When asked to name off the people
who have acted as Beastie Boys Djs, most fans are quick
to answer with DJ Hurricane
and/or Mix Master Mike.
Those who know their Beastie Boys history may also add DJ
Double R (Rick Rubin) to that
short list, although a few people will say "Doctor
Dré;" and those who do will cringe as they say
it. The cringe is not because of the man's skills on the
turntable; instead, it is due to the fact that so many people
get Doctor Dré (formerly of Yo MTV Raps) confused
with Dr. Dre (formerly of N.W.A.). Unless the person is
educated when it comes to hip hop's history, explaining
the difference between the two can be as frustrating as
the whole Chemical Brothers/Dust
Brothers debacle.
To set everyone straight, the Doctor
Dré we are talking about is the one who (along with
Ed Lover) used to host a show on MTV called Yo MTV Raps.
Dré and Ed also made a movie together entitled "Who's
the Man", which you may have seen. Doctor Dré
proceeded DJ Hurricane on the turntables and was quick to
defend the Beastie Boys honor on Yo MTV Raps when the 3rd
Bass vs. the Beastie Boys controversy began. Using his
show as a platform, he openly endorsed the Beastie Boys
and dismissed attempts of rap journalists to incite the
two groups into a rivalry.
Following MTV's move to non-music
video programming and the cancellation of Yo MTV Raps, Doctor
Dré took his comedic personality into radio broadcasting.
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