What You Didn't Know About The Death Of Dr. Dre's Brothers

Though Dr. Dre needs little introduction, we'll pretend he does. Founding member of legendary hip-hop outfit N.W.A., he's a rapper, producer extraordinaire, creator of music labels like Aftermath Entertainment and Death Row Records, mentor to greats like Eminem, and deliverer of the most booming "Hell yeahs" this side of Crenshaw (or any side). Needless to say, André Romelle Young has left a permanent mark on music history, and he did this all while coming from the most humble of roots in Compton, Los Angeles. Hence the name of the N.W.A. song and 2015 film: "Straight Outta Compton."

But even though most people know that Dre comes from humble roots, certain tragic details of his life are less known. For instance, Dre had three siblings growing up: His half-sister, Shameka, and his two half-brothers, Jerome and Tyree. Both brothers died — Jerome as an infant from pneumonia, and Tyree as a 21-year-old in what might have been a gang-related street fight. Tyree's case remains unsolved to this day.

In an interview with The Times, Dre says that he likely carries grief over these deaths with him. "There's this certain pain that I feel — and I don't know if it's because of my brother's death, or [other] deaths in my family — but it's this thing. I'm not sure if I should get rid of it," he explained. Ultimately, though, Dre credits his drive to this grief. "I don't think I should change it," he said.

Much less is known about one of Dr. Dre's dead brothers, Jerome Crayon, than his other one, Tyree. Strictly speaking, Jerome and Dre were half-brothers. Jerome was the son of Dre's biological mother, Verna Young, and Curtis Crayon. Dre gets his last name, Young, from his mother, who was married to Dre's biological father until 1968. 

What little information we have about Jerome's death is simple: He died of pneumonia as an infant. He must have been very young, because Dre himself was reportedly only 1 year old at the time. This places Jerome's death at somewhere from 1966 to 1967. Regardless, the risk for pneumonia is a serious one. In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that pneumonia still accounted for 14% of all deaths in children under 5 years old worldwide.

While Dre typically cites the death of his brother Tyree rather than Jerome, he did allude to Jerome's death in The Times interview we mentioned earlier. No doubt Dre's mention of "[other] deaths in my family" includes Jerome. It likely also includes the death of Dre's own son, Andre Young Jr., in 2008 to a heroin and morphine overdose.

Like Jerome Young, Tyree Crayon was technically Dre's half-brother born to Dre's biological mother, Verna Young, and Curtis Crayon. But like Jerome, Tyree's death left a permanent mark on Dre. Even more so, it seems, because Dre was old enough to have grown up with him. 

Tyree died in 1989, two years after Dre co-founded N.W.A. As the story goes, Tyree was found near Crenshaw Boulevard in Compton. Savagewatch says that he'd suffered "traumatic injuries" due to a fight, while Suggest mentions a possible connection to the Crips, the well-known Los Angeles street gang. The outlet also says that Tyree's neck was broken, but whether that happened as a result of Tyree's conflict or when he fell to the ground is unknown. Beyond these basic facts, little information is available. It also doesn't seem like Los Angeles law enforcement knows much, if anything.

Tyree's death had a profound impact on Dre. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Dre says that he "started boozing" after Tyree died. He eventually wound up in a high-speed street chase and landed in prison for five months. Dre called the experience "the best thing that ever happened to me." "When I got out of jail, I backed off of all of it, left Death Row, got married, just re-evaluated my whole life," he later added. "My whole plan that I decided on in jail, I put that s*** in action." It seems Dre is still shaken by Tyree's death, though. As recently as the 2015 filming of the N.W.A. biopic "Straight Outta Compton," the rapper reportedly had to leave the set during the scene where actor Corey Hawkins (playing Dre) learns about Tyree's death.