The 65th Grammy Awards ceremony took place on February 5, 2023. A big part of the show was a celebration of all things hip-hop to mark the 50th anniversary of the genre. Dr. Dre was given a new award that will from here on out bear his name, the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. This was the brainchild of the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective, who were moved to create it after the 2020 social justice awakening due to the murder of George Floyd.
For some women, it was not easy to see the iconic hip-hop artist be honored in this way because of their accusations of violent acts committed by him. Dee Barnes is one of the women grappling with this situation.
In 1991, at age 19, Dee Barnes was working as a journalist and emcee. She hosted the popular hip-hop show Pump It Up on Fox. She interviewed now-legendary guests such as LL Cool J, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, and Queen Latifah before they hit it big. Things were going well for her.
One fateful night, all that changed. Barnes aired a piece about trouble within the group N.W.A., which Dr. Dre was a member of. Things were tense with former member Ice Cube. Dre did not like this becoming public knowledge.
At a record release party, Dre made his opinion known and beat up Barnes. The police got involved, and on January 28, 1991, a warrant was issued. Dre was charged with assault and battery and pled no contest, which means he accepted that conviction but did not admit guilt. He received a $2,500 fine and a two-year probation sentence, during which he had to perform community service.
Since then, Dre has been able to continue his career. He has a net worth of hundreds of millions of dollars from albums and business deals such as his popular Beats by Dre empire. Barnes, on the other hand, has struggled to survive and feels as if she has been blacklisted by the hip-hop community.
Barnes does not believe that Dre should have been given the award and made its namesake. She is not his sole victim. Several women have accused him of violence against them.
“They named this award after an abuser. It wasn’t just a one or two-time thing; these are choices. The first time, it’s maybe a mistake. The second time, okay. The third time, it’s a choice,” she told Rolling Stone.
Barnes draws a parallel with another famous man to make her point. “To name an award after someone with that type of history in the music industry, you might as well call it the 'Ike Turner Award,'” she stated.
Barnes believes she has been kept out of sight to spare Dre’s feelings. “He said it himself in the documentary The Defiant Ones: I’m a 'blemish' on who he is as a man. Well, what do you do with a blemish? There’s a whole industry created — skincare lines and vitamins and rituals — to get rid of blemishes. And, in a sense, there’s a whole network to keep me hidden,” she mused.
Barnes is done keeping quiet and wants her story to be told. “I shouldn’t have to suffer by not being able to exist in a space and in a culture that not only did I grow up in but that I contributed to in a major way. Is this about his feelings? Is this about his legacy? Or is it about ego and toxic masculinity? What is it about,” she asks.
