The Heartbreaking Death Of Dr. Dre's Son

Although Andre Young (a.k.a Dr. Dre), was lucky to survive his brush with death following a brain aneurysm on Jan. 4, 2021, he's no stranger to tragedy. The legendary rapper lost his namesake son, Andre Young Jr., in 2008 when the young man was just 20 years old. Dre, a music mogul who rose to fame as part of the Compton-based hip hop group N.W.A. in the 1980s, has seven children, per The Sun. Andre was born in 1988 to Dre and Jenita Porter, who wound up suing the rapper a couple years later for child support for their son, per the Los Angeles Times.

At the time of his untimely death, the Los Angeles Times reported that Andre was found dead in his Woodland Hills, Calif. home. Tragically, his mother was the one who found him. So, what exactly happened to Dre's son to cut him down in his prime? Here's what we know.

Jenita Porter found son Andre Young Jr. unresponsive in his bed on the morning of Aug. 23, 2008, after he had spent a night out with friends and arrived home at around 5:30 a.m., per People. Porter reportedly called the paramedics, but Andre couldn't be revived and was pronounced dead at the scene. At the time, Los Angeles County coroner's office spokesman Ed Winter said authorities ran "a gamut of tests, including toxicology," per the Los Angeles Times. The office eventually determined the cause of death to be an accidental "morphine and heroin intoxication," per Reuters. No foul play was suspected, and the case was closed. 

Dr. Dre, the founder of successful record labels Death Row Records and Aftermath Entertainment, released a statement via publicist Lori Earl which read (via the Los Angeles Times): "Dr. Dre is mourning the loss of his son Andre Young Jr. Please respect his family's grief and privacy at this time."