Drai officially filed for the trademark, Dr. Drai, to be used as “Doctor Drai OBGYN & Media Personality.” But as you could imagine, Dr. Dre was like ‘Aww HELL naw!’ and proceeded to file some legal paperwork of his own, with the hopes of throwing a curveball into Dr. Drai’s marketing plan and trademark efforts.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BImygowA2Qj/

Dre cited his concern that the similar sounding names may cause confusion for the public. However, it’s probably safe to assume that wherever Dr. Drai is making a public appearance, Dr. Dre will probably be no where within the vicinity. It’s also safe to assume that no women will probably think she scheduled an appointment with Beats by Dre Dr. Dre from Compton, instead of Dr. Drai, the gynecologist from Pennsylvania.

Dre’s into making dope beats and power business moves, but what he’s not into, is holding educational STD prevention seminars and offering various baby delivery options.

Unfortunately for Dre though, a judge has just kicked his lawsuit against Dr. Drai to the curb. According to the judge, there was not enough evidence to prove that the two “doctors” would be confused in any way.

Prety sure Dr. Drai, the gynecologist, is somewhere tossin’ it up after that conclusion. Now he can get back to his self-proclaimed ‘sex-pert’ tips and educational social media summits.

Meanwhile, Dr. Dre will also be out here making more strides in his career. Although fans have long since given up on the hopes of that mysterious “Chronic part 2” album Dre promised decades ago, he’s come a long way since his NWA heyday. His fans are proud of him for that. He’s had a rough past and a history of domestic violence allegations. Now, Dr. Dre’s been married for over 2 decades and lives a much more quiet life behind the scenes of his $830 million fortune. After partnering with his business partner, Jimmy Iovine, for their Beats Electronics Apple deal, business is boomin!’

So even though Dr. Drai is using a similar name, it’s clear to see that ‘mothaf—–s ain’t forgot about ya’ Dre.’

Source

This is an extremely sad situation on many levels. The man pictured above is Brent Lynch, but who’s Brent, well most people don’t know him, but you know his dad.

What Did He Do?

His dad was none other than Roger Troutman, the legendary musician who popularized what the youngins know today as “auto-tune.”

If you think T-Pain created “auto-tune”, then you’ve got to do your research, because first there was the legendary musician/singer, Larry Graham, who introduced the world to the talk-box/auto-tune sound. Then there was the late, great Roger Troutman, who took the talk box to an even bigger level through his classic Zapp Band and solo jams.  Troutman had hit, after hit in the early 80’s, but it was his resurrection by Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakar that have everybody vibing to “California Love.”

Plagued With Several Deaths

Rogers’ family has been plagued with several deaths throughout the years:

Roger Troutman was shot and killed by his brother, Larry. Larry then killed himself. Roger Troutman’s son, Roger Lynch, passed away at the age of 33 in 2003; and now one of Roger’s sons has committed murder.

Those are stories that need their own story, but in the case of Brent Lynch, he got exactly what he deserved as a result, but what he has done has not only caused severe grief to his ex’s family, he has also created a deep path of destruction in his family as a result. Here are the details via twincities.com:

[Roger Troutman’s son, Brent Lynch] will spend more than 32 years in prison for the March 3, 2012 beating death of his ex-girlfriend, Carolyn Leete, 32.

Ramsey County District Judge Robyn Millenacker sentenced Brent Lanier Lynch on Thursday, Nov. 1, to 386 months.

Lynch, entered an Alford plea Sept. 14. In such a plea, a defendant does not admit the crime but concedes the evidence most likely would convince a jury of his guilt.

Lynch also was ordered to pay $10,325.97 to Leete’s mother, brother and sisters. This included funeral costs.

Leete, an artist and nanny, died of traumatic head injury. She was found on a bed, partially unclothed, in Lynch’s home in the 800 block of West Minnehaha Avenue in St. Paul.

She was bleeding from her nose, mouth and eyes, and had what appeared to be defensive scratches on her hands and arms. There was a blood splatter on the wall about 12 inches in diameter.

“I am Carolyn’s mother, and I taught her to love,” Sheila Leete said. “And now I find myself filled with a hate I didn’t have before. It eats away at my insides and leaves the void left by Carolyn’s death even greater.”

Carolyn Leete’s sister, Lorraine Leete, read something Carolyn Leete wrote when she was alive:

“‘I am blessed with the best friends in the world!!! I am very happy with life, and have no regrets. I like to stop and smell the flowers, and not be in a rush. I hope all my friends live to be 100 and I live to be 99, so I don’t have to mourn anyone.

A History Of Violence

It was also reported by Brent’s aunt, who gave Brent and Carolyn a ride to his home hours before the murder, that they were both intoxicated after a night of partying together, and that Brent’s Mom was afraid to go pick them up when he called her for a ride home because she said he always gets really crazy when he drinks. So she asked her sister to go get them and she and her granddaughter left the home. Brent also has a history of violence against women, according to police.

Unfortunately all stories we bring to you aren’t happy stories, but they’re real stories that represent all aspects of life- the good, bad, and the outright ugly.  Sadly, this just proves that celebrities sometimes have problematic lives just like many other people and sometimes their lives are filled with tragic and heartache beyond belief.

-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, Old School news with a new point of view

Dr. Dre is stepping way outside of his character that we- the public- know him to have. In he and Jimmy Iovine’s new HBO documentary, The Defiant Ones, the hella private NWA OG got ALL the way real about his violence toward one of the women in his past.

He spoke about that infamous time when he reportedly beat female rapper/ex MTV TV host, Dee Barnes, in a nightclub in 1991. The drama reportedly went down after Dee asked Dre a question that he didn’t like during an interview. He ultimately ended up allegedly choking and punching her. Dee successfully sued Dre for the incident, but later revealed that she didn’t get as much money as one might have assumed.

Dre’s Televised Apology To Dee Barnes

Dre never spoke about the incident much…except for that one time when he released a statement just before the 2015 release of the NWA biopic, Straight Outta Compton. Many believed he was doing it as a PR stunt. However, fast forward to today and the brotha had a seemingly genuine ‘come clean’ moment…at least as it pertains to Dee Barnes. Here’s part of what he said about beating her up back in the day:

“I was out of my fu*king mind at the time. I fu*ked up. It’s a major blemish on who I am as a man.”

Should Michel’le Have Been Included?

By now it’s no secret that Dre’s ex-girlfriend/mother of his son, Michel’le, has claimed that Dr. Dre used to beat the hell outta her throughout their years-long relationship. Although Dre didn’t fully deny Michel’le’s claims, she revealed that she was “offended” Dre had reportedly tried to legally stop her from telling her truth in her recent biopic, Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le.

At that time, Dre reportedly threatened to sue her if the biopic made him look like a woman beater. Michel’le did not budge from her truths and the alleged beatings, she says she endured from Dre, remained a part of the movie. As far as I know, there was also no lawsuit filed against her by Dre afterward.

That brings me back to Dre’s recent ‘come clean’ confessional. He manned up and publicly apologized for the Dee Barnes beating (which is undeniable since it’s public record). But if Michel’le’s claims about Dr. Dre are true, do y’all think he should have at least mentioned her name in his televised ‘this is my confession’ moment?

Listen, Dr. Dre is a legend and a phenomenal music producer. Michel’le was part of a legendary movement in hip hop and R&B as well. But just like we always say here at ILOSM: Celebrities have accomplished a high level of greatness, but that does not make them perfect people, it simply makes them perfectly flawed human beings, just like the rest of us. With that said, I won’t be holding my breathe for that public ‘sorry’ to Michel’le, just saying. Best wishes to both of them though.

Since the premiere of Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le, the former Death Row Records singer has received mixed responses about the film. Surprisingly, Michel’le has been bashed by both men and women who have questioned her claims or judged her for staying with Dr. Dre as long as she did. But despite the negative responses, Michel’le’s ratings soared to unbelievable heights when the film premiered.

Above and Beyond:

According to Deadline, Surviving Compton averaged a total of 2.3 million total viewers Saturday night alone. But, things didn’t stop there. Beyond The Headlines: Michel’le also averaged a total of 1.9 million viewers. It has been reported that the film and following documentary boasted a whopping 9.4 million viewers for the entire weekend. Can you believe it? Well, even if you can’t, they say numbers just don’t lie.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLca1elAv6k

Fans’ Reaction:

It looks like the good is definitely outweighing the bad. Shortly after the movie aired, fans took to social media with their reactions to the film. Of course, there were critical responses, but surprisingly, many of those responses were aimed toward Dr. Dre. In fact, many fans have made statements about boycotting Beats By Dre as a response to their disapproval of domestic abuse.

https://twitter.com/Trillxonce/status/787838965919412224

https://twitter.com/g_dynamo/status/787854214412238848

https://twitter.com/TionnaSmalls/status/787832455961149440

Men will never understand how their abuse can negatively affect a woman's emotions, self esteem, and trust. #SurvivingCompton

— Tiera (@MsTjM) October 18, 2016

However, fans aren’t the only people responding to Surviving Compton.

Open Doors:

Yesterday, Michel’le took to Instagram with a post about the call she received from Oprah.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLrE-SQgoZI/

According to VLAD TV, Oprah has approached Michel’le about doing an exclusive interview. It has been reported that Oprah wants to have a more indepth discussion with the singer about the abuse she suffered during her relationships with Dre and Suge Knight.

Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le may have premiered this weekend, but Michel’le is far from done with her estranged exes. In addition to the film, she’s going a step further to ensure fans know all of the details about her tumultuous relationships with both men.

The Book:

According to The Jasmine Brand, Michel’le replied to a tweet from a fan who suggested that she write a book based on the controversial film since the last scene insinuated there was more to the story. Michel’le made it clear that she’s far from done with Surviving Compton. New reports suggest the upcoming book will be a tell-all with more graphic details about Dre’s violent behavior.

So far, no further details about the book have been released. Although Dr. Dre and Suge Knight have been silent about Michel’le tweet about a possible book in the near future, that doesn’t mean they won’t clap back. For those who missed it, Dr. Dre tried to put a stop to the release of the film, but Sony executives refused to allow the famed rapper/producer to silence Michel’le any longer. The film’s executive producer, Leslie Greif, released a statement about Dre’s cease and desist letter demanding Sony ax the film.

“I heard Sony said they vetted the film and stand by it, and will not allow Michel’le’s voice to be silenced. They’re supporting this picture … These are not new stories. Dr. Dre and Suge Knight have not seen the film to my knowledge, and are presupposing what they did and how it might make them appear on screen.”

The release of the film will probably lead to a legal battle in the near future, but it looks like Michel’le is no longer afraid to fight back. The autobiography’s tentative release date is scheduled for January 2017.

Since we posted Michel’le’s daughter she shares with Suge Knight recently, we definitely wanted to show Michel’le’s adult son with Dr. Dre some love also. So here he is: Michel’le’s and Dr. Dre’s son is a product of their years-long relationship and after watching Michel’le’s biopic, which aired on Saturday, we see just how rough their relationship was (allegedly) but they created a son that they couldn’t be more proud of…

[kkgallery kid=”2546″ title=”Wait ‘Til U See Michel’le’s & Dr. Dre’s Rarely Seen 25 YEAR OLD SON NOW!”]

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