[yasr_overall_rating]
“The Defiant Ones” examines the partnership between Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre – one the son of a Brooklyn longshoreman, the other straight out of Compton – and their leading roles in a chain of transformative events in contemporary culture.
One would never have thought that the commercial and personal success of two men from entirely different backgrounds would come together to form one of the most successful partnerships in music history. “The Defiant Ones,” by director and producer Allen Hughes, tells a deeply emotional, political and social story about two men, Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine, who were perfectionists in their own right, finding a niche which capitalized on their ability to identify their own strengths and weaknesses and use each other to gain footage in the cutthroat world of music.
The film, through a series of interviews with iconic members of the music industry such as artists Tupac Shakur, Bono, Ice Cube, 9 Inch Nails, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, D.O.C., Eminem and more, as well as producers, attorneys and VP’s such as Suge Knight, Ted Fields and David Geffen, tells a story of love, loss, success and sacrifice. The entire scope covers all the ’80s and ’90s events that occurred throughout the partnership of Dre and Jimmy and their personal and professional relationships. The tumultuous events included Powerhouse record companies such as Interscope, Bad Boy & Death Row scrambling to find the next biggest thing and how the artists themselves created havoc among the industry with the rap culture and the violence that was attributed to it.
While Andre and Jimmy seemed to be the unlikeliest candidates for a successful relationship, their innate need to be successful in spite of the odds took them from their modest upbringings and brought them at the point of retirement to the pinnacle of success with the creation, distribution and 3.2 billion dollar sale of Dre’s Beats, the microphones that turned the entire industry upside down after an likely partnership with Apple’s Steve Jobs and his crew.
The entire film is a moving tribute to the music industry and how every aspect of it, whether positive or negative, helped to shape the careers and personal lives of everyone who came into contact with Dr. Dre and Jimmy Iovine. It is a must-see for music lovers and anyone who can appreciate the results of a diverse group coming together to put their ideas into motion!
Now available on Blu-ray & DVD
