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Dr Dre has admitted that reports of him assaulting journalist Denise 'Dee' Barnes in 1991, as well as repeated allegations of abuse from one-time girlfriend Michel'le, are true.
To mark the release of NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton, Dre and Ice Cube will appear on the cover of Rolling Stone and the publication have teased a handful of quotes, including ones that revolve around his history of violence.
The most widely known instance of Dre's violent past involved journalist Dee Barnes. According to Rolling Stone, Dre encountered Barnes at a record release party in Hollywood, and "picked her up by her hair and 'began slamming her head and the right side of her body repeatedly against a brick wall near the stairway' as his bodyguard held off the crowd with a gun.
"After Dre tried to throw her down the stairs and failed, he began kicking her in the ribs and hands. She escaped and ran into the women's rest room. Dre followed her and 'grabbed her from behind by the hair again and proceeded to punch her in the back of the head'"
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Dre said: "I made some fucking horrible mistakes in my life. I was young, fucking stupid. I would say all the allegations aren't true – some of them are. Those are some of the things that I would like to take back. It was really fucked up. But I paid for those mistakes, and there's no way in hell that I will ever make another mistake like that again."
In addition, Ice Cube was pressed about NWA's misogynistic lyrics: "If you're a bitch, you're probably not going to like us," he said. "If you're a ho, you probably don't like us. If you're not a ho or a bitch, don't be jumping to the defense of these despicable females. Just like I shouldn't be jumping to the defense of no punks or no cowards or no slimy son of a bitches that's men. I never understood why an upstanding lady would even think we're talking about her."
Last week, Dr Dre released the eagerly anticipated Compton, his first album in 16 years. Controversy arose after listeners expressed disgust at the flippant attitude to violence against women and a vile rape lyric included on the Eminem-featuring 'Medicine Man'.
