THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 12, 1996 TAG: 9611120030
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: By DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 43 lines
ONE DAY, Carlos Griffin would like to be in the boots of the man he shook hands with Sunday night.
When you're an aspiring musician aiming for hip-hop heaven, who better to meet and mingle with than the legendary rapper Dr. Dre.
Griffin, a 23-year-old Hampton resident and member of local group Southern Dwellers, joined about 80 others in a Moet-and-fried-chicken preview party for Dre at the Norfolk Live club on the Norfolk Naval Base.
It was Dre's fourth stop on a quick promotional tour for his highly anticipated album ``Dr. Dre Presents . . . The Aftermath,'' which is due out Nov. 26.
Dr. Dre was off limits to the press but not to his fans. Until 1:30 a.m. Monday, fans toted posters and napkins to get a signature from the Grammy-award-winning architect of gangsta rap.
Dre's latest album is a compilation of hip-hop and R&B, East Coast and West Coast music, a venture into ``keeping it real, keeping it positive,'' Dre said through a released statement.
His latest single, ``Been There. Done That'' - his goodbye to the shoot-'em-up themes that have laced his sound since the late 1980s - is getting air play.
Dre, 31, first gained national attention for masterminding the group N.W.A.'s controversial ``Straight Outta Compton'' album in 1989.
He launched Death Row Records in 1992 with Marion ``Suge'' Knight.
Dre left Death Row Records in March, reportedly because of the label's ``negative'' vibe. Death Row star Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in September, and Knight is in jail for allegedly violating probation.
Dre has served his share of jail time but wants to lighten his image. His new company, Aftermath Entertainment, will focus on music, movies and television. He's developing a TV pilot about juvenile delinquents called ``Half-Way.'' ILLUSTRATION: File photo by CNB