Personal Finance

Dr. Dre says "Money follows passion and excellence, not the other way around" – Why doing what you love can lead to financial success

John Seetoo

Published: March 6, 2025 12:02 pm

When one thinks of hip-hop and rap music, there are few people whose influence on the development of rap as a commercial art form that is as significant as Dr. Dre. Born as Andre Young in Compton, CA, he renamed himself as “Dr. Dre” when he met DJ Yella in the Compton club scene. When Dr. Dre and DJ Yella met O’Shea Jackson, better known as Ice Cube – the three created the gangsta rap group N.W.A., whose debut album, Straight Outta Compton, became a smash hit. 

Later co-founding Death Row Records with Suge Knight, Dr. Dre also started Aftermath Entertainment, named after one of his solo albums, and was responsible for signing and sometimes producing the following artists, who have since become nearly household names in pop and hip-hop culture around the world:

• Snoop Dogg
• Eminem
• 50 Cent
• Tupac Shakur
• Busta Rhymes
• the Game
• Eve
• Rakim
• Anderson.Paak
• Kendrick Lamar

Addressing the trend towards portable music, Dr. Dre teamed up with music producer and Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine to found Beats Electronics and Beats Music. The company’s line of headphones became a favorite accessory to millions of people who listen to their music on portable devices. Beats would later be sold to Apple in 2014 for $3 billion.

Dr. Dre’s Words of Wisdom

As a phenomenally successful businessman, entrepreneur and artist, Dr. Dre has often been quoted, and many of his observations are echoed by others who have both preceded and succeeded him. Some of these quotes encompass general principles that anyone can apply to aspects in their own lives. Some examples include:

“You just have to find that thing that’s special about you that distinguishes you from all the others, and through true talent, hard work, and passion, anything can happen.”

“Everything in my life has been about sound and making music, so Beats represents just that – the improvement of sound and the dedication to everything I’ve been doing from the day I started.”

“Money follows passion and excellence, not the other way around.”

The first two quotes lay the foundation for the third, which was culled from a 2016 panel discussion. Unlike many others in the music industry, Dr. Dre has placed the highest emphasis on the quality of his end product, whether it be a CD recording, a Beats headphone, or a signing with an unknown artist whom he believes will become a star. By combining his passion for what he does with the discipline to spend countless hours getting it right, whether it be the lyrics to a song to a proper audio mix, Dr. Dre has let the quality of his work speak for itself. 

His instincts have proven to be correct many times over, as the success of not only his records, but of those from his signed artists testifies. 

Lessons For Life

The takeaway from Dr. Dre’s quote can be condensed to: “Money chases excellence.” This echoes the cliche, “Cream rises to the top”, and is a lesson for life that has held true since time immemorial from practically every culture:

• In the Bible, Joseph went from being sold into slavery to becoming the right hand of the Pharaoh, because his integrity, wisdom, and humility stood out.
• In Ancient China, the national civil service exams were created as a merit system to get the best minds and managers into the government system in order to prevent fracturing into the different warring fiefdoms that had previously ruled.

For those looking to apply those principles to their financial lives or careers, there are certain practices that dovetail nicely, such as:

• Be disciplined. Don’t skimp on a savings schedule or on developing one’s craft and skills toward attaining a specific goal.
• Learn as much as possible about an investment so that you aren’t going in blindly, and can interpret any news on your own to make decisions on timing, rather than just following other sheep.
• Don’t chase the money with something you actually detest. The lack of passion will come through at some point, and the end product will ultimately not be your best effort.
• Creating a product that connects with enough other people will cause money to chase it as more and more people also desire it. 

Dr. Dre’s advice is timeless and certainly valid in today’s culture, regardless of technological changes or other cultural developments. They are also valid for applying towards careers and finances. As the second richest hip-hop mogul after Jay-Z, he also exclaimed the following rule of thumb words of caution:

“The only two things that scare me are God and the IRS.”