When the six year relationship ended, Michel’le was swept off her feet by Marion “Suge” Knight, an acquaintance/rival of Dre’s and the founder of Death Row Records. Never did I wake up and ask Dre, ‘Why did you hit me?’” she said in an interview with The Huffington Post recently. But I couldn’t believe that I was really living like that. And it really resonated with me. “When you’re living in it, you can’t see it. Along with the progression of their family-the domestic violence grows as we watch Dre pull out a gun during an argument. The relationship continues well into later years as Michel’le raises their son, Marcel (now age 25) at the overly spacious home Dre surprises her with. The concern for herself is pushed aside when Dre discovers the pregnancy and threatens to beat her if she wasn’t carrying his child. And although she is shocked by this first occurrence of physical abuse, we essentially see that she was raised in house that encouraged women to stand by their other halves no matter the circumstances.įurther into the story, Michel’le becomes pregnant just as her music career is flourishing. Michel’le-as she narrates the story-consoles Dre and explains her thought process: He loves her and his frustrations/actions do not alter that. Eventually, the assault stops and Dre collapses onto the other side of the bed in tears. He is quick to attack her on the bed, slapping and punching her from beneath him. The first time we see a violent episode, Dre comes home drunk to a sleeping Michel’le. According to Suge, the marriage was never legal and they separated in 2006.Īt the start of the film, we see the relationship between Dre and Michel’le developing with little to no red flags as the music stars work together to produce her first album, but eventually Dre becomes reliant on alcohol (among other things). The two married in 1999 and had a baby girl named Bailei three years after. Years later, Dre and Michel’le broke up and she became involved with the co-founder and CEO of Deathrow Records, Suge Knight. During their relationship, Michel’le became pregnant their son Marcel was born in 1991. Throughout this success, Michel’le was dating Dre. The most notable tune “No More Lies” even went beyond genre lines and reached the top 10 of the Billboard charts. On the album, three tracks reached “hit song” level. Two years later, a self-titled debut album that was produced solely by her boyfriend at the time, Dr. When fellow singer-songwriter Mona Lisa was unable to make it to the studio, the electro group World Class Wreckin’ Cru asked Michel’le to lend her vocals to their 1987 track “Turn Off The Lights.” Soon after her coincidental break, Eazy-E signed her to a solo deal with Ruthless Records. With an almost irritating speaking voice that resembles that of a small child, Michel’le’s contrasting thick and soulful vocals took the R&B charts by storm. In the two-hour program, we see the violent progression of Dre and Michel’le’s relationship as a woman struggles to look after herself, her partner, and their family. Unlike the SOC producers, Lifetime took it upon themselves to delve into the story from Michel’le’s perspective in a made-for-TV biopic “Surviving Compton: Dre, Suge and Michel’le” that premiered on Monday night.
Surely the possibility of her exclusion could have been a matter of including only absolutely necessary characters, but who’s to say that Dre himself didn’t care to share the spotlight with a woman he allegedly abused? Some will argue that Michel’le was a prominent piece to the musical puzzle, essentially recording her own music and going on tour as N.W.A exploded-however-for the creators dictating the Straight Outta Compton narrative (Dre included), Michel’le wasn’t even substantial enough to be included. Dre’s violent history against the women, or at least one woman in his life.
One angle you may not have knowledge of? Dr. If you watched the critically acclaimed film Straight Outta Compton, you’re familiar with the origin story of gangsta rap group N.W.A and the roles individuals such as Dr.