Nobody forgot about Dr. Dre—in fact, Apple is about to make the rapper into hip-hop's first billionaire!
According to multiple outlets, Apple "is close to striking a deal" to purchase Beats by Dre for a cool $3.2 billion. This acquisition, which would be largest ever in Apple's history, would include the Beats Music streaming service (a competitor to Spotify and Pandora) that launched in January.
According to The New York Times, the deal "has not been consummated [yet], and the negotiations could still fall apart..." But, "people briefed on the [acquisition]" (who declined to be identified) said it "could be announced as early as next week" if completed.
Apple and Beats (co-founded by Dr. Dre and music executive Jimmy Iovine in 2008) have yet to comment publicly on the purported deal. Tyrese Instagrammed several a handful of videos Thursday night showing Dr. Dre's reactions to this in-the-works acquisition, but he quickly deleted them.
He did however, Instagram a photo of a man lying down on multiple bundles of cash of cash, writing, "To all of the homies on South Central I was told our beds are gonna look like this soon!!!! #BillionaireBedSpread #RestEasy the #DrFixedusUpAGAIN!!!"
Sean "Diddy" Combs Instagrammed a screen grab of a report proclaiming Dre and Apple are "reportedly close" to striking a deal. "This is BIG!" wrote Puffy. "If anyone deserves it, it's you! Congratulations Dr. Dre! #fromthesoontobe #DrCombs #wemadeit #proudofyou #thebarhasbeenrsised #motivated #timetogotowork."
It was just last month, Forbes ranked Diddy as the wealthiest artist in hip-hop, giving him an estimated $700 million fortune. The same list pegged Dre as hip-hop's second wealthiest artist, estimating his fortune to be worth $520 million. If Apple and Beats' deal goes through, Diddy's going to lose that top spot!
Clearly, though, hip-hop moguls stick together!
