Andre Young - Just What the Doctor Ordered

Andre Young is an entrepreneur, producer, builder, philanthropist, and American cultural Icon. He has gone on to construct an academy at the University of Southern California, my alma mater for which I am extremely proud to have had the opportunity to attend. By building this academy as an institution to practice the Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation. Basically, it is the school of hustle created for intellectual hustlers who seek to create their hustle so they can hustle. I say that because that is what Andre Young is all about.

Andre Young came from the streets of Compton, California and rose up through a life that included many evolutions. Andre Young faced many of the challenges that boys, men, girls, and women of color must encounter and overcome to break free of the grasp and stigma that is the urban neighborhood. Andre Young’s rise was unique since he came up through the neighborhood rather than the typical path of rising above and out. Andre Young was able to harness that pure energy that exists in that environment and refine it into the fuel needed to coexist within those complicated terms.

Most kids that come up in the neighborhoods remain there and a few are able to make their way out, never to return. It must be noted that neighborhoods, all neighborhoods, even those that carry the burdens of negative connotations, have wonderful people living there. It is an exceptional quality to come up in a place, build yourself there, venture out to greener pastures, and return to become a force within the community.

Andre Young was able to do just that. Who is Andre Young? Andre Young is better known as Dr. Dre.

When I reviewed a few images, I did a google search for Dr. Dre. Many of his newer pictures came up, the images that represent his present life and his present work. To get to an image like this, you literally had to search “old Dr. Dre.”

That search result is the magic of show business. You hire a good PR firm and they take of those things for you. “Speak to my representative.”

The evolution of life and the years that pass can represent quite a change. I think some tend to misunderstand how things work. Maybe some are stuck in time, in a time warp and they don’t evolve much. It is similar to my sister who will always see me as her troubled little brother, when in actuality I am a polished professional just as she is.

Andre Young, became Dr. Dre, and then became Andre Young. Sometimes we evolve and re-evolve into what we are to become. It is a beautiful process and one where I would think that most would not want to change a thing. You begin to understand that everything was all apart of that process and although we could believe that Andre Young could have still dedicated an Academy at USC without first being Dr. Dre, most would ask: How?

I have never met Andre but I imagine he and I would have many things in common. I presume I would ask what he would have done to arrive at this same place. The question of How, might be an extremely difficult question to answer. There is no How? or Why? or what if? It just is, and many people that have gone through this process of reinvention would tell you that it was all necessary.

We do not hear most of the stories. Andre Young is a star and he lives in the public eye. His story is a great example of what that evolution looks like. It is also an example to everyone that wants to evolve. It is an example that shows through action that when you build, when you produce, when you are rich, when you command attention, when you do the work, when you put in the hours of study, and when you possess the right mindset to put skills into action, people don’t care who you were, they are only concern who you are now and do you have the ability to sign the check to build the academy.

Once you understand that, the little dark cloud that tries to hang over your head can no longer exist, and if it exists, it doesn’t really matter. Maybe that is what it means to be a star, you shine so bright and so hot that you quickly dissipate the miserable little clouds. No longer able to rain on the parade, they move elsewhere and rain on someone else. That can be somewhat effective, but it wears out pretty fast, especially when it takes even a penny away from the bottom line or becomes an obstruction to their mission.

I am sure Andre Young had to deal with his old image and encountered challenges to moving forward. This is not unique to him. Walt Disney had issue, Henry Ford encountered challenges, John D. Rockefeller overcame obstacles established by very powerful and wealthy individuals. In the scope of those tremendous figures, changing the name, changing the game, is not anything significant. When you are immersed in the moment, it might seem that way, but in reality, no one is really worried about. Here’s why:

Even when you have a clean slate, there are those that want to work with you and those that don’t. The reasons why people do not want to work with you are numerous. It could be that they have too much work to take on already. The reason could be that they heard negative things about you, like you don’t pay people on time or you yell or your negative. The reason could be that you gave off a bad impression at a meeting and it was a gut feeling. The reason could be that they just don’t like you. The reasons could also be your color, or race, or gender, or sexuality, but those things are just another set of reasons along with many others.

Therefore, people that don’t want to work with you because you have some history or that you are Dr. Dre does not matter much because there are other options and opportunities; one door closed means another will open, all doors closed means opportunities come from other directions. Fortunately, we do not live in a two dimensional world - opportunities come from many directions.

Andre Young, AKA, Dr. Dre, got into USC and built a building there. Not only did he build a building, he built it along a prominent street facing the rose garden and museums. This is the same Dr. Dre from the popular South Central L.A. rap group “Niggas With Attitude.” When you have the dollars and cred to back it up, Niggas With Attitude can build at a place like USC.

This is where it gets even better. Many would say: “That’s right, any scumbag can get into USC.” Well, that is the convenient way to think about. It is the easy way that most people think about things like this when they don’t want to open their eyes and see the truth as it exists right now, not in another time from the past but right now. There are crooks at every college out there, you just have to look around.

USC is an institution that accepts people from a diverse range of backgrounds. When I was there, little ol’ me, I knew guys that had two Land Rovers and a custom Porsche. I knew guys who parents were prominent figures and I knew guys who had many opportunities and were greatly blessed in life and status. There are students like this at every institution, the students with the bankrolls.

Andre Young did not attend USC and if he was a student during his neighborhood days, his experience would have been very different. He would have been unproven and sent through the USC Trojan meat grinder like everyone else. USC, and any academic institution that has levels of prominence in the world, challenge their students, not by soothing them, but by exposing their weaknesses and compelling them to excel and succeed.

I went to USC so I know. For the duration of my studies I felt like the university would rather I just crawled into a hole and quit. They would have been just fine without me. Regardless of feelings center around my own insecurities, I stayed the course; a very good decision. I learned that USC values visionaries and big thinkers and those that embody the Trojan way: Faithful, SCholarly, Skillful, Courageous, Ambitious.

Obviously, it is difficult to see while you are a student whether you embody those characteristics. Only time will tell and it is important to view the story in totality, not just a small piece. Most people focus on things that don’t matter. They focus on the Dr. Dre and not the big building along the street that was built by the same person.

I have a great example. Last month I was at a ball game with my kid. An interesting statistic about a ball player from the other team came up on the scoreboard monitor. The interesting fact was not that disturbing, but the what grasped me was the comment from a guy a few seats over. His kid asked him why they would put something like that on the board, why wouldn’t they put something good there? The dad’s response was: “why would you want to put something good up there when posting bad things is so much better.” That answer pretty much says it all right there.

Andre Young doesn’t need to worry about the naysayers and those with similar upbringings need not be concerned either. Remember, those with a clean slate get hated on too when they become something. Social media has increased that focused hatred and allows a platform to anyone with a smart phone and an app.

So Andre Young builds at USC. I not certain but I wonder what the leaders at USC really feel about it. It is Los Angeles, and it is the place where show business is the thing and when you are in that world your life is on the table ready for consumption.

Thankfully, I am not in show business and I don’t need to live in that type of spot light. Architecture and Development does have moments where the prominent figures speak, but it is rare that they live in the center of attention like those in Hollywood. Seen any Hollywood architects out there? A lot of them where all black, and think it is cool to have the stone cold look. The dark clouds follows them around because it is self imposed. No one cares about them outside of their own circle.

There was once a time when I wanted to be in the sort of fame limelight. It was such a misguided notion from a wayward teenager. These stars like Andre Young are in pursuit of something: it starts with the money and the hustle, then evolves into the craft, and then the purpose and legacy. I admire his path and his transformation, or maybe, he never changed, he just became what he always envisioned, but that vision required an unorthodox journey that would not be faintly understood by anyone that was not subject to a tough environment. I am sure that Andre wouldn’t want it any other way. It was a different path but an important one; a path that is well documented and capitalized by music and movies. In essence, Andre Young learned to turn the negative aspect of his life into a business. This is no different than someone who created an invention that solved a problem in his or her life. Some life problems are different and more complicated and requires unique strategies.

I love the picture below. Andre Young and Jimmy Iovine cutting the ribbon to their new academy. What excites me the most is wondering what is going through the USC President’s mind right now. She is most definitely at arms length! I’m just kidding. I don’t pretend to understand how the leadership’s thought process works, but I for sure can understand Andre Young’s thoughts. I can look in his eyes and I almost see a reflection of myself. If I was him at that moment, I would be thinking: “wow. look what we did. Look how far we have come.”

This is nothing new to those that shatter the American social stratification and become something beyond who they were and even who they are now. When this ribbon was cut, it opened new doors to new ideas and new opportunities. It embraced the notion that people like me, people that have been through things, can find a place to be free and investigate the world as a scholar and leader. These tougher characters that might come through the gates at USC can help redefine the American way by confronting and tackling new and adverse challenges. We are in at a time in our country that is all hands on deck. I too can sit across the table and have a real voice to undertake the challenges in our world.

Andre Young, Doctor of Hustle. An apple a day didn’t really matter…. Aint nothin but a Gee Thang BAYYYBE!!!!