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Dr. Dre's mother, Verna Griffin, and former associate of his Aftermath label, Bruce Williams, are both set to release books on their experiences with the influential producer later this year.
In her upcoming book, Long Road Outta Compton, Griffin, who gave birth to Dre, (born Andre Young) at age 15, reveals her struggle from rags to riches, working full time and sewing her kids clothes when they were growing up.
She also recalls her concerns for her son when he initially linked up with Eric "Eazy-E" Wright. "I was worried ... that Andre would be drawn to the glitter of what drug money could buy," Griffin writes in Long Road Outta Compton. "Fast money is not good money."
Instead of being sucked into the street life, Dre drew Wright into music, before long forming the group N.W.A and beginning his journey to success.
The book largely focuses on Griffin's life experience. A mother of five children, two who died in infancy and one who was killed in gangland violence, Verna struggled through hard times, failed marriages and even the problems that Dre's fame would eventually bring. While she acknowledges how her son's generosity made life easier (he bought her a house and gave her an allowance) she says her real blessing was their relationship.
"I am rich," she concludes in the memoir, "but with a wonderful family."
Former Dre associate Bruce Williams will also give his firsthand look at life alongside Andre Young in his unauthorized account Rollin' With Dre: An Insider's Tale of the Rise, Fall and Rebirth of West Coast Hip-Hop.
In addition to touching on highly publicized aspects of hip-hop history like the East Coast/West Coast feud, the murder of Tupac Shakur and the evolution of Death Row Records, Williams also spills the beans on behind the scenes happenings, New York's Daily News reports.
Such details include instances like Suge Knight giving Snoop Dogg a blue BMW 850 two-seater for his birthday that down the road nearly landed the lanky MC in handcuffs. Snoop discovered the vehicle was stolen only after the police had it surrounded one day.
Williams also opens a window into Dre's historic collaborations, detailing how when Dre played Tupac the beat for "California Love," Pac declined his offer to make a copy to write lyrics, instead responding, "I'm ready to go right now," before proceeding to the mic to spit spontaneous lyrics in "the exact ... cadence and inflection" after hearing it just once.
For Rollin' With Dre Williams collaborated with "Ghetto Celebrity" memoirist Donnell Alexander.
Rollin' With Dre: An Insider's Tale of the Rise, Fall and Rebirth of West Coast Hip-Hop lands on bookshelves March 25th while Verna Griffin's memoir Long Road Outta Compton is is set for a June 9th release.
