The Defiant Ones

Allen Hughes directed this four-part 2017 HBO documentary miniseries portrait of music impresarios Andre "Dr. Dre" Young and Jimmy Iovine. Hughes begins in 2014 when Dre and Iovine sold Beats Electronics to Apple for $3 billion before doubling back to their roots. Dr. Dre grew up in Compton, CA, primarily raised by his mother, while Iovine spent his childhood in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Iovine's father expected him to be a dockworker, but Jimmy prioritized band practice over school work, while Dre progressed from record collector to club DJ. If Iovine was attracted to rock, Dre gravitated to hip-hop and earned money by selling mixtapes. From menial work at the Record Plant in L.A., Iovine learned how to produce. His big break came when John Lennon solicited his services, which led to high-profile sessions with Bruce Springsteen and Patti Smith. Through Tom Petty, Iovine met and produced Stevie Nicks, who became his girlfriend. Dre made a name for himself as a member of the World Class Wreckin Cru and NWA, which he formed with Ice Cube and other Compton friends. Hughes touches on controversies excluded from F. Gary Gray's NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton, including Dre's assault charge, before proceeding to the founding of Death Row and Interscope Records. Together, the labels released Dr. Dre's multi-platinum 1992 album The Chronic. And from there, he traces a professional union between Dre and Iovine that launched the likes of Eminem and Lady Gaga. Serving up an entertaining journey through the modern music business, filled with the superstars these two men brought to fame, this is recommended. (K. Fennessy)