Curtis was born to Dr. Dre’s ex-girlfriend, Cassandra Joy Greene, on Dec. 15, 1981.
According to Curtis, the rapper, who was 16 at the time of his birth, was absent for his childhood. “I met my father at the age of 20,” he told XXL magazine in 2015.
Curtis was raised by Greene and his stepfather, Andre Weeks. He told NextShark in 2015 that he faced “a lot of trials and tribulations” growing up in Compton, Calif. “I grew up with some good friends, and we told ourselves that we definitely didn’t want to be involved with [gangs],” he explained to the outlet. “I wanted to do something different with my life.”
As Curtis told NextShark, Weeks revealed the identity of his biological father to him at the age of 12 and later, a DNA test confirmed Dre’s paternity.
Father and son had their first meeting at Skybar in Hollywood, Calif. “It was like looking in the mirror seeing him face to face,” Curtis recalled. “We couldn’t look at each other because we looked so much alike.”
Curtis described a period of soul-searching following their meeting. “You’re trying to find yourself; that’s a whole different period I went through,” he explained to XXL. “I was like, ‘I just want to be just like him. I’m going to wear Khakis and I’m going to be a gangster.’ It just really wasn’t me … Something that I had to grow into was just being Curtis Young.”
The aspiring musician also spent time getting to know his father, telling Howl & Echoes in 2016, “After we met … I was around him all the time, in the studio while he worked on 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Trying, working with The Game, just anything he would let me be around to learn from him and help me grow and become a better artist until I was ready.”
Curtis has released several rap tracks under the name Hood Surgeon over the years, and in 2014, Fox News reported that he was opening Forever Young Entertainment, a program focused on helping young artists find their voice.
Dre’s oldest has been married to Monarch Young since 2011 and the couple share a daughter, born in 2024.
LaTanya Young, 41
Dre and Johnson welcomed the rapper’s oldest daughter, LaTanya, in January 1983.
She told the Daily Mail in 2021 that she was working as a delivery driver and had four children: Tatiyana, Rhiana, D’Andre and Jason III.
Tyra Young, 40
According to Original Gangstas, Tyra Young was born to Dre and Washington in May 1984 during his relationship with Johnson, who was pregnant with the couple’s second child at the time.
Tyra has worked in the film industry, with credits in the TV series Take 6 and the 2015 film Ropes of Silicon.
LaToya Young, 40
Johnson and Dre’s second child, LaToya, was born in September 1984.
In 2008, she released a documentary called Daddy’s Shadow, under the rap name Manaj, in which she opened up about her relationship with the Beats co-founder. “We went with him, like, every other summer when we were little,” she said. “Growing up, I didn’t really have a really tight relationship with him. It was basically, we just go chill.”
The musician said that while she “loves being her dad’s daughter,” she wishes he was more supportive of her music career. “My dad wants me to go to school for, like, nursing,” she said at the time. “That’s not me.”
In addition to working on her rap career, LaToya is the mother of at least two children, whom she introduced in her 2008 documentary. “A boy and a girl,” she said, describing her kids.
Ashley Young, 39
Johnson and Dre welcomed their third daughter, Ashley, one year after LaToya was born in November 1985.
Ashley said in her sister’s 2008 documentary that she didn’t know Dre was her father when she was little. “I didn’t know my dad was famous,” she added.
Andre Romelle Young Jr.
In 1988, Dre welcomed his second son, Andre Romelle Young Jr., with Porter.
Named for his father, Andre, whom friends called “optimistic,” died on Aug. 23, 2008, in his Woodland Hills, Calif. home at the age of 20.
Dre’s son had been out with friends the night before his death and was found unresponsive by his mother the next morning. The Los Angeles County Department of Coroner confirmed to PEOPLE in January 2009 that Andre had died from an overdose of heroin and morphine.
Marcel Young, 33
Dre had a six-year relationship with singer Michel’le which inspired the 2016 film Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge & Michel’le. Their union resulted in the birth of a son, Marcel Young, in February 1991.
According to Michel’le, Dre wasn’t involved in Marcel’s early life. “[Dre] didn’t want to see [Marcel], and he didn’t want to support him on the right level,” she said in the 2016 book Original Gangstas. But, the two repaired their relationship as Marcel aged. Michel’le added, “When my mom and my grandma died, he came into my son’s life. They have a good relationship.”
In a 2016 appearance on The Wendy Williams Show, Michel’le, who was 21 at the time of Marcel’s birth, said that her grandmother and mother took over in raising her son around the age of 2. “I had no common sense for raising a child,” she explained.
Marcel became a big brother to Michel’le’s daughter with ex Suge Knight, Bailei Knight, in 2002. “Me and Marcel are really close,” Balei said in a 2017 interview.
Tyler Young
Nicole and basketball player Sedale Threatt had their son, Tyler Young, in the early 1990’s. According to LaToya’s 2008 documentary, Dre, who married Nicole in 1996, adopted Tyler after their nuptials.
Tyler told TMZ in 2023 that he started producing music when he was around 19 or 20 years old, following in his father’s creative footsteps. “27, 28 is when I really started pushing professionally,” he added.
In September 2023, Tyler traveled to Aberdeen, Scotland, to perform as DJ Tyler Young.
He told The Courier that his father was an influence on his life musically, despite the fact that he’s in the EDM genre. “My dad was making dance music in the beginning before he launched into hip-hop but he’s pumped on what I’m doing,” he said. “Ultimately I do my own thing but I want to make him and my family proud.”
Tyler also told the publication that he was busy working on an album.
Truice Young, 27
Dre and Nicole welcomed their son Truice on Nov. 25, 1997.
Like his siblings, Truice is musically inclined. He regularly shares photos of himself playing and listening to music with his father. “First love,” he captioned a 2019 photo of himself holding a guitar and playing piano.
Truice graduated from the University of Southern California in May 2020 and shared a photo of himself in his cap and gown on Instagram, writing, “A first in the Young family.”
In October of that year, Dre’s youngest son got a matching tattoo of a DNA strand with the rapper. “It’s in the DNA. California Love!!” Dre wrote on Instagram of their new ink.
A few years later, Truice and Dre were in the studio together alongside Snoop Dogg and Anderson .Paak seemingly working on new music together.
Truly Young
Dre and Nicole welcomed their daughter, and the rapper’s youngest child, Truly, in 2001.
She told Vogue in 2017 that the music mogul came up with her unique moniker. “My dad gave me the name Truly. He just thought it was beautiful,” she said.
Leaning into her musical roots, Truly taught herself how to sing and play guitar. “My parents offered to give me lessons, but I really wanted to learn myself,” she told the magazine. “My mom and dad allowed me to try anything without fear of being judged.”
In March 2019, Dre announced in a now-deleted Instagram post that Truly had been accepted to the University of Southern California, just like her older brother.
Truly also shared the news on her Instagram Stories, writing, “All that hard work paid off. I’m going to film school.”
In March 2024, Truly supported her dad’s liquor brand partnership with Snoop Dogg called Gin & Juice by posting a carousel of selfies wearing the brand’s merch. Dre’s youngest also makes her own music and merch under the name Imposter Sindrome.
